[ThomPete]

I don't pit it as an antonym. I am simply responding to your claim that it's realism that moves things forward :)

Realists are navigators, optimists are starters, pessimists are never-starters :)

You need bias to move things forward.

[dredmorbius]

The word you're looking for isn't "optimism", it's "hope".

That's perseverence without denial.

[ThomPete]

no optimist have hope, you cant be a hope. I am perfectly aware of the words i use :)

[dredmorbius]

The word describing someone having hope is hopeful.

[ThomPete]

Yes thats still not the same as a A realist, A pessimist or AN optimist.

[dredmorbius]

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27222190

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27223307

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27225350

[dredmorbius]

And the point is that you need multiple factors.

Realism to correctly assess the situation and dynamics.

Hope and/or perseverence to follow those through to their potential.

Again: optimism denies reality. It gets you into trouble eventually, even if it can glide over some rough spots. At best, optimism can limit self-sabotage or inhibition. It does nothing to change the Universe itself.