Definite vs Indefinite Optimism

Biological Parallel

Squirrels exhibit definite optimism: cache 3,000 acorns in specific locations with spatial memory maps. Dandelions exhibit indefinite optimism: launch 2,000 seeds into the wind and hope some land somewhere fertile. Definite strategies work when you can read the environment accurately; indefinite when the landscape is illegible. Neither is superior—temperate forests favor squirrels, disturbed habitats favor dandelions. The error is mismatching strategy to predictability.