Most actions are based on past ones — cause and effect is undeni­able. Never­the­less, this may not be the best thing to do in most situa­tions. A useful rule of thumb would be, “Learn from the past and act consid­ering only the current situation.”

For instance, a person playing a game of tennis hits two powerful shots that end up in the net. The third time, he is over-cautious, and lobs the ball although he could have gone for the shot and won the game. Or, when it comes to empow­ering the backward classes, an argument often put forth is that certain sections of society should be given reser­va­tions in colleges because earlier gener­a­tions had been suppressed. An objec­tive analysis of affir­ma­tive action requires that the situa­tion as it is be consid­ered, rather than how it came to be this way. Naturally, we must at the same time learn from it, so that history is not repeated.

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