Here is the thing about construction: you can’t posit anything. You can’t make a washer with a 1/2″ diameter have a 1/4″ diameter. You cannot build anything you don’t have the tools for, which means you need a detailed plan of attack. You need to think concretely about what you are going to do, in what order, and what will be needed at each stage. I’m in the middle right now of a fairly complex, involved piece of work that involves a lot of tools and pieces.
Many times I have encountered obstacles that made me want to quit. I’ve faced problems I didn’t think could be solved. EVERY TIME I have found a way. That is my job. That is what I am paid for.
But here is the thing: in the life of the mind, if you run into an apparently insurmountable obstacle, you can just ignore it. You can pretend it doesn’t exist.
You can pretend, for example, that we are not facing a major crisis in Medicare, and that no hard decisions have to be made now or in the future.
You can pretend it is possible for everyone to be nice all the time, and to form plans based on it.
If it never touches a tape measure, delusion need have no end.