Cargo culting? I looked it up cuz new term and it's about false prophets promising cargo? What's it's use in this context? Referencing the "copying of military personnel or colonists"?
If I understand right it comes from Richard Feynman to basically mean empty rituals, “copying what looks like it works with no investigation”
You see other people censoring themselves like that, and you’re not sure if the censors actually work that way so you do it anyway just in case, which means more people see it and do the same.
It's usage in common vernacular is "imitations of technology that don't perform the function of that technology." It comes from the Allied campaign in the Pacific during WWII where Americans would give stuff to indigenous people living on islands occupied by Japan. When the Allies moved on to the next island, it was believed people made things like "radios" and "planes" out of wood they thought would bring free shit back to them, despite the objects being fake copies.
What cargo cults actually are is the religions that sprouted up where local cultures had beliefs others couldn't understand because of cultural differences. Sometimes the arrival of American war ships and cargo would coincide with a local prophecy. Sometimes a person like King Phillip is seen as a god due to reasons known only by the indigenous population. Sometimes the conflict would cause speculation of world-ending disaster.
AFAIK the wooden planes thing is less about people with magical thinking the "plane" will bring back cargo and is more of a monument to commemorate when the cargo arrived.
it was believed people made things like "radios" and "planes" out of wood they thought would bring free shit back to them, despite the objects being fake copies.
I had heard this story before and had no idea it was not the full truth, thank you!
Cargo culting? I looked it up cuz new term and it's about false prophets promising cargo? What's it's use in this context? Referencing the "copying of military personnel or colonists"?
If I understand right it comes from Richard Feynman to basically mean empty rituals, “copying what looks like it works with no investigation”
You see other people censoring themselves like that, and you’re not sure if the censors actually work that way so you do it anyway just in case, which means more people see it and do the same.
I think the best way to describe it in this context would be "doing something because someone else did it without really understanding why".
It's usage in common vernacular is "imitations of technology that don't perform the function of that technology." It comes from the Allied campaign in the Pacific during WWII where Americans would give stuff to indigenous people living on islands occupied by Japan. When the Allies moved on to the next island, it was believed people made things like "radios" and "planes" out of wood they thought would bring free shit back to them, despite the objects being fake copies.
What cargo cults actually are is the religions that sprouted up where local cultures had beliefs others couldn't understand because of cultural differences. Sometimes the arrival of American war ships and cargo would coincide with a local prophecy. Sometimes a person like King Phillip is seen as a god due to reasons known only by the indigenous population. Sometimes the conflict would cause speculation of world-ending disaster.
AFAIK the wooden planes thing is less about people with magical thinking the "plane" will bring back cargo and is more of a monument to commemorate when the cargo arrived.
I had heard this story before and had no idea it was not the full truth, thank you!