Optimism/Pessimism
A Poem About Points of View
An optimist say this is the best possible world
The pessimist, sadly, agrees.
But each of them thinks he's a realist
Reporting just what he sees.
The pessimist, sadly, agrees.
But each of them thinks he's a realist
Reporting just what he sees.
The optimist says the glass is half full.
The pessimist says it's half empty.
But neither of them answers questions such as
Have I enough? Have I plenty?
It's possible that no one sees the truth
That everyone's view is distorted.
And if so can we even trust "facts"
Or rely on what is reported?
Published by Peter Flom
I am a statistician, working with a wide variety of clients, mostly researchers in psychology, education, medicine, social sciences and other fields. I also have given talks and written articles on learning... View profile
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8 Comments
Post a CommentI think it is all a personal perspective. Like poetry... No one person can define poetry... It feels different to each poet. It's definition lies differently within each of us. I keep my glass half full, I would rather rejoice in life than wallow in it. Great poem.
Very well written :)
welldone ...for me the glass is to big
Very well written. Thanks!
I've come to the conclusion that seeing it with your own eyes can still leave things questionable.
I love optimism for it always allows hope to live. I can sometimes understand the pessimist view, but I always hope it is short-lived. Excellent Peter! I loved this one.
I'm an optimist at heart, even though I have clinical depression. My reaction on seeing that proverbial glass is, "Ooh! There's still some left!" ;)
Thoughtful and well penned. This reminds me of a spiritual teaching story where five blind men are asked to describe an elephant. ONe grabs the trunk, another the tail, another a foot, another the ear and another the belly--
of course, their descriptions to not match a bit.