4 ms·
Am I missing something here? If we're just litigating the difference between "hierarchy" and "pyramid", I just don't think there's anything worth discussing her
by glenstein 5y ago
Am I missing something here? If we're just litigating the difference between "hierarchy" and "pyramid", I just don't think there's anything worth discussing here.
I think the ordinary, uncritical reader who hears about "Maslow's hierarchy" and sees a pyramid (1) isn't necessarily committing themselves to any high-stakes claim about what Maslow originally did or didn't intend and (2) they aren't being mislead by seeing a pyramid (as opposed to anything else) to represent a hierarchical structure.
I understand that mis-quotations and misattributes are a thing, and the cultural forces that lead to them, and the ripple effects they cause, merit attention. But there's a second, parallel tradition that centers on "correcting" supposed misperceptions over trivial distinctions.
- rfrey 5y agoThe difference is that Maslow did propose a hierarchy, and the original article is about how he never proposed a pyramid. So maybe it's dumb semantics, but I didn't start the fire.
- glenstein 5y agoYou and I are saying the exact same thing. I guess for me, this is valuable as an example of how frivolous the exercise of modern mythbustimg can be.