A Pro-Snarky Counterpoint to My Last Post
Philip Mirvis, Cynicism Researcher
As a counterpoint to the last post, I include this, also from this month’s Psychology Today:
“Though cynicism may not be healthy in the long run, it can serve as an emotional coat of armor tht blunts everday indignities. Philip Mirvis, a cynicism researcher at Boston College, says cynics’ caustic, detached outlook on life, also known as defensive pessimism, helps “protect them from what they imagine to be the slings and arrows of hustlers and higher-ups.” If they assume from the outset that a client can’t be trusted, or that a new mother-in-law will be a witch, they’ll be well-prepared in the event these fears come true. Casting a cynical eye on situations you can’t control reduces your emotional attachment to a particular outcome actually lowers your vulnerability to depression.”
“Unfortunately, too much time studying cynicism can also cause male pattern baldness.” says cynicism researcher Philip Mirvis.
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27 Comments so far
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Someone gets paid to be a “cynicism researcher” ??????
I SO made a vocational error.
By Laurie on 11.14.06 11:08 am
Wait, he gets paid to study cynics? I want to study the long term effects of being teased and growing up in a sarcastic house ,as my psych teacher once told me.
By paintergirl on 11.14.06 11:11 am
I need more data points to believe that cynicism causes male pattern baldness.
By mmariem3 on 11.14.06 11:13 am
I think I’ve been going to cynicism school my whole life and am highly qualified to be a cynicism researcher.
By Churlita on 11.14.06 11:30 am
Neil you have way too much mad innernet skillz. I can barely figure out how to delete spam on my website and here you are rearranging and stuff. Word to your inner nerd.
By laurie on 11.14.06 11:31 am
It all comes together!
Bald perpetually smirking cynic (preferably w/o any hint of fur on his billiard-ball-shiny head) has been my favorite type all my life…
By Tatyana on 11.14.06 11:54 am
he looks happy
By MARGARET on 11.14.06 12:10 pm
Well that explains all the hair on the floor.
By Caryn on 11.14.06 12:32 pm
I was taught from a young age to, “Plan for the worst. Hope for the best.” I was raised on cynicism. Cynicism and Velveeta. Thanks for both, Mom.
By Cover Your Mouth on 11.14.06 12:54 pm
No, I am much more comfortable in my “cynicism contributor” shoes…though it’s widely unpopular (says family).
Those who cannot be a cynic, research??
By Christina on 11.14.06 1:02 pm
I think cynics often have the most clever sense of humor in the spectrum. As such, we laugh more. Laughing is good for you.
Another debunk for the trunk.
I grew up with, “They’ll always get you, no matter how hard you try. You’ll never get ahead. Get used to it.”
Keeping my head buried in the sand has worked for me so far.
By Michele on 11.14.06 2:54 pm
male pattern baldness and awkward facial hair discoloration!
By Bre on 11.14.06 3:00 pm
I’ll read the post later… right now I would like to congratulate you on your recent royal appointment.
By Janet on 11.14.06 3:51 pm
It’s funny because nothing is more humbling than when your cynicism is outed in the face of something truly good, and it’s terribly embarassing when you’ve naively accepted something that a cynic points out to you is not true at all. Either way, you’re screwed.
By jen on 11.14.06 4:50 pm
Sometime last year I read a great article about Abraham Lincoln’s struggle with depression, and one of the researchers interviewed said that people who are depressed actually have a more realistic view of the world than people who are happy. Though there’s something kinda sad in the feeling of “Ha! I was right! … Oh crap,” I think that’s also a good argument for not always looking on the sunny side.
If you expect the worst, you’re always either correct or pleasantly surprised when you’re mistaken — either way, it’s good!
By Erleichda! on 11.14.06 6:01 pm
he’s hot, meow!!!
By better safe than sorry on 11.14.06 6:14 pm
Does this emotional coat of armor make my butt look big?
By Mist 1 on 11.14.06 7:08 pm
Who knew? I thought MPB was hereditary. I would have developed a more positive outlook in life if I knew that. Well, I might have at least tried.
By SFGary on 11.14.06 9:34 pm
A Cynicism researcher? Sound like a load of BS.
By Crankster on 11.14.06 10:17 pm
you actually read ‘psychology today’?
By s@bd on 11.14.06 10:25 pm
Yeah, he kind of looks more like a Pollyana than a cynic.
By teahouseblossom on 11.14.06 11:02 pm
Well that explains ny hubster’s lack of hair. Thanks for clearing that up for me!
By Daisy Mae on 11.15.06 6:01 am
Hair or no hair, cynics are no fun. I mean, if you were going to jump on a plane, head to Mexico, sit at a beachside dive and swig Tequila for a week, you wouldn’t want a cynic with you, bald or not.
By justrun on 11.15.06 6:57 am
You mean there are other people out there besides cynics? Sheesh.
By Dagny on 11.15.06 7:57 am
Whatever, Neil.
By M.A. on 11.15.06 11:11 am
What happens to female researchers of cynicism??
By JanePoe (aka Deborah) on 11.15.06 8:35 pm
Our leg and underarm hair grows at roughly twice the rate male researchers lose their hair.
“Honey, I’m home!”
By Chana on 11.21.06 12:32 am
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