Those pessimist lawyers
The Wall Street Journal reports today that there seems to be a brain basis for optimism and that "optimists tend to do better in life than their talents alone might suggest" ... except for a particular group:
Surveying law students at the University of Virginia, [Martin Seligman at the University of Pennsylvania] found that pessimists got better grades, were more likely to make law review and, upon graduation, received better job offers. There was no scientific reason. "In law," he said, "pessimism is considered prudence."
1 comment:
They must be defining "optimist" as a term relative to other law students. There is no such thing as an optimistic law student. That said, those who are looking forward to the next 4 years of 100 hour work weeks, they are obviously pessimistic. In law, success breeds pessimism, not the other way around.
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