* * * * *
It's Neal Stephenson, people! Neal Stephenson!
> We are in a position akin to that of early physicians who could see that
> people were getting sick but couldnt do anything about it, because they
> didnt understand the underlying causes. They knew of a few tricks that
> seemed to work. For example, nailing up plague houses tended to limit the
> spread of plague. But even the smart doctors tended to fall under the sway
> of pet theories that were wrong, such as the idea that diseases were caused
> by imbalanced humors or bad air. Once that happened, they ignored evidence
> that contradicted their theory. They became so invested in that theory that
> they treated any new ideas as threats. But from time to time youd see
> someone like John Snow, who would point out, Look, everyone who draws water
> from Well X is getting cholera. Then he went and removed the pump handle
> from Well X and people stopped getting cholera. They still didnt understand
> germ theory, but they were getting closer.
>
> We can make a loose analogy to the way that people have addressed the
> problem of power disorders. We dont really understand them. We know that
> there are a couple of tricks that seem to help, such as the rule of law and
> separation of powers. Beyond that, people tend to fall under the sway of
> this or that pet theory. And so youll get perfectly intelligent people
> saying, All of our problems would be solved if only the workers controlled
> the means of production, or what have you. Once theyve settled on a
> totalizing political theory, they see everything through that lens and are
> hostile to other notions.
>
Via InstaPundit [1], “Neal Stephenson's Past, Present, and Future [2]”
It's an interview with Neal Stephenson.
Need I say more?
[1]
http://instapundit.com/archives/021142.php
[2]
http://www.reason.com/0502/fe.mg.neal.shtml
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