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> Yes, you clearly are trying to be offended by reality. I think I made it pretty clear by now that nobody denies the existence of cargo cults. > and there is
by spacechild1 2y ago
> Yes, you clearly are trying to be offended by reality.
I think I made it pretty clear by now that nobody denies the existence of cargo cults.
> and there is no evidence for your pure speculation regarding where Feynman got it from.
Similarly, there is no evidence that the story as told by Feynman ever happened. That's my whole point.
> He could simply have engaged in poetic license, or been, horror, told by a colleague that was there.
That's exactly the problem. He likely relied on hearsay and gave a distorted picture of what cargo cults are about in general. The example he cites is neither typical, nor supported by the literature.
Look, I'm not saying we should stop using that word or something. I like it as a metaphor. At the same time, we can raise awareness of scientific facts.
- fidotron 2y agoDo you seriously not see how parading around a parade ground in an effort to summon cargo, especially in close proximity to an airfield, could rapidly transition to the described behaviour you're objecting to? They're so close to being the same that they basically are the same, especially in terms of being the same for the purposes of the metaphor. You seem unwilling to join those dots, while being all too keen to conjure up other mechanisms based on no evidence whatsoever. This whole discussion reminds me of when I made the mistake of using the idiom "the devil is in the details" near a religious literalist, who suddenly thought the important question was whether an actual demon was now occupying the details, as opposed to engaging in what the details are.
- spacechild1 2y ago> Do you seriously not see how parading around a parade ground in an effort to summon cargo, especially in close proximity to an airfield, could rapidly transition to the described behaviour you're objecting to? Sounds like "evidence-free leaping" to me ;) The point is that cargo cults are far more complex than Feynman's story would make you believe. I had a wrong picture of cargo cults myself exactly because of Feynman and I learned a lot from the article and its sources.
- fidotron 2y ago> I had a wrong picture of cargo cults myself It's quite easy to see how this happened in your situation, but it has nothing to do with Feynman, or any external stimulus at all.
- spacechild1 2y agoThanks for the insult, but of course it has! If you are not already familiar with actual cargo cults and read Feynman's story, it's hard not to get a wrong impression of the phenomenon.
- fidotron 2y ago> Thanks for the insult :) > it's hard not to get a wrong impression of the phenomenon It really isn’t.
- spacechild1 2y agoI will do you the favor and let you have the last word.