Oorjit Sethi's Blog

  There are two types of people in the world: the ones who see a problem and think, Well, that’s it. We’re doomed, and the ones who see the same problem and say, alright, let’s figure this out. The difference between them? Optimism. It's not something fluffy that individuals just adopt in order to feel good about themselves—it's an underlying way of looking at the world, one that actually affects how we react to whatever life throws at us. Most importantly, it's the distinction between individuals who create things, and those who allow things to happen to them. Some people think about optimism and automatically dismiss it as having your head in the clouds. That it’s not realistic. But true optimism isn't about pretending the world is fine when it's not. It's about examining a situation, looking at it hone stly, and trusting that even when it is terrible, even when it is not fair, even when it is impossible to resolve, there is nonetheless a way out. It's not...

  Lying. A skill as old as humanity itself. Think about it—when was the first time you lied? Probably when you were a kid, caught red-handed with a cookie in your hand after being told it needed protection from your everlasting hunger. “I found them like this,” you whispered, the crumbs betraying you. But why do we feel like we need to bend the truth? The answer isn’t as straightforward as “sometimes people are bad.” Lying is something our ancestors used to survive, and something the present generations use as a social lubricant. It’s hardwired into our brains. Cavemen relied on deceptions and fake emotions to outmaneuver predators and gain advantages over rivals. Even today, you see it in the animal kingdom—a chameleon’s camouflage, a parrot’s mimicry, and swallows’ fake distress calls are all nature’s way of lying. Humans just evolved to take it to another level. A job interview? You’re extremely passionate about spreadsheets. If lying’s really so bad, let’s imagine a world witho...