Most of us would rather risk catastrophe than read the directions.

More from Mignon McLaughlin

• A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.
• Every society honors its live conformists and its dead troublemakers.
• For the happiest life, days should be rigorously planned, nights left open to chance.
• If I knew what I was so anxious about, I wouldn’t be so anxious.
• It is important to our friends to believe that we are unreservedly frank with them, and important to friendship that we are not.
• It's the most unhappy people who most fear change.