u/LocalWealth3855

This is just as a joke, obviously the calls are not the main issue and I love watching the team and know the good days are close!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZ_x47blZgg

Last year I read the book More Everything Forever, by Adam Becker. In it, he discusses the harmful many beliefs and actions of Silicon Valley oligarchs, but he also discusses how much of their vision just is not going to happen due to things like simple physics (Becker has a physics PhD). He said writing the book made him want to instead focus on optimistic ways to use science (and sci fi) to build a better, more equitable, more happy future, so he just started the Dreaming Against the Machine podcast, where he talks to scientists and authors about ways to "dream against the machine." This week he talked to sci fi author Kim Stanley Robinson about how tech moguls are bad readers of sci fi, and the conversation got to resisting doomerism, which made me think it might be a good share here. Basically, they talk about how monumental a task mitigating climate change will be, but all the reasons that we can do it, despite the current administration's efforts (for example, cleaner energy becoming cheaper than oil).

Robinson says at about 43:50: ...as for the doomerism thing... well, it's time to stiffen your spine a little bit in this sense. It's not over 'til it's over, and it's never gonna be over. So, doomerism is simply a cynicism, it's a giving-up-ness, it's a weakness of character. You gotta have courage, you gotta have courage even when the shells are falling around you, otherwise it's useless. And you gotta realize we're in a wicked political fight that's gonna last us for the rest of our lives, even for the youngest of your listeners... so that's not a time to give up, and that's what doomerism is: "oh I give up, you know, we're doomed already."