I'm not that old nor that young. I'm really in my early-twenties. In my short time however, I've learned a lot that I wish I would had known about earlier in my life. They are what I believe to be the five premises that make society function:

1) Reality is a videogame

David Graeber in Utopia of Rules said it best,

When we think about such matters at all, we generally act as if this is all simply an effect
of technology: this is a world whisked into being by computers. It even looks like one. And indeed, all these new bank lobbies do bear a striking resemblance to the stripped-down virtual reality one often found in 1990s video games. It’s as if we have finally achieved the ability to make such virtual realities materialize, and in so doing, to reduce our lives, too, to a kind of video game, as we negotiate the various mazeways of the new bureaucracies. Since, in such video games, nothing is actually produced, it just kind of springs into being, and we really do spend our lives earning points and dodging people carrying weapons.

2)People lie

It's an innate response people tend to do. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't trust anyone. What it means is to make calculated decisions based on logic not on emotions. If someone tells you Scenario A and Scenario B made Scenario C, don't just believe it. Like in this post. Do you agree with everything I wrote here? Everybody has their own perspective, opinions, biases. Do your own research and formulate your own opinion. Be a good lie detector and discern the truth from the lie.

3) Paperwork is king

Most societies work under a highly dense, complex, and arbitrary bureaucratic system. Where the common language is not English, Russian, Mandarin etc. It's really paperwork. Paperwork, what kind? The ones from the hospital, car, receipts, house, insurance, financial aid, taxes,contracts etc. Most of the times if you have the proper forms it makes your life easy to defend yourself and strengthen your claim. Unfortunately I dont see this alot from folks claiming social services. Most of the times they don't know what kind of paperwork...as if it isn't arbitrary enough to collect. They are running aimlessly looking for paperwork for which they don't understand why, which a) slows down their process or b) deny them .

Of course paperwork can be fraudulently manufactured(ie. rich people and companies buying politicians who are really just middle men to whisk their bureaucratric magic and create that which is not there....paperwork for a jail free card or get free cheap money,QE, card) Paperwork can work for you or against you. It all depends on how far you want to skew the evidence to fit your reality. At the end of the day if you don't have it or let alone understand it then you are pretty much screwed. Wink wink that's why the rich have dozens of lawyers.

4) Never give the originals

This is analogous to the third one. Shit gets lost or stolen. Always back up your shit. If you don't own it in several spots then you don't really own it. It's better to be cautious than to lament for not following the fourth premise.

5) The act of giving helps to survive

This one is golden. I believe the best economic practice is one that gives. Not for the immediacy of compensation; rather for a later one. I saw a fellow Steemian writing a post about compensation; after investing time giving information on a how to shoot a slowmo film, someone purchased his knowledge and labour. You don't ask just do. You have people who need help with landscape, finances, tech info, etc just do, because you never know who you are helping and the connections they have. It's all about building social relationships with people.