“The mongoose wins because it adapts. The snake lunges the same way every time, without thinking, without learning anything, but the mongoose bases its attack on all previous attacks. It tests and evaluates, jumps back, entices the snake to attack farther and farther away. Because when the snake is completely stretched out it’s at its slowest and most defenseless. So the mongoose bides its time, feints, then counters the snake’s lunge with a single bite right through the snake’s brain. It looks like luck, every time, but it ISN’T luck.
