Inside the glass is water, which reaches the halfway mark. Would you describe the glass as half-empty? Or half-full? If we say the glass is “half-empty,” we’re thought to be more pessimistic: we focus ...

In the last scene of Monty Python’s “Life of Brian,” things are looking grim for the hapless hero. Condemned by the Romans to crucifixion for his political activities, he’s up on a cross when another ...