Red Holsteins are the result of a recessive gene in the more usual black and white Holsteins(1). Considerable and expensive efforts were made to eliminate the trait until is was discovered that they’re at least as productive as Holsteins with black spots.
This should be remembered when you think tradition means people are doing something reasonable. Tradition, like evolution, probably means that disastrously bad traits are eliminated, not that exists is anywhere near excellence.
(1)]In the US, a white cow with black spots is the default image for a milk cow, and for those of us less educated about cattle, for cows in general.
I don’t think that’s necessarily it, I think it’s more like “avoiding that section of town costs me so little that I don’t want to bother to think about whether avoiding it makes sense”.
Is there a term for the way biases persist because the cost of updating them seems high compared to the cost of maintaining the bias?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rational_ignorance
Red Holsteins are the result of a recessive gene in the more usual black and white Holsteins(1). Considerable and expensive efforts were made to eliminate the trait until is was discovered that they’re at least as productive as Holsteins with black spots.
This should be remembered when you think tradition means people are doing something reasonable. Tradition, like evolution, probably means that disastrously bad traits are eliminated, not that exists is anywhere near excellence.
(1)]In the US, a white cow with black spots is the default image for a milk cow, and for those of us less educated about cattle, for cows in general.
Sounds like a sort of double-counting. “If I stopped believing the bad side of town is the bad side, then I might go over there and get mugged!”
I don’t think that’s necessarily it, I think it’s more like “avoiding that section of town costs me so little that I don’t want to bother to think about whether avoiding it makes sense”.