Which is better: Optimism or pessimism?

“What separates humans from animals, is an interest in the past”. That’s a 900-year-old quote from a textbook that Nigerian listener Taiwo came across, and he wrote to CrowdScience to ask if modern science would agree. Most of us spend time thinking about the past, whether it is ...  Show more

CrowdScience listener Rachel uses Bluetooth headphones on her cycle to work, seamlessly playing music from her phone without using wires. But how does this technology send information through the air? To find out, Rachel and presenter Caroline Steel travel to Cambridge in the UK ...  Show more

On this episode, we explore the benefits and drawbacks of optimism. First, we examine the various motivations for pessimism, and hear what Winston Churchill, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Marcus Aurelius have to say about optimism. Next, we think about the vastly different implication ...  Show more

Do you consider yourself to be an optimist, a pessimist, or a realist? Optimism, pessimism, and realism are three different paradigms that impact how we approach life and interpret life's events. For some, they're even identities.

When we face difficult times, our domin ...

Are you an optimist or a pessimist? Optimism may protect you from depression. But pessimism could be roughly equivalent to smoking more than 2 packs of cigarettes a day. Known as The Father of Positive Psychology, Professor Martin Seligman continues his talk to an Australian audi ...  Show more

Martin Seligman is the Fox Leadership Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and the director of the Positive Psychology Network. He is the author of 20+ books including Learned Optimism and The Optimistic Child; his latest (co-authored with Gabriella Rosen Kel ...  Show more