That was a lot to read and while I have a good vocabulary, I learned new words! (I could feel the electrical arcs across the synapses). That's pretty informative and I'd have to say that if everyone were afraid of new experiences or radically changing issues, well, we'd all be living in a bland world. As it is, it's interesting to watch people "be afraid of trying something new and exciting for fear of failure" yet these same people can and will put themselves in the line of danger to save someone (think of the 11th). Success and failure could be determined as a mindset yet when your mind hits 'kernel panic' mode, simple things like failing aren't on the list of "things to think about at that moment in time".
Common people can do uncommon things, whether solo or in a group of friends or strangers...it's all about circumstance and what people think.