The Delay of Gratification

The discovery that gratification could be delayed was simultaneously the discovery of time and with it causality. Long ago, in the dim mists of time, we began to realize that reality was structured as if it could be bargained with. It takes a long time to learn to keep anything later for yourself or to share it with some one else. Small sacrifices might be sufficient to solve small, singular problems but larger, more comprehensive sacrifices might solve an ray of large and complex problems all at the same time. That's harder, but it might be better....