“Cause and effect are not closely related in time and space.”11 That is, just like a hot water faucet that doesn’t immediately deliver hot water, there is a time gap between the cause (turning the handle) and when we experience the effect (receiving hot water). The tendency then is to overcorrect while waiting for the effect (so, turning the water even hotter), and the solution becomes a new problem (burned hands). Because of the gap between cause and effect, it is difficult to diagnose the true underlying causes of most problems.
