Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash There is an old statistical principle having to do with probability and risk in trying to estimate future conditions and how to prepare for or take action to mitigate them to try to alter the outcome of our past and present bad behavior. In assessing the two potential errors in judging the … More Are We All Here? “Balance” and Meaning in Seeking a Livable Future
As you may have noticed from prior posts here and/or from the Hopeful Realist Newsletter, I consider myself a ‘hopeful realist.’ The reason is twofold. First, neither optimism nor pessimism make any sense to me. I guide my thinking by what I know and do not know about the world. Since both optimism and pessimism … More Realism: The Only Hope
Brian Tokar has written an excellent synopsis of the IPCC’s 6th Assessment Report (AR6) on the state of Earth’s climate. The latest findings of climate science clearly delineate the worsening conditions that are forcing us into today’s generally unacknowledged deep human predicament. The report just released is the first of three parts. The IPCC has … More No More Time to Kid Ourselves: The Climate Emergency is Now
If you take a realistic view of any number of situations in the world today, you may find yourself hard pressed to see any of them as hopeful. Of course, that would not stop an optimist from being optimistic. From an entirely different perspective, the pessimist might say, “I told you so; these situations are … More What is Hopeful Realism?
We—the world’s population, that is—seem to have fallen victim to what is claimed to be an old Chinese curse, “May you live in interesting times.” The curse, of course, implies that “interesting times” involve deep troubles, crises and dangers shall beset its victims. On the other hand, we may want to turn to the ancient … More We Live in Interesting Times: Seeking Opportunities in Crises
No, it’s another false dilemma. In the U.S., we are obsessed with two beliefs. One is the idea that the world can be changed and/or everything can be made right again if we only vote in the right politician as president. This contributes to the corporate-media driven “horse race” mentality that buries the issues under … More To Vote or Not to Vote: Is That Really the Question?
Robert MacNeil Christie, Author 