“The economist [[Paul Romer]] makes this distinction nicely. He separates ‘complacent optimism’ from ‘conditional optimism’: Complacent optimism is the feeling of a child waiting for presents. **Conditional optimism is the feeling of a child who is thinking about building a treehouse. ‘If I get some wood and nails and persuade some other kids to help do the work, we can end up with something really cool**.’ ([Location 401](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0C3X6X695&location=401))” --- **Tags** -- [[quotes]], [[optimism]], [[complacent-optimism]], [[complacency]], [[conditional-optimism]], [[climate-change]] **Source** -- [[260103133118 - B - Not the End of the World]]