Jinn

Because it's better to be optimistic than to be realistic?

I get myself into trouble by being honestly realistic, when I shouldn't saved the breath and gone with the optimistic (and simpler) answer.

I could say "Yes, I'll probably come over tonight. But I could be mugged, crash my car, break a bone and be forced into hospitalization, receive a phone call from a long lost friend, fall asleep and forget to come over, decide that I don't want to come over anymore, find a really good TV show that I want to watch, or decide that I want to go to bed early."

That's being a honest realist, explicitly noting the things that could be blockades to "The Plan." I know they're unlikely, but it would be unfair for me to just say "Yea, I'll come over," when I know that there are potentially things which could prevent it. I'd much prefer to say that my chances of coming over are 80/20 or 60/40, but people just don't like this.

People want to hear stupidly simplistic and optimistic assertions. Instead of "I love you today and I think there's a good possibility I will love you tomorrow, and assuming that you don't cheat on me, I don't cheat on you, our financial situation is okay, we get along amiably and we grow together, I see the possibility that our relationship could extend into the long term" they prefer to hear "I will love you forever."

I love details and exception cases, but most people don't. They prefer the general and the common cases.

It think it's just how most people work, unfortunately.

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"I'm typing on a computer of science, which is being sent by science wires to a little science server where you can access it. I'm not typing on a computer of philosophy or religion or whatever other thing you think can be used to understand the universe because they're a poor substitute in the role of understanding the universe which exists independent from ourselves." - Willravel