It seems like every time I get one of those kits to put something together, it never goes to the plan.

That’s assuming you can read the plan, with the questionable instructions that seem to come with everything now.

Requires assembly, they say.

It’s all fine until you drop the essential black screw in a patch of mulch.

The plan counts on everything going exactly as described.

Plans can’t account for what you can’t see. That’s a banal truism, and it’s one of the most important things you can understand about anything.

It’s easy to confuse what you plan to happen, and what’s going to happen anyway.

That’s true for assembly — and it’s true once you’ve finished the project. That saying “The road to Hell is paved with good intentions” sticks with us for good reason.

You can’t plan for the unplanned, by definition.

But you can remember that it’s always out there waiting to strike.

Matt Perryman
https://matts.email