The mind is an expert at filling gaps. It has to, because our perception is full of them. In the present, because we are only aware of an infinitesimal fraction of what is happening. In the past, because we love forgetting about the details that do not fit our world view. And in the future, because the future is a single enormous gap. This is where it gets really bad. Instead of meaningful statistics, the mind loves heavily biased intuitions about what may happen next. Like when one is stuck in traffic. Or on a broken train. Or on a grounded airplane. This will never end. I will be hopelessly late. I will be here forever. The mind extrapolates the current situation to the future. The more catastrophic, the better. It typically disregards that something may change because change is unknown and makes it harder to fill the gaps. But change is fundamental. And it is good. Human existence is all about learning, and change is the best teacher. Mind the gap, and fill it with change.

The famous London Tube warning, sometime back in 2006