Psychologists and researchers say an optimistic outlook can lead to better physical and mental health. For instance, optimism is associated with lower levels of depression and anxiety. A study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that optimists tend to have better coping mechanisms and are more resilient to stress compared to pessimists. This makes sense, right? If you’re used to looking at the bright side, chances are you’re better able to navigate things when life gets turbulent. 

Also, a meta-analysis published in the Journal of Behavioral Medicine found that optimism is linked to better cardiovascular health and a lower risk of heart disease. Optimists are more likely to engage in healthy behaviors such as exercising regularly, having a balanced diet, and avoiding smoking. Optimists tend to have an unflagging sense of meaning and purpose to their lives, especially in challenging situations.

All of these findings ring true to me, but none of them matters. My natural disposition, unfortunately, is to focus on the bad news. Which isn’t hard to do in the summer of 2024. As much as I’d like to trust the science and maintain a sunny outlook, it’s an impossible ask when the stock market is crashing, inflation seems permanent, the political scene is volatile and ugly, there are wars in Europe and the Middle East, and after record-high temperatures in New York City, my ConEd bill, according to a recent email I received from them, will be about $700.

“Is anyone in a good mood?” I asked a friend of mine recently as we were sitting at a local bar. He and I gather every now and then to engage in the unhealthful behavior of talking about how bad things are. It’s a nonstop litany of complaints and pessimistic predictions, and according to medical researchers, we are slowly killing ourselves with our sour outlook. It’s a self-reinforcing loop: I complain about the world, he agrees and adds to the list of negatives, I agree and add some more to my own, and the dark cloud around us grows and grows.

This time, though, we were interrupted by a guy at the other end of the bar who was talking loudly to a friend of his. The TV above the bar was showing the Olympics, and the loud guy was explaining to his friend the complicated scoring system in the sport of fencing. It was one of those annoying and intrusive know-it-all conversations you are sometimes forced to overhear at a bar — one guy, and it’s always a guy, braying loudly about something obscure and arcane, showing off his knowledge and filling the room with his noisy opinions.

But what was clear was this: That guy was having the time of his life. He must wait patiently for the Olympics to roll around, and when the fencing competition begins, he races to the nearest bar and takes the stage. He may be a jerk, but every four years, he’s the happiest jerk on earth. Is anyone in a good mood? I asked. Yes. That guy is.

And he’s not alone. If you’re a financial markets know-it-all, the complexities of the Japan carry trade and its effect on the Dow Jones must have seemed like a gift from a benevolent God. Right now, in bars and offices and Zoom meetings all over the world, there’s a guy who knows something about how all of this works, or maybe just sounds like he does, holding forth in a loudly confident voice using terms like basis points and unwind and liquidity issues while everyone else is worrying about their 401(k). For that guy, it’s Christmas morning. It’s the same with the guy who knows the difference between a cruise missile and a ballistic missile. That guy can’t wait for Iran to attack Israel, again, so he can, again, explain how all of those weapons work, or don’t. And don’t get me started on Electoral Map Guy and his gleeful explanations about Undecideds and Cross Tabs and how a vice presidential selection can and can’t help the presidential nominee.

In short, this is a terrific summer for bores and know-it-alls and loud talkers at the end of the bar. They are having a pretty great August, and the outlook for September is even better. The great thing about being an annoying pedant is that there’s always something to look forward to, always something you can explain to someone else, in public, at top volume. When you’re an insufferable jerk, in other words, you’re a natural optimist. I have to start boning up on my arcane knowledge, for my health at least.

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Rob Long is a television writer and producer, including as a screenwriter and executive producer on Cheers, and he is the co-founder of Ricochet.com.