Monotony and repetition are characteristic of many parts of life, but these do not become sources of conscious discomfort until novelty and entertainment are built up as positive experiences.

Traditionally in American society, men have been trained for both competition and teamwork through sports, while women have been reared to merge their welfare with that of the family, with fewer opportunities for either independence or other team identifications, and fewer challenges to direct competition. In effect, women have been circumscribed within that unit where the benefit of one is most easily believed to be the benefit of all.

Most higher education is devoted to affirming the traditions and origins of an existing elite and transmitting them to new members.

A suprising number of physicians manage to continue to care about persons even after the rigors of medical training.

The human species thinks in metaphors and learns through stories.

Human beings tend to regard the conventions of their own societies as natural, often as sacred.

Often continuity is visible only in retrospect.