The Optimist Lacks a Sense of Humor

The optimist lacks, above all, a sense of humor. If he smiles, he does so as long as his “convictions” are not attacked. He is often nothing but a fanatic, an apostle of belief in a bright future, incapable of making fun of his repeated failures. It seems paradoxical to sprout humor from pessimism, but it is only appearance: pessimism springs from reasoning, and humor from the modesty imposed by conclusions on the intellectually honest. The optimist does not laugh at himself—therefore, he generally does not know how to think. The experiment is very simple: ridicule, for fun, a guy who claims that the future holds a huge pot of gold for him—immediately his veins will throb with anger. Make similar to a pessimist: call him a grouch, a vulture, or a complainer—and naturally a broad smile will break out on his face.