"It is an undeniable fact that if a fox terrier two feet long with a tail an inch and a half high can dig a hole three feet deep in 10 minutes, then to dig the Panama Canal in a single year would require only one fox terrier 15 miles long with a tail a mile and a half high. This is statistically true; yet one must seriously consider whether, after finding such a fox terrier, one could make it mind." --Johnson, cited by Charles W Bostick in 2/77 Word Ways

Even the view that we have no history & our actions have no consequences--has a history, & consequences.