Re: virus: Parables

zaimoni@ksu.edu
Thu, 31 Oct 1996 00:37:53 -0600 (CST)


On Tue, 29 Oct 1996, David Leeper wrote:

> Bill Godby,
>
> I enjoyed your comments on the value of myth. Some interesting stuff.
> How does the work of Cambell compare with that of psychologist C. Jung?
>
> > I couldn't really answer when a less accurate belief is more useful
>
> How about religions? Their memes seem pretty inacurate, but very useful
> to the church. Politics also comes to mind. Perhaps inacuracy is useful
> when dealing with large groups of people?

There's one place where inaccurate beliefs are PHENOMENALLY useful, as in
*enhances* objective success. I'm thinking on an individual scale.

Learning a skill one has never seen before, under non-threatening conditions.

In this case, one's chances of successfully mastering the skill are
enhanced if one is fully convinced that one is making faster progress
than one really is. Realistic estimation of one's progress actually
programs one for failure.

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/ Towards the conversion of data into information....
/
/ Kenneth Boyd
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