I'd cast it in a less malicious light. It's not so much that we do the goal post moving to keep ourselves in the job of knowing things other people don't know,

I'd cast it in a less malicious light. It's not so much that we do the goal post moving to keep ourselves in the job of knowing things other people don't know, I think. The goal posts keep moving themselves. We know why a spear pierces better than hands, why wheels move faster than legs. But for every layer of the brain we peel back, every dramatic success in cognitive science, linguistics, psychology, AI... it never feels like we've gotten any closer to the real question. I'd say the better-suited metaphor is the endless staircase. No matter how far you climb, the top never seems to get any closer. It's equal parts depressing and exciting.