It was easy to see the mechanics of schizophrenia at work here. From wishing, it was an easy jump to believe. - Keith Laumer

“You’re talking to yourself.”
“It’s all right. I’m not listening.” (p. 78)

It's a failing of your culture, Foster said, that hypothesis becomes dogma almost overnight. You're too close to your Neolithic, when the blind acceptance of tribal lore had survival value. Having learned to evoke the fire god from sticks, by rote, you tend to extend the principal to all 'established facts.'

So—let’s remember the Uranium Rule. Don’t Do It! The Other Guy May Be Bigger!