"Nowadays most people die of a sort of creeping common sense, and discover
Consider a hypothetical situation.
Many or most people in the world seem to be "hustled" through life - pushed through school, coaxed into long-term decisions before they are ready to face them, and then held to those decisions by fear and shame (3). In this scenario, life is perceived as a race where there are winners and losers and the best strategy is to try and get ahead of the next person; as such, the emphasis is on making gains and minimizing losses. The small, sure gain is opted for over the large, uncertain one so as to avoid making a mistake that could slow a person down, disadvantage them in the hustle. All of this is reinforced by "a sort of creeping common sense" as identified by the Irish playwright Oscar Wilde in 1890 (4). Eventually, people become old and do have the time to reflect, yet by then they cannot bear to question things too deeply; it would jeopardize their self-worth, a self-worth they no longer have the time to rebuild (3).
In the scenario where life is an experience and not merely a hustle, the best decision in an uncertain situation is the one with the greater potential for mistakes. The large, uncertain option ought to be favoured over the small, sure one.
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