What does “not taking chances” have to do with pessimism?
I was taking that to mean that the assumption that things could always get worse makes you more risk-averse than the assumption that things could always get better (in the case of making a decision without many facts to support either position, gut feelings rank higher).
I suppose I could see that, but there’s also the benefit of being so pessimistic you don’t even care about negative consequences. That’s probably just apathy though.