>I think that this instinct to expect "manna from the sky" explains the
>popularity of gambling, which is different from the instinct of competitive
>winning. Competitive winning is about your relative position in the group -
>you have a better chance to survive and reproduce if you are a winner. The
>"manna from the sky" winning, otoh, is an attitude toward the environment
>and external resources that was advantageous in pre-agricultural times, when
>people had no control over the natural resources, and expectation of
>serendipity was probably a major motivation to keep going instead of just
>sitting down and dying.
>
I don't think we need to go to prehistory to explain the "manna"
phenomenon. The modern/eternal form of it is called "mamma" and has to
do with the infant having every need met, without even having to
formulate that need. Given a supportive environment, human beings strive
to grow beyond the infiantile state, to become aware of their needs, and
to work to satisfy them. But given enough frustration and trauma,
everybody just wants to regress, curl up into a ball and have mamma fall
from the sky.
Joanna