The Bright Side: Why Optimists Have the Power to Change the World

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Optimism, irrational though it might be, is central to the human psyche: it seems to give us an advantage both in everyday life and in the evolutionary race.

What does Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic expedition have in common with the chicken that crossed the road Or James Baldwin's campaign for civil rights with the development of AI Or even Crossrail and George Bush's 'mission accomplished'

The Bright Side makes a vital and transformative new argument: that optimism is not only the natural state of humanity, but an essential one. Without optimism we would never have survived the unpredictable - and often hostile - world we evolved into. Yet optimism is not reserved for times of extremity. Its benefits manifest throughout our everyday lives: our relationships, careers, bodies and minds. And it will play a critical role in overcoming the challenges of the 21st century.

In this book, astrophysicist-turned-journalist Sumit-Paul Choudhury offers practical suggestions on what it really takes to be an optimist today and, in doing so, provides a powerful manifesto for hope and a much-needed new perspective on our prospects. He shows how, by embracing action, imagination and possibility, we can find a path to the bright side, even - perhaps especially - when the future seems dark.

Both realistic and revolutionary, The Bright Side is a guidebook for troubled times that will make you re-evaluate your habits and outlook.

Reviews

The Bright Side is a book we desperately need right now. This is science-based chicken soup for the soul. It will both nourish and empower you -- ROBERT WALDINGER, bestselling co-author of THE GOOD LIFE
This moving, insightful argument for optimism stands up against the cynical mood of the twenty-first century, challenging - and equipping - the reader to help create a better world -- DR MICHAEL BROOKS, author of THE ART OF MORE
The next few years are some of the most important in human history. The problems we face are huge, and can feel overwhelming, but it is vital that we don't fall into what Sumit Paul-Choudhury calls the pessimism trap - the sense that all is lost and there's no point struggling. This book brilliantly shows the way out. Both personal and universal, interwoven with examples from literature, history and modern science, this book shows us how to find within us fierce imagination and determined hope, and create a better future -- ROWAN HOOPER, author of SUPERHUMAN
I love this book so much! The Bright Side is a thrilling and galvanising ride. The optimism Paul-Choudhury describes is not just for the self-help aisle - it is a societal engine for creating the best of all possible worlds. This book is nothing less than a set of operating instructions for a better future -- SALLY ADEE, author of WE ARE ELECTRIC
The Bright Side makes a compelling case for optimism. Psychological science shows that optimism is up to us, an existential choice. The facts of our external world, however, do not compel optimism, and Paul-Choudhury in a masterful historical review finds that it is the optimists who change the external world for the better while the realists passively accept their lot. I went away from this book inspired and enriched -- MARTIN E. P. SELIGMAN, bestselling author of LEARNED OPTIMISM and FLOURISH
Optimists believe problems can be solved - and we could sure use some optimism right now. Sumit Paul-Choudhury's dazzling The Bright Side lights the way -- GREGG EASTERBROOK, author of THE PROGRESS PARADOX
Paul-Choudhury showed impressive courage after his young wife's death, vowing to map the intellectual and psychological underpinnings of optimism. We are the beneficiaries of his tenacity. In lucid, lively, never highfalutin prose he brings onstage such characters as Odysseus, Oedipus, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and Helen Keller, each of whom has a vital lesson to impart. The book's conclusion: not only is optimism rational, it is a twenty-first century necessity. The Bright Side is a tonic for our times -- MEREDITH WADMAN, author of THE VACCINE RACE
Many books on optimism take an individualist approach; The Bright Side is altogether more ambitious: this is a guide for civilisation. Combining evidence-based, intellectual rigour with moving, personal experience, this book argues that optimism is no less than a collective duty for humanity, requiring courage, cooperation and imagination. This book is wise about the lessons of the past, clear-sighted about the challenges of the present, and hopeful about the possibilities of tomorrow. In its pages, the best of all possible worlds awaits. Pessimist readers will be disappointed - but they probably expected that -- RICHARD FISHER, author of THE LONG VIEW
The Bright Side is a still, small voice of calm in a culture hijacked by apocalyptic thinking and regimented behaviour. Paul-Choudhury reminds us that optimism matters, not because it is good for us (although it is), but because it is the only possible moral stance we can take to a life we none of us asked for. In a world where solutions only generate more problems, we desperately need to reframe our plight on this planet. The Bright Side is a generous and charming invitation to the future -- SIMON INGS, author of THE WEIGHT OF NUMBERS
In a spellbinding tour de force from effective altruism to AI, from the quantum multiverse to climate change, Paul-Choudhury has crafted an expansive and convincing argument of why building a better future demands that we believe in it first. An urgent call to arms to choosing change over doom, action over despair, optimism over hope -- PROFESSOR ROBERTO TROTTA, astrophysicist and author of STARBORN

Author Bio

Sumit Paul-Choudhury is an astrophysicist-turned-journalist, former editor-in-chief of New Scientist magazine and has served as a judge for the Baillie Gifford Prize (then Samuel Johnson Prize), the Wellcome Prize and the Costa Book Awards. The Bright Side is his first book.

@sumit | paulchoudhury.com