Lost in Space

An often used term to describe some of the problems experienced by people today is that they lack the ability to "defer gratification," that is, to delay the pursuit of immediate desires, which although satisfying, can be ultimately harmful. What is never mentioned is the fact that an article published in the American Sociological Review in 1953 was titled "The Deferred Gratification Pattern." The article was written by Louis Schneider and his student Sverre Lysgaard, both of Purdue University, and it anticipated much of what is being discussed today as a "modern problem." The failure of the media to acknowledge the source of many ideas, despite all the new tools provided by the Internet, suggests that we may have a New Columbus problem.