Psychology: Why might one arrange deck furniture on a sinking ship? Part 0

Self-tutoring about psychology: the tutor reflects….

I forget when, or from whom, I heard the saying “…just like arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic…”; likely, it reached me a few years ago. My impression is that the saying is relatively recent, as least in popular culture.

The concept of arranging deck furniture on a sinking ship surprised me as much as I’ve ever been: it’s so absurd – right(?!?). “Who would do such?” I wondered. “Surely not….” Reflecting truthfully, I realized I do actions tantamount, and I think most others do, too.

I believe there are numerous reasons why people will attempt to cosmetize a doomed situation. The zeroth I want to bring up I might call “human nature.”

I recall hearing that all animals are creatures of habit if they can be. They are only pragmatic if menaced, and often not even then. Animals are who they are with neither regret nor apology.

Humans sometimes imagine themselves apart from animals, but perhaps we’re not. We struggle to find a routine that works and then we stick to it. Some people prepare for disaster, but few.

Living is risky business, which most creatures understand is beyond their control. What they hope to control is how they feel, even during those last moments before they sink within the waves to the great unknown.

Often, humans aren’t pragmatic, but at the same time we never give up. Heaven knows, we’ve been miraculously snatched from disaster more times than we imagine. While waiting to be rescued, why not engage in a soothing habit, in order to help restore “normalcy,” which the human animal refuses to believe isn’t returning?

I suppose I would help rearrange the chairs on the sun deck of a sinking ship. First, though, I’d pick up a coffee from the espresso bar. Then, I would be reassured:)

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