I'm not certain I disagree here, but you can make an argument that you're optimistic. >> When I decide to marry someone, I am not going to treat her like a sec

I'm not certain I disagree here, but you can make an argument that you're optimistic. >> When I decide to marry someone, I am not going to treat her like a security or an asset or some other financial instrument -- she's a human being Historically, what has failed most often? Securities or human beings? I'd bet on humans. A friend's friend got problems a decade ago -- wife left him, his company crashed etc. A while later, he was diagnosed with whiplash (I think, could have been mild brain damage) from a traffic accident. He probably can't work hard again, but has managed to build quite a good life. I can tell you that I had (amongst other effects) something like personality changes when I had a painless tooth infection for quite a while. Things like that are probably more common than we think. Even if you could guarantee your emotional state for years to come, I doubt you can plan for changes like that. Usually, we tend to think of people as too static. Fan of Catalyst, by the way.