thread: 2006-09-08 : Ben on breaking tradition
On 2006-09-09, Clinton R. Nixon wrote:
Ok, everyone. I know Ben, and Ben is prone to statements like this. He is prone to these statements because (sorry, Ben) he is young. That should be valued, though: we need someone to have insights.
Re-read what he said. He said, to paraphrase, "usually it hurts you or someone around you when you break tradition, but that doesn't stop anyone, and sometimes, things work out." That's a pretty agreeable statement.
Read his entire post. "Is breaking tradition—which is really just a different way to say "making new stories—" right or wrong? Stupid or smart? I don't know." He's using a rhetorical device, but it caught some people in the first half.
I just re-read your postscript, Ben, and really got it. If you substitute the idea of "breaking tradition" for "mutation," you're explaining evolution. Most mutations aren't great for us, but we're bound to have them anyway, and the ones that work out well will survive to the next generation. If we didn't have mutations, the species would stagnate and we would cease to adapt.
