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It's sad to see the submission being used as another reason to remind people of the role of luck in human affairs. That take on things involving noted individua

It's sad to see the submission being used as another reason to remind people of the role of luck in human affairs. That take on things involving noted individual success is a little too trendy now. Aside from being overdone, the reason it bothers me is because it distracts from so many other points. In this case, it distracts from the main point of the article which is that not having a fallback position leads to higher commitment. It's a lesson larger than just the warfare and politics examples given. It has very broad applicability in life.

AkshatM 7y ago
> not having a fallback position leads to higher commitment That's what the article claims, but that doesn't necessarily make that statement accurate. There's no proof Cortez et. al.'s troops actually felt higher commitment as a consequence of having their ships burned - we are expected to conclude that's what happened, but we have only Cortez's word to tell us this and an article demonstrating selection bias.
- golemotron 7y ago
  You can't think of an example from your own life? Imagine feeling less committed at a job and not really feeling like looking for another yet. Then, you're fired while being on the hook for all of your living expenses. You become committed to the new search then because there's no backstop. This is a natural human response. Relatable even without testimony from Cortez's troops.
  - Joe-Z 7y ago
    It's very easy to imagine the opposite being true and Cortez' troops falling into despair as their leader supposedly turned insane and ordered them to destroy their most valuable assets. Goes for your example too: Maybe not all people are extremely motivated by severe setbacks in life.
    - golemotron 7y ago
      Not all, sure. But enough to make it real. Evolution has reinforced the trait over millennia. We wouldn't be here otherwise.
  - lifeisstillgood 7y ago
    As an example from my own life, Job hunting has often been the other way round - when I have had no job, I would take anything - shelf stacking at a supermarket comes to mind. But I remember going through a period of fast turn around when I worked full time but spent most lunchtimes calling and emailing for my next job and literally tripled my salary in 12 months. So sometimes having the backup plan let's you make better choices.
  - gnopgnip 7y ago
    There are plenty of counterexamples of this. Like every parolee who reoffends

AkshatM 7y ago

> not having a fallback position leads to higher commitment That's what the article claims, but that doesn't necessarily make that statement accurate. There's no proof Cortez et. al.'s troops actually felt higher commitment as a consequence of having their ships burned - we are expected to conclude that's what happened, but we have only Cortez's word to tell us this and an article demonstrating selection bias.

golemotron 7y ago
You can't think of an example from your own life? Imagine feeling less committed at a job and not really feeling like looking for another yet. Then, you're fired while being on the hook for all of your living expenses. You become committed to the new search then because there's no backstop. This is a natural human response. Relatable even without testimony from Cortez's troops.
- Joe-Z 7y ago
  It's very easy to imagine the opposite being true and Cortez' troops falling into despair as their leader supposedly turned insane and ordered them to destroy their most valuable assets. Goes for your example too: Maybe not all people are extremely motivated by severe setbacks in life.
  - golemotron 7y ago
    Not all, sure. But enough to make it real. Evolution has reinforced the trait over millennia. We wouldn't be here otherwise.
- lifeisstillgood 7y ago
  As an example from my own life, Job hunting has often been the other way round - when I have had no job, I would take anything - shelf stacking at a supermarket comes to mind. But I remember going through a period of fast turn around when I worked full time but spent most lunchtimes calling and emailing for my next job and literally tripled my salary in 12 months. So sometimes having the backup plan let's you make better choices.
- gnopgnip 7y ago
  There are plenty of counterexamples of this. Like every parolee who reoffends