It's always the unexpected things...

I find it amusing how easily unexpected events catch us unexpecting them. If only we all could somehow control our environments everything would be better right? Wrong! The only product from that would be eminent fear, uncertainty, and doom (aka F.U.D). So how do you cope knowing unexpected events will catch you off guard from time to time? Two obvious ways to approach it are:

1. Attempt to calculate every possible event that might ever occur at that instantaneous second in time and have a plan to deal with it (deterministic thinking).
2. Attempt to be fluid and do whatever is necessary to quickly and intelligently respond to unexpected events (non-deterministic thinking).

This concept has been a hot AI topic for some time now, but who cares right ? When I get caught off guard (rare), I try ignorance first and if it remains, I use #2 above. No matter which path of thinking you choose, force that spongy mass you call your brain to analyze what startled it. Then, use your common sense and understanding of the physical world around you to stop being a wuss. Remember kids: cool-heads always prevail ...