But only for good things. That rare medical condition, complication during surgery, traffic accident etc, nah, won’t happen to me.
Not likely.
From an evolutionary standpoint, we have the most advanced pattern recognition in the world. It is, in some sense, what makes us human. It is also the root of our capacity for language, reasoning, music, etc.
Looking for exceptions to complex patterns is key to our survival over great lengths of time.
Huh…what are the odds.
May they be ever in your favour.
Well it’s hard to stay excited for something that’s common.
“But will it work?”
“It has to, sir. It’s a million-to-one chance.”
“Oh, then we don’t have to worry. Everyone knows million-to-one chances always work.”
But the trick is that they have to be EXACTLY million-to-one.
GNY Sir Terry Pratchett
And that has always completely baffled me. What’s the reasoning behind it? Why? Are they delusional? Do they consider themselves somehow special? If something has 99%+ chance of failure, theres absolutely no point to evne try or consider it as something that can happen, it’s basically a statistical anomaly.
What’s the reasoning behind it?
We crave validation from others and ourselves by being considered “rare” or capable of creating “rarity” in an ocean of mediocrity and banality to justify our state, choices, and attitudes. We consider “rarity” as inherently valuable and a virtue to aspire to.
Makes sense. I wouldn’t say being mediocre is bad, but each to their own.
“Mediocrity” (sort of) implies “middling”, etymologically, which is what most people are. Average.
Reminds me of some lyrics by the Foo Fighters, “There goes my hero; he’s ordinary.”
Something being rare doesn’t make it inherently mediocre.
Because it’s fun. And if it does happens, cuz they may be low odds but they aren’t zero, is something worth telling others about.
Odds and stakes are different, for one
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The likelihood that you were going to post this today was quite low.
I always avoided /r/nevertellmetheodds over on reddit because I always wanted to post “100%” in the comments.
It’d’ve made me laugh, but not a very original joke, nor funny to most people.
Who cares? Those who can laugh at themselves are the human equivalent of self-powered fusion reactors, fonts of happy energy.
Sometimes the happiness spreads, sometimes it doesn’t. Either way, someone is entertained 😁👍
Who cares?
Well, there’s two answers to this and I think both are valid viewpoints to consider:
- Who cares? Be yourself, be who you’re going to be, spread joy, even if that joy is only seen by yourself
- Who cares? We all care. We’re all part of the communities in which we exist and participate. Don’t shit all over those communities.
Which is sort of how you can differentiate between the individualism as emphasized in the US, vs. the communalism as seen in places like Japan. Each has advantages and disadvantages.
So you’re right, and I agree with you. Except it’s tempered with caring for others. :) <3
No one else has the same story as your life.
You are all unique!
Yeah, I guess we’re all the same in that way.
Yes! We are all unique!
