On Fri, 2005-11-18 at 13:48 -0600, Ron Johnson wrote: --snip-- > Did Steve ever mention "rational"? I don't think so. > > Steve's point is that it's still *people* doing the deeds. When > you walk into an office building, you aren't *forcefully* assimil- > ted into the Borg collective. > > It's *individuals* *choosing* to go along with Groupthing, conform- > ism, etc. While it is true that, in the end, we all have a choice, the problem with a phenomenon such as groupthink is not in the choice, but in the data used as a basis for that choice. While you and I may look at a situation and say, "That person obviously made a bad decision by throwing that bucket of gasoline onto that fire", the person facing the fire is looking at a bucket labeled "Water" that, as far as she can determine, CONTAINS water. Groupthink and other socially influenced behaviors cause us to perceive our environments differently, thereby turning perfectly rational choices into apparently irrational ones. So in that sense, when you walk into an office building you ARE forcefully assimilated into the Borg collective. And unless you are an old bald man with a penchant for Earl Grey tea and saying things like "engage", you are not likely to get out of it easily. :) -- Alex Malinovich Support Free Software, delete your Windows partition TODAY! Encrypted mail preferred. You can get my public key from any of the pgp.net keyservers. Key ID: A6D24837
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