Tradition is Smarter (2018)
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Tradition is Smarter (2018)
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Re: Tradition is Smarter (2018)
#2Well, let's go back to worshipping the sun, then. Who knows, if we don't, it might not rise tomorrow...
Or, just maybe, progress itself is a tradition that deserves its own reverence. Sometimes, Chesterson's fence was erected by a shepherd who no longer uses the field that you'd rather play soccer on. It was useful in its day, but no longer.
Re: Tradition is Smarter (2018)
#3Well, let's go back to worshipping the sun, then. Who knows, if we don't, it might not rise tomorrow... Or, just maybe, progress itself is a tradition that deserves its own reverence. Sometimes, Chesterson's fence was erected by a shepherd who no longer uses the field that you'd rather play soccer on. It was useful in its day, but no longer.
No post body was provided.
Re: Tradition is Smarter (2018)
#4Well, let's go back to worshipping the sun, then. Who knows, if we don't, it might not rise tomorrow... Or, just maybe, progress itself is a tradition that deserves its own reverence. Sometimes, Chesterson's fence was erected by a shepherd who no longer uses the field that you'd rather play soccer on. It was useful in its day, but no longer.
I feel like this comment points out the tradition of being contrarian on HN, and it would be foolish of me to question it.
Re: Tradition is Smarter (2018)
#5Well, let's go back to worshipping the sun, then. Who knows, if we don't, it might not rise tomorrow... Or, just maybe, progress itself is a tradition that deserves its own reverence. Sometimes, Chesterson's fence was erected by a shepherd who no longer uses the field that you'd rather play soccer on. It was useful in its day, but no longer.
Sometimes tradition is smarter than you are. Sometimes tradition is brain-dead.
But we are very prone to assume that tradition is always brain-dead. That's a very dangerous assumption...
Re: Tradition is Smarter (2018)
#6Generally you should assume that tradition/status quo is always right until proven otherwise (=a logically compelling argument against, backed empirically).
Re: Tradition is Smarter (2018)
#7Well, let's go back to worshipping the sun, then. Who knows, if we don't, it might not rise tomorrow... Or, just maybe, progress itself is a tradition that deserves its own reverence. Sometimes, Chesterson's fence was erected by a shepherd who no longer uses the field that you'd rather play soccer on. It was useful in its day, but no longer.
I feel like this comment points out the tradition of being contrarian on HN, and it would be foolish of me to question it.
To the contrary, it would be foolish of you to not question me.
Question Everything, Even This (but not too much because that's overthinking).
Re: Tradition is Smarter (2018)
#8Cultural knowledge vs individual knowledge is an interesting dichotomy to explore. Cultural knowledge has a way of distilling information into very parsimonious and digestible forms for individuals then to propagate. The knowledge is in some sense only stored in the hyper-individual, ie, the society, while the individuals are following their own rules (and using their own models) to interact with and make use of it. One metaphor could be the ant colony: the colony's interest is to collect food and feed its young to perpetuate itself, while the ants only know they are following pheromone trails, exploring new regions, and reacting to nutritional signals when they arrive at a source.
Traditional medicine systems (Chinese, Indian/Ayurveda, etc.) work in much the same way: the mental models of its participants and practitioners do not necessarily sync up with the precise methods of action that actually "do the work" as we understand it in the Western scientific context. But the system as a whole, enacted through the collection of people who implement it, does demonstrate effective outcomes re: community health.
Re: Tradition is Smarter (2018)
#9Well, let's go back to worshipping the sun, then. Who knows, if we don't, it might not rise tomorrow... Or, just maybe, progress itself is a tradition that deserves its own reverence. Sometimes, Chesterson's fence was erected by a shepherd who no longer uses the field that you'd rather play soccer on. It was useful in its day, but no longer.
Progress itself is a tradition, but a relatively recent one, and not one deserving reverence. At least, not any more.
Re: Tradition is Smarter (2018)
#10What about circumcision? Is it all about forming group bonds?