Okay, I acknowledge that “no situation is impossible to improve upon” is not strictly speaking true for literally every conceivable situation, but if ever there is a time where it’s acceptable to leave out the ol’ BOCTAOE for the sake of prose, I’d say a post including this many thees and thous would be it.
I don’t think I conflated map and territory though. The statement “There is never cause for complete hopelessness and despair” is a policy recommendation (read it as: “complete hopelessness and despair is never useful”), not a statement about the territory.
I think “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.” is much better than wanting to optimize everything.
Okay, I acknowledge that “no situation is impossible to improve upon” is not strictly speaking true for literally every conceivable situation, but if ever there is a time where it’s acceptable to leave out the ol’ BOCTAOE for the sake of prose, I’d say a post including this many thees and thous would be it.
I don’t think I conflated map and territory though. The statement “There is never cause for complete hopelessness and despair” is a policy recommendation (read it as: “complete hopelessness and despair is never useful”), not a statement about the territory.
I think “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.” is much better than wanting to optimize everything.