Most people protect their brand new iPhones with those awkward cases which prevent them from fully appreciating or enjoying the true intent of the design of the iPhones. Ironically, many people take the cases off only when they upgrade to new ones. That is, the cases come off when the phones retire, at which point they feel safe in taking more risks, but by then they are no longer actively using them. All that talk about the importance of delayed gratification as a predictor of future success in life is probably encouraging people to delay everything into the future. Everyone is working towards their retirement as their life’s pay-off, a mountain of marshmallows. But once there, they keep delaying and delaying too, until they can no longer do anything because of their health issues. “Success” as defined by our culture is this type of predictable life, like successfully keeping their iPhones scratch-free.
