Most of us valorize people who don’t like people. But it turns out cynicism is not a sign of wisdom, and more often it’s the opposite. In studies of over 200,000 individuals across thirty nations, cynics scored less well on tasks that measure cognitive ability, problem-solving, and mathematical skill. Cynics aren’t socially sharp, either, performing worse than non-cynics at identifying liars…
In other words, cynicism looks smart, but isn’t.
I’m a fan of Jamil Zaki. His book, The War for Kindness is an excellent read about empathy and compassion. I’ve recommended it to a lot of students. I’ve been meaning to get to his newest book on hope, but got distracted. This article I saved bubbled back up again, reminding me I need to open that up.