Take a tentative step in the dark. If you do not run into something, you just gained knowledge. If you hit a wall, the incremental nature of your advance gives you wisdom without much lost. Now take an abrupt leap in the dark. The gain may come at a more rapid pace, but the risk of breaking your nose is far greater. Even if successful, it is unlikely you can repeat this trick many times without serious calamity. When there are an unknowable number of variables and feedback loops that react to and ultimately impact what we do, and when calamity is not an outcome we are willing to risk, the way
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