Back to #2571 - Jimmy Carr, with Jimmy Carr.
Why Do People Think They Will Stop Changing?
Joe Rogan calls the pattern the end of history fallacy, and it is why people think they will stop changing. Ask most people how much they changed in the last 10 years and they say they do not even recognize themselves from 10 years ago. They are so different now. Everything has changed, and they think different things. Ask how much they will change in the next 10 years and they say not at all. They are what they are. Their ways are already set, the present self is solid, and the person they are now is the person they will stay. People always land on the same answer.
The same reflex shows up when people look at the wider world. Every society feels caught in a very rough patch. A broad enough outlook still shows earlier times were much harder. 4% of kids in the world now die before their fifth birthday. The rate is awful, and 200 years ago it was 40% of kids. Things can be terrible and still much better than they were.