The optimism bias

de Tali Sharot

"How does the brain generate hope? How does it trick us into moving forward? What happens when it fails? How do the brains of optimists differ from those of pessimists? ... Humans do not hold a positivity bias on account of having read too many self-help books. Rather, optimism may be so essential to our survival that it is hardwired into our brain. "We wear rose-tinted glasses whether we are eight or eighty ... Many of us are not aware of our optimistic tendencies. The optimism bias is so powerful precisely because, like many other illusions, it is not fully accessible to conscious deliberation."--from The Optimism Bias --Book Jacket.