so here's a question...

There are certain cause->effect pairs that don't seem too hard to understand.
If I set my alarm, I am more likely to wake up on time.
If I do laundry, I will have clean clothes to wear.
If I go to bed early, I am more likely to be rested the next day.
If I do my homework, I'll be more likely to pass my classes.

And their related pairs:
If I don't set my alarm, I won't wake up on time.
If I don't do laundry, I won't have clean clothes.
If I go to bed late, I will be tired the next day.
If don't do my homework, I won't pass my classes.

And some other general truths:
Time passes.
Gravity exists.
Entropy happens.
Life requires some measure of effort.

So my question is: what is wrong with teenagers that they think these things don't apply in their lives? It's not that they merely hope there will be an exception in their particular case, they appear to actually count on it.

They live their lives as though they've been given a special get-out-of-Newton's-laws-free card.

They choose an action A that 90% of the time results in effect B, and then cry when B happens.

When reminded of a certain cause-effect relationship, they either scornfully insist they already *know* that, or they cite a ridiculous example where the rule does not apply (Well, if I were Superman, I could fly around the earth really fast and reverse its direction and roll back time and get more sleep; or if I were a horse I could sleep standing up during the afternoon; so you see you're wrong, Dad -- you don't *always* have to go to bed early in order to feel rested the next day.")

And if *I* were a horse, you could shoot me. Aargh.