The popular misreading comes from people who only remember (or perhaps only ever cared about) the last stanza. The other interpretation comes from carefully re

The popular misreading comes from people who only remember (or perhaps only ever cared about) the last stanza. The other interpretation comes from carefully reading the whole poem. Regardless, most humans who come across a non-trivial number of paths will eventually converge on an important truth that is revealed by either of these contrasting interpretations. Someone who regularly rationalizes a choice between two indistinguishable paths as highly individualistic will eventually come upon a path not taken. At that point they will either fess up to their prior self-deception or carry on deluded. Alternatively, someone who regularly avoids the beaten path will eventually be faced with indistinguishable options. At that point they will either admit to themselves that not all choices are individualistic, or they will start deceiving themselves. Consequently, one ought to accept either reading of the poem as a reasonable starting point for a responsible adult to learn a valuable lesson about branching processes. Finally, all responsible adults who have learned the converged truth should be wary of anyone who in casual conversation dares utter a sentence starting, "Actually, you are misreading that poem..." I humbly offer the following canned response: "Wow, sounds like somebody is revved up like a douche."[1] [1] Most misheard lyric from "Blinded by the Light" by Bruce Springsteen