As far as questions for agency folks go, I’ve asked a lot over the years. But one stands out. And no, it’s not “Do you actually have the budget?” It’s a little more, well, existential.
Because for a long time now I’ve hosted a series of talks about optimism. And I always open with the following: Is life worth living? Usually spelled out in a nice chunky sans serif over a suitably vivid full-bleed image. Suffice to say, it has the desired effect: attention.
Some people look confused, most smile, and a few look like they’re genuinely wrestling with the philosophical provocation — cogs whirring in real time behind their eyes. I go on to acknowledge it’s probably not how they thought this session was going to start. They agree. But this is the very question that gave rise to the concepts we know today as optimism and pessimism.
(To come clean, there’s a little poetic licence at work here. But whether life is a blessing or a curse is roughly what Leibniz and Schopenhauer — optimism and pessimism’s respective baby daddies — were arguing about 300 years ago.)
I finish the intro by assuming on behalf of the room that the answer is yes — hopefully a resounding yes — and explaining that by historical standards, that makes them optimists. Cue more smiles. Maybe even a chuckle or two. I have them where I want them.