Okay, I see how my comment was off-target. To explain the pattern described would require something more along the lines of “People know that the state of things (external or internal) can change quickly, yet over the long term tend to regress to the mean. Therefore they privilege the present over the immediate future, but regard two points in the far future as the same, having no way to distinguish between them.” But that’s both speculative and fairly empty of content.
Okay, I see how my comment was off-target. To explain the pattern described would require something more along the lines of “People know that the state of things (external or internal) can change quickly, yet over the long term tend to regress to the mean. Therefore they privilege the present over the immediate future, but regard two points in the far future as the same, having no way to distinguish between them.” But that’s both speculative and fairly empty of content.