Cynicism: An Endless, Useless, and Destructive Cycle.

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

Both Yahtzee and TotalBiscuit are influential Internet celebs, since they're both quite clearly intelligent, many a viewer wants to adopt their traits/aspects to become more like them, the defining ones being cynicism.

In a nutshell, people think that cynicism=intelligence, ergo, people will want to become cynical to seem intelligent (just like how fans of The Big Bang Theory try to act "nerdy" to seem hip/intelligent, based off of the characteristics of the characters).

I did adopt cynicism to seem clever, but when I had some introspective on my actions/traits, I saw nothing wrong with it; to quote Yahtzee:

"It's far easier to assume something will be shit than to be hopeful that it won't. That way, you'll get to feel superior to those who did the inverse, and you won't get your heart broken, and if a game isn't shit, then you've lost nothing"

And indeed it is.

 

[Rylingo]

And would the world be better if people were less cynical?

No I don't think so. I think the world works best when there is a mixture of be cynical and positive people. Having an unbalance of either can lead a country or business to disaster.
Look at what happened the financial sector as it trotted its way through an inflation bubble right into disaster. Anyone who stated that growth could not continue was discarded or called crazy. A little bit more cynicism would have been useful


Really liked this video on the subject from RSA Animate:


Whilst I like the quote, I do disagree with it. Nonetheless its an interesting quote:
"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man." - George Bernard Shaw

 

[Beryl77]

In my book, it's bad if you always just choose one extreme. There are good and bad things in the world, not just one or another. I don't like being overly cynical but the other end isn't much better. It's a mix that's best for me.

I guess the reason why some are so cynical, is because they used to think the world is great as kids or at least has a lot of good things but then they grow up and the world doesn't meet their expectations. They see all the bad things happening in the world and their lives don't always go the way they imagined it would go. At some point they mostly only see the bad things. The good things either aren't enough or they completely ignore them, some even always try to find negative aspects in positive things because in their new view, the world isn't good now it's supposed to be all bad.

 

[Dangit2019]

And would the world be better if people were less cynical?

No I don't think so. I think the world works best when there is a mixture of be cynical and positive people. Having an unbalance of either can lead a country or business to disaster.
Look at what happened the financial sector as it trotted its way through an inflation bubble right into disaster. Anyone who stated that growth could not continue was discarded or called crazy. A little bit more cynicism would have been useful

That was a good video. The thing is, what she's suggesting in that is realism; not a mixture of positive and negative people, but realist people. And I agree with that.

I'm not supportive of delusional positivity, I just wish people wouldn't have inherent negative and distrustful feelings simply because they'd too scared of the disappointment if the people they trust don't deliver. That's cowardly; not intelligent, not vigilant, but cowardly.

 

[BiscuitTrouser]

Because it's better than being gullible/naive, which is the alternative. We're lied to in modern society a damn lot, by politicians and businesses, and a cynic will think critically and see downsides as well as upsides, but without expecting downsides you have less chance of finding them.

Wow i only get two alternatives? Fuck me sideways what life cheat have i unlocked where im full of boundless optimism but also capable of examining views closely before i inject my optimism into them.

Id say by definition a cynic would try VERY hard to find a downside as well as an upside, and even go as far as to create some if none where to be found. Cynic != critical thinker. Cynic is about a negatively focused view. 99% of people sit somewhere in the middle of cynic and optimist to form what i call a "Rational human being" and most people who claim to be exclusively on either pole are definitely trying too hard to appear to be something for internet credit.

I feel the same as the OP. Overwhelming cynicism annoys me. It feels so... forced and childish. Ill concede shitty things make you negative but to be totally honest ive had some pretty damn shitty things happen to me and ive always thought that letting it break you forever is... weak. Its mean yeah but i cant help it. I feel like ive lost if i let stuff get me down and make me negative. So i dont let it. I dont want to sacrifice nice feelings like hope because im too scared of bad things happening. I refuse to live a lifestyle based on fear.

Internet cynicism and misanthropy is at times laughable and at best understandable. Cant see it being admirable in any way though. I cant see how anyone could stand to spend time with a hard line cynic.

I'm not supportive of delusional positivity, I just wish people wouldn't have inherent negative and distrustful feelings simply because they'd too scared of the disappointment if the people they trust don't deliver. That's cowardly; not intelligent, not vigilant, but cowardly.

I love you, have my babies. Ill quote this last thing because i totally agree. Cynicism to avoid pain is based on fear and cowardice. So afraid of disappointment or rejection that a person cannot enjoy the feeling of hope and excitement. It seems like a sad existence and i cant understand why any would envy it.

 

[Dangit2019]

I love you, have my babies.

It's just not meant to be.

 

[TakerFoxx]

A little cynicism is healthy, when it's enough to make you keep your eyes open and skeptical, just so long as you allow your mind to remain open and don't always assume the worst. Misanthropy, however, is definitely not a good mindset to have.

 

[101flyboy]

I prefer 'sceptical' rather than 'cynical' as it has less negative connotations. Cynical seems to imply you think the worst in people while sceptical carries a more neutral yet still investigative tone.

I 100% agree.

The way I see it, given what I've experienced and felt through my life, I'll be respecting of someone, I'll take them by their word, I'll be friendly with them but I'm also not going to immediately open myself to them. I'm not going to immediately trust everything they say until I feel comfortable with how they operate, their intentions, so on and so forth. Same with government figures and politicians, same with anyone, regardless of circumstances. People need to ask more questions rather than just accepting things said by those in powerful positions outright because you're "supposed" to. Or just befriending someone because they're popular but not seeing if they're actually a cool person. Problem is that it can be taken too far the other way and some will outright reject anyone and not attempt to give a person a chance before they seek and find flaws.

Cynicism, skepticism, suspicion, whatever you call it, is good in moderation.

 

[Lovely Mixture]

I consider myself partially misanthropic, but I'm well aware of the hypocrisy of it all.

Being critical of things is not bad, but no one can put an actual measure on what is "too critical."

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

Because it's better than being gullible/naive, which is the alternative. We're lied to in modern society a damn lot, by politicians and businesses, and a cynic will think critically and see downsides as well as upsides, but without expecting downsides you have less chance of finding them.

Wow i only get two alternatives? Fuck me sideways what life cheat have i unlocked where im full of boundless optimism but also capable of examining views closely before i inject my optimism into them.

Id say by definition a cynic would try VERY hard to find a downside as well as an upside, and even go as far as to create some if none where to be found. Cynic != critical thinker. Cynic is about a negatively focused view. 99% of people sit somewhere in the middle of cynic and optimist to form what i call a "Rational human being" and most people who claim to be exclusively on either pole are definitely trying too hard to appear to be something for internet credit.

I feel the same as the OP. Overwhelming cynicism annoys me. It feels so... forced and childish. Ill concede shitty things make you negative but to be totally honest ive had some pretty damn shitty things happen to me and ive always thought that letting it break you forever is... weak. Its mean yeah but i cant help it. I feel like ive lost if i let stuff get me down and make me negative. So i dont let it. I dont want to sacrifice nice feelings like hope because im too scared of bad things happening. I refuse to live a lifestyle based on fear.

Internet cynicism and misanthropy is at times laughable and at best understandable. Cant see it being admirable in any way though. I cant see how anyone could stand to spend time with a hard line cynic.

I'm not sure that anyone exists who hates everything. I was talking about not hypothetical supercynics, but people who tend to start with suspicion rather than acceptance. For example, a relative of mine came to me yesterday and said they'd read in a newspaper the TV uses almost as much power in standby as it does when it's on. This person is not cynical. I said "bullshit", looked it up and sure enough it was false in the vast majority of cases. I was being cynical.

 

[Defenestra]

I've been called either the most cynical optimist or optimistic cynic around.

I try to combine optimism with realism and surrealism. The first provides motivation, the second caution, and the third satisfies my unholy thirst for the confusion of others.

First and foremost, though, I must be a skeptic. Do not accept as true anything for which you do not have sufficient support. Just what might count as sufficient depends heavily on the cost of buying in to whatever the thing being sold might happen to be.

"I went to the store yesterday." This statement is low consequence enough that it can be accepted as probably true from anyone they you do not suspect of being a pathological liar.

"If elected, I will reduce taxes on X, and make up the loss be increasing taxes on Y." Might be acceptable, if the speaker's proposed change doesn't sound too farfetch'd.

"I did not stab that nun." This may require some very serious evidence-weighing.

"I can see the future!" Depending on what they're trying to convince you will happen, this is going to need to really effing heavy support before it can be accepted.

 

[Proeliator]

yes.
 
 
 
 
 
And don't forget:

Why has no one posted this yet?

xkcd to the rescue once again!

This one too!

 

[DrunkenMonkey]

Happiness is a relative thing grounded on the personal level. Its easy to think that if we had less cynics the world would be a much brighter place. Its not false reasoning, but its not sound reasoning either. Happiness is so fickle and slippery that we as humans no matter how much we struggle to retain it will always forget it at some point in time because of our ability to adapt around us. Being eternally optimistic is as poisonous as being eternally pessimistic. A person normally has two choices either become one or the other, because being both is near impossible as the two ideas will always create friction, until finally one will win out. This is not to discourage people who are striving to find the balance, but it is the truth that you have to realize in order to straddle it.

Ultimately what I'm saying is that a person needs to truly understand the positives and negatives of both ideals in order to criticize them. High School is an awesome time on the personal front because you get these new and different thoughts, just know that life has a lot of twists and turns that make you question what is truly needed and what is not. /rant

 

[Berithil]

Snip and

TL;DR
Why do people seem to gravitate towards cynicism as a superior trait? And would the world be better if people were less cynical?

This is due to MLP, isn't it? XD

Seriously though, I do understand what you mean, and I do agree with you... partly. I think that people should stop sitting back and complaining about how the world sucks. If it sucks so much, DO SOMETHING TO MAKE IT LESS SUCKY! That said, everyone should have a small, healthy dose of cynicism, just to A. Keep overtly optimistic, trusting people from being taken advantage of, and B. Keep people from being incredibly disappointed when things don't go well.

I myself am a "Realistic Optimist". I'm very well aware that things (and people for that matter) have a tendency to suck, but that doesn't keep me from hoping for the best and striving to make things better, even if it's on a small scale.

I used to be very cynical, like a lot of my peers, but then two or so years ago I decided to change my outlook, and am much happier for it.

Be positive, but don't be naive. Being extremely negative and cynical doesn't help anyone.

 

[Dangit2019]

Snip and

TL;DR
Why do people seem to gravitate towards cynicism as a superior trait? And would the world be better if people were less cynical?

This is due to MLP, isn't it? XD

NO.

<__>

[sub][sub]yes[/sub][/sub]

I wasn't going to mention it though, because every time I do, it completely derails the thread.

 

[Berithil]

Snip and

TL;DR
Why do people seem to gravitate towards cynicism as a superior trait? And would the world be better if people were less cynical?

This is due to MLP, isn't it? XD

NO.

<__>

[sub][sub]yes[/sub][/sub]

I wasn't going to mention it though, because every time I do, it completely derails the thread.

[sub]Knew it![/sub]

Alright, let's keep it between us.

 

[SonicWaffle]

Snip and

TL;DR
Why do people seem to gravitate towards cynicism as a superior trait? And would the world be better if people were less cynical?

This is due to MLP, isn't it? XD

NO.

<__>

[sub][sub]yes[/sub][/sub]

I wasn't going to mention it though, because every time I do, it completely derails the thread.

[sub]Knew it![/sub]

Alright, let's keep it between us.

Too late now! God, you Bronies make me sick, just forcing your little fetish into every single thread! Do you really expect us to believe this derailment wasn't the intention all along, so you could talk about...like, Sparklehooves or Rainbow Feedbag or fucking...fucking...Clive or whatever?!

OT: I used to be pretty cynical. I grew out of it, I think. I'm still suffering from depression, but it's much easier to make stupid jokes (as you can see) and try to look on the bright side than to dwell on stuff.

 

[Psycomantis777]

As a miserable, cynical pessimist with a seething hatred towards mankind, I feel I must stand up for my people.
And since this is the Escapist, I think I can point at Yahtzee and his quote "It's better to just assume everything is shit until it can prove otherwise"... or words to that effect.
But cynicism only works properly when approached correctly and sensibly. Not everything sucks, just most of it.
People should do their own thing and if that thing is "hate stuff", then go for it. If more people were cynical then more people would be able to get together and moan at the happy people...

 

[Mr F.]

Realism: Looking at the world for what it really is and accepting that a lot of people lie cheat and steal all the fucking time. Commonly mistaken for cynicism.