Defensive pessimists are characterized by anticipatory coping strategies, that is, those used before entering a performance setting. A hallmark of defensive pessimism is setting low performance expectations, which serves the self-protective goal. By thinking about how the worst might happen, they may cushion themselves preemptively against potential bad outcomes. If something bad does happen, defensive pessimists are able to think, "I expected it all along," making the outcome seem less damaging. Convincing themselves that they will do poorly also serves a motivational goal by impelling them to redouble their efforts and preparation to ensure that they actually will do well. This helps to harness the anxiety or negative effect over possible failure. Defensive pessimists' use of anticipatory strategies may appear ironic. First, they are very high performers, and in fact they did perform well in the past. Second, convincing themselves that poor performances will happen does not actually make them happen. Low performance expectations are not self-fulfilling.

The reasons for desiring international government are two: first, the prevention of war, secondly, the securing of economic justice as between different nations and different populations. Of these the prevention of war is the more important, both because war (especially as it will become) is more harmful than injustice, and because the grosser forms of injustice will not often be inflicted upon civilized nations except as the result of war. It would not be common, for example, in a time of profound peace to deprive a nation of its means of livelihood and at the same time prevent its population from emigrating. If peace can be preserved, it is probable that some degree of justice will ultimately result. Even if a considerable measure of injustice were to remain, it is probable that the least fortunate populations in a time of secure peace would be better off than the most fortunate in a period of frequent wars. We have therefore to consider internationalism primarily from the point of view of preventing war, and only secondarily from the point of view of justice between nations. This is important because, as we will see, some of the most probable approaches to international government involve considerable injustice for long periods of time.

. If creators knew when they were on their way to fashioning a masterpiece, their work would progress only forward: they would halt their idea generation efforts as they struck gold. But in fact, they backtrack, returning to versions that they had earlier discarded as inadequate. In Beethoven's most celebrated work, the Fifth Symphony, he scrapped the conclusion of the first movement because it felt too short, only to come back to it later. Had Beethoven been able to distinguish an extraordinary from an ordinary work, he would have accepted his composition immediately as a hit. When Picasso was painting his famous Guernica in protest of fascism, he produced 79 different drawings. Many of the images in the painting were based on his early sketches, not the later variations. If Picasso could judge his creations as he produced them, he would get consistently "warmer" and use the later drawings. But in reality, it was just as common that he got "colder."

Negotiators should try to find ways to slice a large issue into smaller pieces, known as using salami tactics. Issues that can be expressed in quantitative, measurable units are easy to slice. For example, compensation demands can be divided into cents-per-hour increments or lease rates can be quoted as dollars per square foot. When working to fractionate issues of principle or precedent, parties may use the time horizon (when the principle goes into effect or how long it will last) as a way to fractionate the issue. It may be easier to reach an agreement when settlement terms don't have to be implemented until months in the future. Another approach is to vary the number of ways that the principle may be applied. For example, a company may devise a family emergency leave plan that allows employees the opportunity to be away from the company for a period of no longer than three hours, and no more than once a month, for illness in the employee's immediate family

When you look at the photos of an expert like Malick Sidibé, you are looking at a small fraction of the portraits he chose to show his viewers. Photos with closed eyes, crooked clothing, unflattering expressions, or those with a poor exposure, were surely edited out and hidden from his audience. Street photographers like Joel Meyerowitz make thousands of photos that are never seen by fans. His discriminating eye chooses exactly what he wants his audience to see. Any digital image that doesn't meet Meyerowitz's personal expectations is put in a folder that may never be opened again. Most of the photographs anyone makes will likely end up in a digital junk heap on a forgotten hard drive. The point is that photographers put a lot of creative energy, time, and expense into making photographs, most of which don't represent the quality the creator expects. Yet, those hidden photos are critically important to the process of image-making. They represent the stages of failure and experimentation needed to arrive at a creative breakthrough. Those in-between photos are part of the step-by-step development process that leads you from one successful image to the next.

From 1848 to 1855, the promise of gold drew over 300,000 people to California in the hope of striking it rich. While this period, which has come to be known as the California Gold Rush, saw some famous cases of people arriving with nothing and then finding enough gold to become multimillionaires, the majority of prospectors were not so lucky. However, some individuals who were only indirectly involved in the search for gold acquired large fortunes. Specifically, the merchants who traveled to California offered equipment, supplies, and food to gold seekers at exorbitant prices. One famous example is Sam Brannon, who opened stores that carried everything a miner might need. He made enormous profits, selling more than $5,000 worth of goods each day, which is the equivalent of $175,000 today. He went on to further increase his wealth through land speculation and other business dealings. Brannon and others like him were the true winners of the California Gold Rush.

With every passing year the Internet becomes further integrated into our lives. Trust on the Internet becomes increasingly important. This is especially true in the case of Internet voting, which may play a very important role in the future of democracy. Internet voting has already been used widely by corporations for the purpose of share-holder voting. However, it must be recognized that the use of Internet voting for democratic elections would bring certain problems with it. The Internet opens up whole new possibilities of fraud, verification problems, and exclusivity, which could have potentially devastating effects on an election. One hurdle that Internet voting would have to overcome is the current "digital divide." That is, while in theory Internet balloting would make voting more accessible for the masses, it would really only serve to further widen the gap between the rich and the poor voters, as the rich are far more likely to have Internet access. Beyond this problem are the various new security issues that would crop up. A recurring theme in the discussion of Internet trust is the problem of verification, which would be especially problematic in the context of Internet voting. Since the voting would be taking place away from a polling station, there would be greater opportunity for voter bribery or coercion, as a third party could be present while a voter is casting his vote. Lastly, there is the ever-present danger of hackers manipulating voter data or otherwise disrupting the system. Even if these problems can be dealt with, as long as there is the public perception that Internet voting is less trustworthy than the current voting forms, Internet voting should be refined to alleviate the public's doubts. If trust cannot be established in Internet voting to the extent that it is already established in current voting procedures, then it should not be adopted.