Optimists and pessimists may inhabit opposing camps, but they do have one thing in common: their inclinations lead to behaviours that verify their prophecies. I've chosen my side: I'm an optimist and have been rewarded accordingly. As a reminder of my attitude, to make sure that the occasional frustrations don't derail my determination, I keep a little figurine from the provençal crèche (nativity scene) on my desk. He's called Lou Ravi, the Enraptured One:
The traditional characterisation is that of a gent who wanders the world, innocently marveling at the simplest of miracles. (At times, I wonder if he isn't just a polite version of the village idiot.)
Recently, a seemingly trivial incident cast a shadow over my life-long optimism, an event that awakened dark thoughts about technology's impact on our privacy.
Source: https://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2013/apr/15/privacy-online-monday-note