A Wise (and Terrible) Thought
Suppose you were on Air France Flight 4590, the Concorde supersonic transport (SST), on July 25, 2000, the day it crashed on takeoff, killing everyone on board. You strap yourself and your child in your seats. You are a little nervous, as always about flying and especially on takeoff, but you know the statistics and you are a rational person. Meanwhile you put on a jaunty face for your 10-year-old, who is peering out the window, excited and happy. Really it is time for you to relax and enjoy. A long-awaited vacation has begun. Nothing’s going to happen, so focus on having a good time. What is so godawful about life (among a million other godawful things) is that your child is more enlightened than you are in this instance. He hasn’t a care in the world because his mind is not filled with reality the way yours is. (Of course I am idealizing the child in this example to make a point.) You are absolutely correct to...