Given the option, people usually choose to believe whatever is comforting, not whatever is true. And there's very little comfort in the reality that the universe is not sentient, doesn't know or care that you exist, and isn't going to help you, so you are going to have to figure out what you need to do to help yourself (which is usually goddamned hard).
I readily admit that I deserve whatever dubious and/or withering looks
Hardly. It's the default idea that we all start out with, because that's the kind of world parents/school create for us. Do a shitty job, get an F. Do a decent job, get a C. Do a great job, get an A. And there's not much doubt about what constitutes a shitty or decent or great job.
Unfortunately, that paradigm ceases to work very well once we leave the parent/school-created bubble of nonreality. It has to be replaced with another and a better one.
no subject
Because it's easy.
Given the option, people usually choose to believe whatever is comforting, not whatever is true. And there's very little comfort in the reality that the universe is not sentient, doesn't know or care that you exist, and isn't going to help you, so you are going to have to figure out what you need to do to help yourself (which is usually goddamned hard).
I readily admit that I deserve whatever dubious and/or withering looks
Hardly. It's the default idea that we all start out with, because that's the kind of world parents/school create for us. Do a shitty job, get an F. Do a decent job, get a C. Do a great job, get an A. And there's not much doubt about what constitutes a shitty or decent or great job.
Unfortunately, that paradigm ceases to work very well once we leave the parent/school-created bubble of nonreality. It has to be replaced with another and a better one.