Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2018 October 20

= October 20 =

Term for thinking negatively about the past
We have:


 * Optimistic: thinking positively about the future
 * Pessimistic: thinking negatively about the future
 * Nostalgic: thinking positively about the past

But do we have a word for thinking negatively about the past?? Georgia guy (talk) 23:24, 20 October 2018 (UTC)
 * Quora claims there isn't an exact antonym. They mention "unsentimental", which had crossed my mind also. The origin of "nostalgia" may be enlightening. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 00:10, 21 October 2018 (UTC)


 * I always say people should plan not just for the future, but also for the past, to give them the best chance of having had the past they want to have had. This eliminates the need for thinking about the past in any way other than positively or nostalgically. --   Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  01:59, 21 October 2018 (UTC)
 * In contrast to Will Rogers' comment, "Thinks ain't the way they used to be - and never was!" ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 02:10, 21 October 2018 (UTC)


 * Neither optimism nor pessimism are paradigma applicable to the future alone.
 * A pessimist, analysing the Big Bang, will conclude that the construct will collapse in a nanosecond. Of course, they will be correct.
 * An optimist, analysing the Big Bang, will conclude that sentient life will evolve billions of years later. Of course, they will be incorrect.
 * A nostalgist, analysing the Big Bang, may recall matters unrelated to cosmology.
 * --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 16:55, 21 October 2018 (UTC)


 * Thinking negatively about one's own past: remorse, regret, repentance. Mikenorton (talk) 17:36, 21 October 2018 (UTC)
 * Brooding. --Khajidha (talk) 17:37, 21 October 2018 (UTC)
 * Haunted. (and Happy Halloween:)) - Alanscottwalker (talk) 17:45, 21 October 2018 (UTC)
 * Urban Dictionary comes to mind here, I'm afraid. Martinevans123 (talk) 18:06, 21 October 2018 (UTC)