SI
SI
discoversearch

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor.  We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community.  If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.
Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group
 Public ReplyPrvt ReplyMark as Last ReadFilePrevious 10Next 10PreviousNext  
To: Jacob Snyder who wrote (134718)5/28/2004 4:59:31 PM
From: Maurice Winn  Read Replies (1) of 281500
 
<"Forward defense", and "preventive wars" depend on an ability to predict the future, an ability nobody really has.>

Jacob, it's true that predicting the future is difficult and prone to be wrong, but it's almost a defining characteristic of humans and a dominant purpose of our great big brains.

Even though we are not all that good at it, we don't have a choice but to predict the future and hope we are right. We generally expect to live 70 or 80 years, which is a lot of future.

People say "Live for today", but those who take that glib slogan seriously, all too often don't get to live tomorrow. Nature is merciless to those who don't correctly predict the future, which is why we have become reasonable at it.

I think we can predict the future quite well.

Not only that, but we create the future as well as predicting it. What I do is figure out what future I want and then make it happen. I'm getting long in the tooth and have had quite a lot of success. So it works!

The key to success is to ensure that what one wants is compatible with laws of physics, human nature and objective reality. Mere fantasy and tilting at windmills is not the way to create the present.

There are four types of people:

1....Those who watch things happen.

2....Those who predict what happens.

3....Those who make things happen.

4....Those who wonder what happened.

Mqurice
Report TOU ViolationShare This Post
 Public ReplyPrvt ReplyMark as Last ReadFilePrevious 10Next 10PreviousNext  

HomeMailHotSubjectMarksPeopleMarksKeepersSettings
Terms Of UseContact UsCopyright/IP PolicyPrivacy PolicyAbout UsFAQAdvertise on SI
© 2025 Knight Sac Media.  Data provided by Twelve Data, Alpha Vantage, and CityFALCON News