I somewhat used to be in the past (High school era) but these days I'm more optimistic than cynical.
Poll: Are you cynical?
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I think my favorite quote of all time is "Cynicism is the intellectual cripple's substitute for intelligence." Oh my god, I love it.
No. I'm not a cynic. Anyone who sees the world through a lens as gray as the cynic's is not seeing things clearly. It may not always be peaches & cream, but it's not as shit as cynics make it out to be. I tend to think cynics are lazy; it's easy to say that everything is shit, and that makes it easier to not care about what happens to the world, so that you feel less guilty when you don't do anything about it.
In reality, the good people in this world far outshine the bad ones, you just don't hear about them. Good people do good things every day. They don't get in the newspaper, or get a thread made about on the Escapist, but they keep doing it regardless. And that's just the way the world works. Which, admittedly, is a bit depressing, but do you see me becoming a cynic? No. I like this world, and I like the good people in it. And I say this as someone who regularly deals with people who call other people faggots and retards (the internet.)
If the world was as shitty as cynics make it out to be, there'd be no world. It would've been destroyed years ago.
No. I'm not a cynic. Anyone who sees the world through a lens as gray as the cynic's is not seeing things clearly. It may not always be peaches & cream, but it's not as shit as cynics make it out to be. I tend to think cynics are lazy; it's easy to say that everything is shit, and that makes it easier to not care about what happens to the world, so that you feel less guilty when you don't do anything about it.
In reality, the good people in this world far outshine the bad ones, you just don't hear about them. Good people do good things every day. They don't get in the newspaper, or get a thread made about on the Escapist, but they keep doing it regardless. And that's just the way the world works. Which, admittedly, is a bit depressing, but do you see me becoming a cynic? No. I like this world, and I like the good people in it. And I say this as someone who regularly deals with people who call other people faggots and retards (the internet.)
If the world was as shitty as cynics make it out to be, there'd be no world. It would've been destroyed years ago.
Optimism is something that the weak indulge within to keep safe. hey have to accept there is no reachable dream, no hope and god probosces hates them. The hilarious part is that people always week optimists, when really they need the cynic. My friends say I should be happy, let hope into my life and be blissfully ignorant. I look at them and question weather they are truly hopeful or have tricked themselves into believing themselves to be hopeful, almost as a way to be accepted within society. When they question if I was ever optimistic, I reply that I was long ago. That that time has passed after I saw what people would do given a chance. If they were given an opportunity.
Heres the thing, yes I am very cynical about most things. Side effect of my job. However, you can't look at how EA treat their customers and think that is how it should be. Compare EA to valve in terms of how customers are treated. Sure, there was the big fuss about l4d2 but its nothing like EA pumping out sequel after sequel year after year.erttheking said:
As for 1984 - well, back IN 1984 we all used to pirate in our own homes with tape recorders. Taping radio, taping CDs, trading games directly. Suddenly we all do it from a central source on the internet and its so terrible and an excuse for privacy invasion and such?
Of course I'm a cynic, I'm English, it's in our nature. That's not to say I feel the need to be the contrarian; decrying anything and everything popular within the contemporary mainstream; platitudinously bleating in tune about sell-outs, accessibility and under appreciated gems along with the rest of the herd of black sheep. I simply have an opinion and I express it bluntly, I'm largely pessimistic and I think ambitious attempts to radicalise, revolutionise and really significantly change things for the better in any area or field are generally doomed to fail. That said, the futility of it all isn't necessarily something that get's me down, despite my often negative outlook, over all I have a rather 'Que sera, sera' type of attitude. Shit happens, whatever will be, will be and by and large there is very little I can do to change that, all I can do is trundle along and try to make the best of what I've got, play the hand I've been dealt; even if more often than not I'll lose all my chips, get thrown ass first out of the casino and have to sell my body out on the streets just long enough so I can get back on my feet. Okay, that analogies gone way off the tracks. That shit is basically flying off the tracks. It's like it wants nothing to do with those tracks. The tracks filed for divorce from that shit and is now seeking custody of the track's and the shit's two kids. But I think it served more or less well enough to illustrate my general disposition on this matter.
Ha! The joke's on you. Our amazing British builders have been on a very long tea break and haven't gotten around to finishing the bus stops.imnotparanoid said:
Not really. I'm apathetic, if anything, so I don't really care what happens around me in either way.
I openly hold both cynical and optimistic outlooks depending on situation. But given the current roll of situations, it's almost always cynicism that wins.
That coupled with the fact that me being a pessimist, i.e assuming everything is shit until it proves itself otherwise, doesn't give optimism much of a chance. But I try.
That coupled with the fact that me being a pessimist, i.e assuming everything is shit until it proves itself otherwise, doesn't give optimism much of a chance. But I try.
More optimistic realist I suppose. I don't think everything will be flowers and rainbows but I like to keep pushing forward when things seem bad.
I'm cynical, but I'm not stupid. I don't act like an angst filled teenager, going on about the non-existent oppression.
I used to be, but then I came to this site and found that I was soooo outclassed in cynicism, so to keep a nice balance and to keep myself from being constantly depressed every time I come here I decided to become an optimist. Also, and this could be completely unrelated, but I stopped being a teenager in highschool and I found that improved my general mood a lot.
Not that I completely believe everything is perfect, but I believe that it could come close, and I believe that it's not all completely horrible now.
Not that I completely believe everything is perfect, but I believe that it could come close, and I believe that it's not all completely horrible now.
They way I see it, the world needs a good mix of optimists and cynics to function. I also like lateral thinking, so I nearly always take a contrary point of view, which tends to be optimism...erttheking said:
I used to be optimistic and had faith in mankind, but I became cynical once I realised that life is full of crap and that decent, upstanding members of society (such as myself) are chewed up and spat out, while the ones who break the rules get ahead.
Plus, I don't have too many friends, never been in a relationship and don't ever expect to be.
I'm quite pathetic aren't I?
Plus, I don't have too many friends, never been in a relationship and don't ever expect to be.
I'm quite pathetic aren't I?
Those aren't cynicism. That's panic.erttheking said:
Additionally, cynicism generally goes to the motives of humanity, so it's not a perfect antonym for optimism. You have a house over your head, so you don't have a right to complain. That's nice, but how does it go to the motives of humanity? Really, it doesn't.
Nor does it change the fact that, as an American, your way of life has been built off slave labour, sweat shops, and basically the suffering of others.
WHOOPS! Guess I just pegged myself as a cynic.
I've been beaten with stick, had stones thrown at my head with the intention of splitting my skull and verbal abused to the point where I thought suicide was the only way out. I see no reason to be optimistic.Matt King said:Tom Templeton said:dude, i'm optimistic because i like enjoying life, rather than expecting the worse of everything, sometimes it bites me in the arse but other times it doesn't, lighten up