On this point optimists and pessimists agree. Though there is a bias towards negativity, some people are optimists and others pessimists. Proponents of modernisation tend to fall into two camps, optimists and pessimists. Participants in the technological unemployment debates can be broadly divided into optimists and pessimists. The Drake equation has been used by both optimists and pessimists, with wildly differing results. Philosophical pessimists are often existential nihilists believing that life has no intrinsic meaning or value. Pessimists tend to focus on the negatives of life in general. Defensive pessimists performed worse when encouraged than the defensive pessimists whose strategy was not manipulated. Even the pessimists aren't sure anymore. The responses to this predicament of the human condition by pessimists are varied. Using this strategy, defensive pessimists can advantageously harness anxiety that might otherwise harm their performance. For defensive pessimists, prefactual thinking offers the primary and critical method to alleviate anxiety.