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   Abie (temptoetiam@eldritch.cafe)'s status on Wednesday, 08-Jan-2025 06:13:56 JST Abie

   in reply to

   My father had a principle that was both opposite and similar: when you think up a great new idea, you must try and understand why it was not put into practice earlier, and the answer can't be "because everyone since time immemorial has been an idiot".
   Sometimes there is a satisfying answer, like: buildings couldn't have such a shape before the advent of reinforced concrete. If you really can't find an answer, assume it's a half-baked idea at best, because you're missing something.

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     Abie (temptoetiam@eldritch.cafe)'s status on Wednesday, 08-Jan-2025 06:13:57 JST Abie

     Word & Parable of the day: Chesterton's Fence, example presented to defend the view point that reforms should not be made until the reasoning behind the existing state of affairs is understood.
     "The gate or fence did not grow there. It was not set up by somnambulists who built it in their sleep. It is highly improbable that it was put there by escaped lunatics who were for some reason loose in the street. Some person had some reason for thinking it would be a good thing for somebody. And until we know what the reason was, we really cannot judge whether the reason was reasonable. It is extremely probable that we have overlooked some whole aspect of the question, if something set up by human beings like ourselves seems to be entirely meaningless and mysterious. There are reformers who get over this difficulty by assuming that all their fathers were fools; but if that be so, we can only say that folly appears to be a hereditary disease. "
     via https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/hpv-infections-friend-and-foe
     #wordoftheday

     Lenz Grimmer repeated this.