Institutions know all this, of course, which is why the apology is so rarely left to chance. Nobody sets out to be governed by the apology, yet it shapes an astonishing share of the ordinary day. The mind that evolved for small groups and immediate dangers is now asked to manage a pension. It does its best. The measure that matters is not what people say about doubt but what they do when nobody is scoring.
What follows
A pattern this consistent is not a character flaw. It is a design feature, and design features can be worked with. The remedy is rarely exhortation. It is a change to the situation so that the easier choice is also the better one. Economists have spent decades modelling doubt as a quantity. It behaves more like a weather system. Notice how rarely anyone is argued out of the apology, and how often they are simply moved past it by a change in circumstance.
