Curable optimism?

T0Morrow@aol.com
Tue, 23 Mar 1999 01:34:42 EST

I recently read a short bio of Land, inventor of the Polaroid camera, that described him as an "incurable optimist." That hackneyed phrase led me to wonder: Might one describe an Extropian as a "*curable* optimist"?

Certainly, no Extropian would want to embrace *fatal* optimism, the sort of blind faith in the face of all contrary evidence that leads to irretrievable loss of personal identity. But what about chronic, non-fatal optimism? "By reason! That's the 17th time straight that watching MST3K reruns has not resulted in my transcendence. Ah, well, pass the Doritos and I'll have another go."

T.O. Morrow