The cost of pessimism

It has been shown that those who are generally optimistic about the future tend to do better than those who are not. Based on this, it can be shown that being optimistic is rational and similarly being pessimistic is irrational. If the probability of being happy is higher for those who are optimistic and happiness is the objective function to maximize, then it is not rational to be pessimistic. Policies, that will increase optimism, are then dominant among the available choices.

The roots...