"Cynics often get people wrong, but that doesn’t mean it’s smart to put faith in everyone, all the time. Skeptics update their beliefs based hundreds of children, and then checked in with them a year later. When it came to depression and friendships, cynical children ended up the worst off, but extremely trusting kids did less well than those in the middle.Why? When judging humanity, both cynics and trusters behave like lawyers in humanity’s trial. Trusters represent the defense. They disregard suspicious signs, forget betrayals, and hold on to any evidence of human goodness. Cynics work for the prosecution, explaining away kindness and cataloging every instance of human viciousness. Both attorneys are inclined to ignore half of the evidence, even if they’re opposite halves.Lawyering is a fine way to argue, but a terrible way to learn. A growing science finds that real wisdom arrives when people know what they don’t know. Likewise, social wisdom doesn’t mean believing in everyone or no one. It means believing in evidence—by thinking less like a lawyer and more like a scientist. And despite the different instruments they use, all sorts of scientists share an intellectual tool:skepticism, the questioning of old wisdom and hunger for more information. Skeptics update their beliefs based on new information, allowing them to adjust to a complex world" - Jamil Zaki

RESOURCES: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_to_find_hope_when_youre_feeling_cynical

https://www.theguardian.com/books/article/2024/aug/23/hope-for-cynics-by-jamil-zaki-review-beating-the-trust-recession

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/in-hope-for-cynics-researcher-explores-how-seeing-the-good-in-others-is-good-for-you

THE BOOK: https://www.jamil-zaki.com/hope-for-cynics

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