When I was a 14-year-old in a suburb of Dublin, we were at the height of “the Troubles.” During this period of civil unrest, our school regularly took in girls from Northern Ireland to get them away from the bomb blasts and shootings in Belfast, some two hours' drive across the border. One of these girls was named Sandra, and she had been at our school for a couple of weeks when one day the two of us decided to walk home for lunch. As I was walking and chatting, I suddenly became aware that Sandra was no longer beside me.

Looking around, I saw her about 10 meters back, lying flat on the pavement. A car had backfired, and she had instantly thrown herself on the ground. Deep in her brain, an alarm signal had gone off. That same signal had slipped past me unnoticed.

This article was originally published with the title The Essence of Optimism.

7 Comments

1. 1. Neurobonkers 11:17 AM 12/21/12

   For a discussion of the recent attempt to patent the technique described in this article, see here: http://bigthink.com/neurobonkers/profiteering-from-anxiety?page=all

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2. 2. Y V Chawla 10:19 PM 12/26/12

   When you do not fight with ambiguity, the bright side is shown forth.Can one notice that in every happening, there is an element which surprises one positively or negatively? It is one's attunement to this element that gives joy.
   https://sites.google.com/site/yvchawla/

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3. 3. john.fentress@gmail.com 12:04 AM 12/28/12

   I could not print receipt, and then lost download I paid for.

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4. 4. Daniel35 03:51 PM 12/31/12

   Over-optimism can also be a form of suicide. There is something to be said for "safety first". Find the happy medium between being confident but cautious.

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5. 5. Mythusmage 09:22 PM 1/2/13

   Shorter Elaine: You have perfect control over your own will.

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6. 6. bucketofsquid 05:33 PM 1/3/13

   I first came across the concept of "tuning" the subconscious in a book over 25 years ago. The book taught that by first becoming aware of negative feelings and then examining each feeling or stimulus to see why I had negative or positive reactions to it, I could choose to alter my reaction.
   
   It worked great until the onset of heart disease which lead to depression and anxiety disorders. Then it had very little impact at all. Each day I wake up and am not dead is a great day even if my situation sucks a lot that day and I'm not happy. When I was younger I never would have guessed that being miserable is better than being dead.

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7. 7. lupita1868 10:31 AM 1/25/13

   Does anyone know where I might find a cognitive bias modification training online, or know of an app for android? I have searched and not found anything offered.

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