www-chrbutler-com-avdt2j.txt (2371B)
1 [1][ ] [2] CB 2 Christopher Butler 3 [3]Information [4]Contents [5]Now Menu Close 4 » 5 [6]Home [7]Information [8]Contents [9]Now [10]RSS 6 © Christopher Butler. 7 All rights reserved. 8 Christopher Butler 9 log 10 11 The Productive Afterward 12 13 Summary 14 15 JA Westenberg's essay on the merits of optimism is a helpful reminder. 16 17 Published on February 25, 2026 by Christopher Butler 18 [SOT] 19 20 [11]This, from JA Westenberg, is well-put: 21 22 “I’m going to argue that the pessimists have the best narratives and the 23 worst track record. The doom scenarios require assumptions that don’t 24 survive contact with economic history, and the psychological posture you 25 bring to this moment actually matters for how it turns out.” 26 27 Westenberg’s essay is about why optimism at a time like the present makes 28 sense. It’s exactly the sort of thing—when thoughtfully argued and laden with 29 examples—that I need to read, as I tend to articulate optimism while 30 internalizing the opposite. I tend to give every catastrophe a hearing, and 31 even a momentary “what if this is right” leaves a mark on brain matter. That 32 isn’t to say that ignoring all warnings is a good idea, nor is that what 33 Westenberg recommends. But it is a helpful reminder that “catastrophist keep 34 being wrong.” And one benefit to aging is that you can accumulate many 35 directly-lived examples of just that. 36 37 I do appreciate the implicit message throughout this piece that reminds me of 38 something important: we do experience great changes—the status quo isn’t 39 untouchable—but the human drive to do something is both the most reliable force 40 in ensuring future technological threats to our way of life and the productive 41 afterward. 42 43 [EOT] 44 45 © Christopher Butler. All rights reserved. 46 47 [12]Information [13]Contents [14]Now [15]RSS 48 49 References: 50 51 [2] https://www.chrbutler.com/ 52 [3] https://www.chrbutler.com/information 53 [4] https://www.chrbutler.com/archives 54 [5] https://www.chrbutler.com/now 55 [6] https://www.chrbutler.com/ 56 [7] https://www.chrbutler.com/information 57 [8] https://www.chrbutler.com/archives 58 [9] https://www.chrbutler.com/now 59 [10] https://www.chrbutler.com/feed.rss 60 [11] https://www.joanwestenberg.com/everything-is-awesome-why-im-an-optimist/ 61 [12] https://www.chrbutler.com/information 62 [13] https://www.chrbutler.com/archives 63 [14] https://www.chrbutler.com/now 64 [15] https://www.chrbutler.com/feed.rss