Rosy Retrospective
I have noticed that, for whatever reason, I have less rose-colored glasses than the people around me. Rosy retrospective is a cognitive bias in which one remembers the past more fondly than it actually was. It is a cognitive bias that is on display in the last few pages of this thread, in which people lean on nostalgia, and transfer their own nostalgia to their children, all based on a known failing of the human brain - which is that we tend to remember the good stuff.
In many respects current politics in the US is full of taking advantage of rosy retrospective. MAGA harkens to a time that exists only in people's minds. And in some respects, the same is being used for the period just prior to the pandemic, to appeal to voters sense of having gone "in the wrong direction" when what actually happened was real hardship caused by a global pandemic.
Rosy retrospective is a cognitive bias that I don't like, because it clouds judgment. It leads people to make incorrect decisions today based on an incorrect memory of the past. I'm absolutely sure that I have this cognitive bias, but I also notice that I fight it more than a lot of other people. In consciously fight it, while many of the people around me consciously embrace it. It makes them delusional.... but also happier.
Lacking a rosy retrospective makes you less satisfied with your life, generally more cynical, and overall less social. The human brain most likely enjoys rosy retrospective bias because if you remember all the pain that you experience in your life, it makes you less able to cope with your current situation and makes you less likely to benefit from tribal cooperation. If you remember the pain of childbirth, you don't do it again (voluntarily). If you remember how awful that person was, you don't trade with them, or help them. To take this to a deeper level, this is an element of "forgiveness" that biases our "tit for tat" game theory into one of slightly more optimized cooperation. "Tit for tat" is a game theory that our genetics (and genetics in general in other species) seems to play. And introducing a level of forgiveness into the tit for tat back and forth breaks through blood feuds and enables cooperation with actors that can be cooperated with. It overcomes some noise in the tit for tat system that enables greater cooperation and leads to better overall outcomes than a strict tit for tat game theory. Rosy retrospective is a cognitive bias that seems to be aimed directly at addressing this goal.
So do I want to be delusional? Do I want this cognitive bias? I have to admit that the people around me who exhibit this bias the most seem to be a little happier, even if they can be mislead by it. I remember the bad times from vacations. I remember the hard work and annoyance that went into my wedding day, even though it was amazing. I remember the stress and irritation of my honeymoon, even though it was amazing. The very best times of my life, I can recall some negative or awful event. When we've been on a family cruise, I remember the sea sickness. I remember the lines. I remember the kid that interrupted my nice meal.
My life has been absolutely amazing by most standards. I have had what some have called, to my face, a "charmed" existence. I can recognize objectively that I have it better than a lot of people, and have a ton of reasons to be truly thankful and to pinch myself for my good fortune. I could, maybe should, be far happier than I am with the same set of experiences. But I'm low on rosy retrospective, and it think it brings me down.
I'm not looking to make changes. I think mostly I'll just embrace this aspect of my personality as something that makes me interesting and different. But I do slightly lament the decrease in overall happiness and satisfaction that my brain is causing by resisting the rose colored glasses that are built into humanity.