"Mystery" problems that you don't understand and keep recurring no matter what you try are dangerous even if they stay tiny and inconsequential. They can grow into monsters in your mind as your history with them grows. They are not the same as chronic maintenance problems.
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The human mind does not handle *chronic* mystery well. We expect to gradually demystify things given repeated encounters. Chronic maintenance regimens only become second nature if there is no real mystery to them. You have a theory of why "this is the best I can do"
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It would be interesting to try and rewrite Moby Dick with the whale and the dangerous business of whaling are replaced by a minor problem. An example of such a story is Jerry's car with the demon BO smell problem
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That was a genuinely costly problem for Jerry though. I'm looking for stories where it's a trivial problem you could potentially live with.
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if it's a trivial problem that you could potentially live with, wouldn't you just live with it and not think about it?
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Some people can do that. Others can't let go of a minor mystery.
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oh I just thought of one – every so often (like, sometimes once a week, sometimes once in several months), there's a weird sort of "announcement" that happens somewhere near my house. it sounds like a prerecorded thing. I don't know what it is, and I have no idea how to find out
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Money, work and ideas in a mysterious tug of war dance.
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