I think, as social creatures whose survival largely depends on our ability to interact successfully with other social creatures, we are afraid of becoming "out of touch." The phrase "Judge not lest ye be judged" is a suicide chorus. (Although, I think in the biblical context "judge" actually means "condemn to hell." Silly redactors. Why don't they just say what they mean?)

I find myself constantly judging. "Is that person with the baseball bat going to hit me with it?", "Can I make it through this stoplight before it turns red?", "How many single servings of sliced cheese can I eat before I go blind?", "Why would they build rooftops so close together if we weren't meant to jump them?"

I spend most of the day assessing risk. The rest of the time I'm trying to forget about risk. Eventually, I grow so weary of the whole business that I run out and embrace risk in a bearhug and throw myself off the nearest rooftop. Sometimes I hit the ground first and sometimes risk breaks my fall enough for me to limp away. I suppose nothing is really accomplished, but there's a street cleaner somewhere that sees that cracked and splattered concrete and thinks "job security."

By their blogs ye shall know them?