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That doesn’t mean that it isn’t a useful metaphor or idiom, though. When using the phrase “cargo cult programming”, no one really cares about what actual Polyne
by layer8 2y ago
That doesn’t mean that it isn’t a useful metaphor or idiom, though. When using the phrase “cargo cult programming”, no one really cares about what actual Polynesians did or didn’t do. One can take it as a fable. The term is used for its quality of being a memorable analogy, similar to “sour grapes”, for example.
- kazinator 2y agoIt's obviously based on a few anecdotes involving a small number of indigenous groups ... perhaps mainly just one! "Cargo cult" should not be taken as a serious term, on the level of "polytheistic religion" or "agrarian society". Anthropologists who take "cargo cult" seriously have let themselves be trolled by pop culture.