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Describe your thoughts on the data gathered and compared from 30 years ago to today.
I think that the data collected 30 years ago and today differ because the world is ever changing. I guess it makes sense and I think its like a lesson learned. People saw what it was like back then and they want to better themselves. No one wants to be sick, homeless, or poor. Society has made it a point to improved themselves, Improved their knowledge, Work harder to meet goals, adapt a healthy lifestyle to live longer, etc.
How does this correlate with the optimism project and the data/information you’ve collected so far?
It correlates with the project because the world wouldn’t be getting better, if people weren’t optimistic about their futures. The data I’ve collected so far shows that people count on and expect good things to happen to them. According to an article from the NIH, it is apparent that optimism is a mental attitude that heavily influences physical and mental health, as well as coping with everyday social and working life.
Discuss what interested and/or surprised you in this Ted Talk.
As I watched the TED talk I was surprised to learn that we are a better society today. We hear about all the things that are going on in the news or in our communities and it seems like things are worse. However, the statistic show different. An interesting quote I got from the talk is, “We will never have a perfect world, and it would be dangerous to seek one,” he says. “But there’s no limit to the betterments we can attain if we continue to apply knowledge to enhance human flourishing”, (Pinker, 2018).
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When listening to the information Steven Pinker presented, especially when comparing data from now to 30 years ago. The progress society has made when looking at the numbers is outstanding. This should make anyone see the world as positive. The society has made numerous progress and changes to better the world with many advances. It is mentioned in the video that the media does not report positive findings and likes to focus on the negative view which does not help one’s view on growth (Pinker, 2018). According to the New Yorker article it comments Pinker’s thoughts about progress are that its real, meaningful, and widespread (Rothman, 2018). Based on the research that I have gathered so far it appears that the numbers are higher than low, which when I headed into the project, I was very unsure how one would answer the questions and one’s views. It is mentioned in many articles that one’s view of their life affects the view of the world even if the data presented shows growth they may still doubt it due to their situation. When reading many articles and conducting the surveys, I find people either are positive, or they are negative they do not look at each situation individually and compare information to make a decision.
