ABSTRACT
It is particularly important to note that the events Primus picks out as uncertain-his casuels-are not the only casuels liable to affect the results of his action, rather they are the only ones he identifies and takes into account. A presently known "map of society" indicates which path to follow. A youth with the goal of going to the Ecole Polytechnique has no doubt about what steps to take; his path is marked out as clearly as a slalom course. The deformation of the social surface should be understood in a metaphorical and quite general sense. Such a deformation occurs if, for example, Primus builds up his savings bit by bit, thinking that they will afford him a certain standard of living in his old age, and then inflation partly wipes them out. A project can be "very well calculated" with respect to casuels, yet fail owing to a social deformation.
