IMPORTANT - READ THIS POST BEFORE ANSWERING POLL
This has nothing to do with the biblical question of sheep and goats, where goats were bad and sheep were good. It is more of a philosophical and psychological question with bearings on faith that takes its inspiration from that question.
Now, some of you will know that I am a reader of New Scientist. I tend to read through the articles each week then think over all of them, looking for any connections I can draw between them, past articles or other things I know. Sometimes that is where the really interesting things are.
One recent issue dealt with the science beind faith and belief, which is where the main question came from. However, before I get onto that (and take a risk with some parts), I have to put forwards the more recent article that reminded me of it, and inspired quite a lot of speculation.
A recent behavoural study was done with chimps to test the old addage, monkey see, monkey do. The question here is all to do with immiation vs emulation.
Emulation is where you see someone doing something, and like the result. You work out how they got that result, and then achieve it for yourself. Often you will use the same or a similar method to the original person.
Immiation is where you see someone donig something, and like the result. You then copy their actions exactly to achieve the same result. You don't always exactly understand the methods behind it, or the reasons you do things, but you get the same result and do all the actions none the less.
Humans are given to immiation. A good example was in the article itself. This is mostly copied directly from their site, with the end tagged on by me because the web doesn't let you read it all;
Quote:
SYLVIA is a very good cook. She makes a particularly fine roast ham, using a family recipe that begins, unusually, by cutting a section off both ends of the meat. One day, a friend dropped by while she was preparing the dish. "Why are you doing that?" he asked, as Sylvia carefully trimmed the ham. "Because that's the way my mother always does it," said Sylvia. But it got her wondering - why did her mother start that way?
A few days later Sylvia was at her mother's house. "When you make that special ham, why do you start by chopping the ends off the meat?" she asked. "Because that's the way my mother taught me," came the response. Sylvia knew she had to get to the bottom of this. She picked up the phone and called her grandma. "Tell me Gran, when you used to make your roast ham, why did you cut the ends off?"
She thought for a while, then responded, "I didn't have a big enough pan."
A few days later Sylvia was at her mother's house. "When you make that special ham, why do you start by chopping the ends off the meat?" she asked. "Because that's the way my mother taught me," came the response. Sylvia knew she had to get to the bottom of this. She picked up the phone and called her grandma. "Tell me Gran, when you used to make your roast ham, why did you cut the ends off?"
She thought for a while, then responded, "I didn't have a big enough pan."
So, it was a major supprise when it was found that chimps were found to prefer emulation. They will use a method that works rather than a method that works. This was tested further.
A group of children and a group of chimps were each presented with boxes with complex locking mechanisms. You had to go through a series of steps to open the box. You could see what effect each step had as you took it.
The researchers then opened the box, taking far more steps than needed.
The children almost all copied them exactly to get into the box.
The chimps only copied the actions that had an effect on the locking mechanisms.
It seems that immitation is something that is very human.
Now, not all people are like this. People with extensive experience in science or similar areas will, like the woman in that story, want to know the reasons behind such actions. However, even here, it is only natural to take the actions untill you know they are bunk. The theory is that humans, with so much to learn in so short a period of time (childhood) have to rely upon direct imiation or we wouldn't manage it all.
Anyway, this tied directly into the article on religion. That seperated people into two classes - the sheep and goats, taking its inspirtation from the bible. However, unlike the bible story, they were not believers or disenters, but those who natural followed or those who natural questioned.
Sheep were more likely to believe in God or similar things, but all to often didn't have a deep understanding. They are less plagued by doubts, and are more likely to accept things at face value. They tend to be the kind of people who buy into other things, such as superstition.
Goats, however, are more questioning. They like to know reasons and understand the things they are being told. They are more likely to doubt God or other things they are told to believe in.
Most people are sheep. As in the more recent story, accepting things at face value, or believing what you are told has major advantages. There was even a suggested evolutionary benifit to being a sheep. Sheep are also much adored by organised religion, as they are more likely to follow the teachings of the leaders without question. However, the same thing makes them more vulnerable to cults, scams and other such things.
Looking through history, many influential people have been the goats of their age. The people who question and doubt. Many of them have been religious, but have asked questions about their religion. They have wanted an understanding for themselfs, not just to be told what to think. They have looked for ways to emulate the effects that everyone else achieves through direct immitation.
So, my question to you all is, do you prefer to immitate or emulate? Are you a sheep or a goat? Do you accept or question?
