Optimism

"Be Optimistic" is the worst motto ever. It hides the truth in a deceptive sheath. It values belief over action.

I've heard an old adage, that when sailing, "The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails".

In the previous quote, I considered pessimists to be inferior to optimists, since optimists, albeit effectively doing nothing, has a good spirit.

Yet, recent events have shown light on the dark underbelly of my own optimism, revealing a sour truth: 

When it comes to knowledge, 

The Realistic scholar knows what they know

The Pessimistic scholar doesn't know that they know

The Optimistic scholar doesn't know that they don't know

Thus, Optimists are masters of self-deception. 

And that frightens me greatly.