Definite vs. Indefinite Optimism

Riding and Driving into the Future—the Choice is Yours

The matrix below is from Peter Thiel’s bestselling book Zero to One. It describes different stances that a person can take about the future.

• Indefinite Pessimism: “An indefinite pessimist looks out onto a bleak future, but he has no idea what to do about it.” Your typical Doomer.

• Indefinite Optimism: The future will be better than the past, but the indefinite optimism doesn’t know how, exactly. He might buy Index Funds, or go all in on ‘progress’, however loosely defined that term may be.