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> "Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by incompetence." This is a digression, but this saying has always frustrated me. It makes
by maybelsyrup 3y ago
> "Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by incompetence."
This is a digression, but this saying has always frustrated me. It makes sense for a second, but then I wonder if whoever came up with it had any idea how much malice exists in the world. Many cases of "malice is at least as adequate an explanation as incompetence, given the facts or lack of them".
- rnd0 3y agoIt is an attitude that has given a lot of cover to very malicious people over the years. Bush is a great example of that. Many people thought he was a moron and during his administration a lot of the things that happened on his watch (no-bid contracts to Halliburton and Abu Ghraib spring to mind) were often brushed off by people citing Hanlon's Razor.
- Kye 3y agoI thought the general consensus was that they were both malicious, but Cheney was the brains behind the operation. Sometimes someone is malicious and incompetent, but self-aware enough to delegate.
- lioeters 3y agoLikely a malicious person said this to present plausible deniability for their crimes and conspiracies.
- imbnwa 3y agoLiterally the person I first heard this from nearly 10 years ago was precisely one of the most manipulative, bullying charismatics I've ever known.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- r00fus 3y agoI prefer the less epistemological version of this (gray's law) "Any sufficiently advanced incompetence is indistinguishable from malice" Does it matter if it's incompetence or malice? If you care, are now forced into action, best just make a move and justify it after the fact.
- cmurf 3y agoI think advanced incompetence is actually indifference, and it's the apathy/neglect that makes for malice. It is the absence of doing the right thing.
- andrekandre 3y agoyes, exactly. what exactly the point of distinguishing between malice and incompetence if the result is the same? in the end it just sounds like a cope or at worst an excuse for bad behavior.
- edmundsauto 3y agoIf this is a genuine question, I will happily share my belief. Because people are often incompetent because they haven’t been taught/mentored. Also, people are often incompetent in one area of life but incredibly skilled in another, and because life is not just a series of transactions. Give someone coaching and you can change their life. If I assume malice, it would not be worth continuing engagement.
- andrekandre 3y ago> If this is a genuine question, I will happily share my belief. yes, thanks!! > Because people are often incompetent because they haven’t been taught/mentored. i agree with this very much. it can also be because someone has been put in a position where they will fail (either by accident or malice) as well. > If I assume malice, it would not be worth continuing engagement. i largely agree, especially on a personal level but i have two minds about it with someone in power...
- sieabahlpark 3y ago
- OOPMan 3y agoI think you've well and truly missed the point of that saying. All it really means is that when things go wrong, you shouldn't assume everyone involved is a giant arsehole trying to stick a spanner in the works.
- maybelsyrup 3y agoWhich brings us back to what I'm trying to say: have you fully taken in the number of giant arseholes in the world sticking spanners in the works?
- aaron695 3y ago[dead]
- chrismcb 3y agoBecause generally little aren't mean. It sounds like you think there is more malice in the world than the person who came up with this. I believe there is less massive than you think there is.