Optimism Bias = Hope

My father used to read a little periodical called 'Bits and Pieces' while in the bathroom having a BM. He'd jokingly grab this tiny booklet and say to the five of us kids, 'Well, it's time for my Bits and Pieces.' (I think you get the analogy).

Bits and Pieces is known as 'the magazine that motivates the world' providing readers with practical tips, inspiration and insights into human nature. My father, an evironmentalist and an engineer, had more common sense than most. I wonder if those bathroom trips had something to do with it.

Intro photo source: aussiegall on flickr see here. / Licensed under Creative Commons

Now, my work entails things like reviewing studies, probabilities, percentages and things that people want to know like, 'What are the chances or how many times has this worked for someone else?'

This is a tough thing to answer. I believe that 'dangling the carrot of false hope' does a disservice to someone who needs to prepare for the worst. I'd personally hate to be blindsided by something that I might have otherwise been able to prepare myself (or my loved ones) for . . but then again, what if you (or I) CAN beat the odds?

It brings me to something my daughter asked me the other day. She asked, "Mommy, why do you always write 'hope it helps' at the bottom of your stuff?" And so, I had to think about this - and the reason that I just automatically write this phrase.

Attributions are shown when you scroll over each photo. Some photos are those of products I feature from Amazon.com.

This was created on August 21st, 2011. All rights reserved. Copyright 2011 sousababy
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