What You Can't Say

From: Subject: What You Can't Say Date: Thu, 28 Apr 2005 11:12:12 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/related; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0000_01C54BE3.20C57CC0"; type="text/html" X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.50.4807.1700 This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0000_01C54BE3.20C57CC0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Location: http://www.paulgraham.com/say.html What You Can't Say

January=20 2004

Have=20 you ever seen an old photo of yourself and been embarrassed = at the=20 way you looked? Did we actually dress like that? We = did. And=20 we had no idea how silly we looked. It's the nature of = fashion to be=20 invisible, in the same way the movement of the earth is = invisible to=20 all of us riding on it.

What scares me is that there = are=20 moral fashions too. They're just as arbitrary, and just as = invisible=20 to most people. But they're much more dangerous. Fashion is = mistaken=20 for good design; moral fashion is mistaken for good. = Dressing oddly=20 gets you laughed at. Violating moral fashions can get you = fired,=20 ostracized, imprisoned, or even killed.

If you could = travel=20 back in a time machine, one thing would be true no matter = where you=20 went: you'd have to watch what you said. Opinions we = consider=20 harmless could have gotten you in big trouble. I've already = said at=20 least one thing that would have gotten me in big trouble in = most of=20 Europe in the seventeenth century, and did get Galileo in = big=20 trouble when he said it-- that the earth moves. = [1]

Nerds are=20 always getting in trouble. They=20 say improper things for the same reason they dress = unfashionably and=20 have good ideas: convention has less hold over = them.

It seems=20 to be a constant throughout history: In every period, people = believed things that were just ridiculous, and believed them = so=20 strongly that you would have gotten in terrible trouble for = saying=20 otherwise.

Is our time any different? To anyone who = has read=20 any amount of history, the answer is almost certainly no. It = would=20 be a remarkable coincidence if ours were the first era to = get=20 everything just right.

It's tantalizing to think we = believe=20 things that people in the future will find ridiculous. What=20 would someone coming back to visit us in a time = machine have=20 to be careful not to say? That's what I want to study here. = But I=20 want to do more than just shock everyone with the heresy du = jour. I=20 want to find general recipes for discovering what you can't = say, in=20 any era.

The Conformist = Test

Let's=20 start with a test: Do you have any opinions that you would = be=20 reluctant to express in front of a group of your = peers?

If=20 the answer is no, you might want to stop and think about = that. If=20 everything you believe is something you're supposed to = believe,=20 could that possibly be a coincidence? Odds are it isn't. = Odds are=20 you just think whatever you're told.

The other = alternative=20 would be that you independently considered every question = and came=20 up with the exact same answers that are now considered = acceptable.=20 That seems unlikely, because you'd also have to make the = same=20 mistakes. Mapmakers deliberately put slight mistakes in = their maps=20 so they can tell when someone copies them. If another map = has the=20 same mistake, that's very convincing evidence.

Like = every=20 other era in history, our moral map almost certainly = contains a few=20 mistakes. And anyone who makes the same mistakes probably = didn't do=20 it by accident. It would be like someone claiming they had=20 independently decided in 1972 that bell-bottom jeans were a = good=20 idea.

If you believe everything you're supposed to = now, how=20 can you be sure you wouldn't also have believed everything = you were=20 supposed to if you had grown up among the plantation owners = of the=20 pre-Civil War South, or in Germany in the 1930s-- or among = the=20 Mongols in 1200, for that matter? Odds are you would=20 have.

Back in the era of terms like "well-adjusted," = the idea=20 seemed to be that there was something wrong with you if you = thought=20 things you didn't dare say out loud. This seems backward. = Almost=20 certainly, there is something wrong with you if you = don't=20 think things you don't dare say out=20 loud.

Trouble

What can't we = say? One=20 way to find these ideas is simply to look at things people = do say,=20 and get in trouble for. [2]

Of course, we're not just = looking=20 for things we can't say. We're looking for things we can't = say that=20 are true, or at least have enough chance of being true that = the=20 question should remain open. But many of the things people = get in=20 trouble for saying probably do make it over this second, = lower=20 threshold. No one gets in trouble for saying that 2 + 2 is = 5, or=20 that people in Pittsburgh are ten feet tall. Such obviously = false=20 statements might be treated as jokes, or at worst as = evidence of=20 insanity, but they are not likely to make anyone mad. The = statements=20 that make people mad are the ones they worry might be = believed. I=20 suspect the statements that make people maddest are those = they worry=20 might be true.

If Galileo had said that people in = Padua were=20 ten feet tall, he would have been regarded as a harmless = eccentric.=20 Saying the earth orbited the sun was another matter. The = church knew=20 this would set people thinking.

Certainly, as we look = back on=20 the past, this rule of thumb works well. A lot of the = statements=20 people got in trouble for seem harmless now. So it's likely = that=20 visitors from the future would agree with at least some of = the=20 statements that get people in trouble today. Do we have no = Galileos?=20 Not likely.

To find them, keep track of opinions that = get=20 people in trouble, and start asking, could this be true? Ok, = it may=20 be heretical (or whatever modern equivalent), but might it = also be=20 true?

Heresy

This won't get us = all the=20 answers, though. What if no one happens to have gotten in = trouble=20 for a particular idea yet? What if some idea would be so=20 radioactively controversial that no one would dare express = it in=20 public? How can we find these too?

Another approach = is to=20 follow that word, heresy. In every period of history, there = seem to=20 have been labels that got applied to statements to shoot = them down=20 before anyone had a chance to ask if they were true or not.=20 "Blasphemy", "sacrilege", and "heresy" were such labels for = a good=20 part of western history, as in more recent times "indecent", = "improper", and "unamerican" have been. By now these labels = have=20 lost their sting. They always do. By now they're mostly used = ironically. But in their time, they had real = force.

The word=20 "defeatist", for example, has no particular political = connotations=20 now. But in Germany in 1917 it was a weapon, used by = Ludendorff in a=20 purge of those who favored a negotiated peace. At the start = of World=20 War II it was used extensively by Churchill and his = supporters to=20 silence their opponents. In 1940, any argument against = Churchill's=20 aggressive policy was "defeatist". Was it right or wrong? = Ideally,=20 no one got far enough to ask that.

We=20 have such labels today, of course, quite a lot of them, from = the=20 all-purpose "inappropriate" to the dreaded "divisive." In = any=20 period, it should be easy to figure out what such labels = are, simply=20 by looking at what people call ideas they disagree with = besides=20 untrue. When a politician says his opponent is mistaken, = that's a=20 straightforward criticism, but when he attacks a statement = as=20 "divisive" or "racially insensitive" instead of arguing that = it's=20 false, we should start paying attention.

So another = way to=20 figure out which of our taboos future generations will laugh = at is=20 to start with the labels. Take a label-- "sexist", for = example-- and=20 try to think of some ideas that would be called that. Then = for each=20 ask, might this be true?

Just start listing ideas at = random?=20 Yes, because they won't really be random. The ideas that = come to=20 mind first will be the most plausible ones. They'll be = things you've=20 already noticed but didn't let yourself think.

In = 1989 some=20 clever researchers tracked the eye movements of radiologists = as they=20 scanned chest images for signs of lung cancer. [3] They = found that=20 even when the radiologists missed a cancerous lesion, their = eyes had=20 usually paused at the site of it. Part of their brain knew = there was=20 something there; it just didn't percolate all the way up = into=20 conscious knowledge. I think many interesting heretical = thoughts are=20 already mostly formed in our minds. If we turn off our=20 self-censorship temporarily, those will be the first to=20 emerge.

Time and Space

If we = could look=20 into the future it would be obvious which of our taboos = they'd laugh=20 at. We can't do that, but we can do something almost as = good: we can=20 look into the past. Another way to figure out what we're = getting=20 wrong is to look at what used to be acceptable and is now=20 unthinkable.

Changes between the past and the present = sometimes do represent progress. In a field like physics, if = we=20 disagree with past generations it's because we're right and = they're=20 wrong. But this becomes rapidly less true as you move away = from the=20 certainty of the hard sciences. By the time you get to = social=20 questions, many changes are just fashion. The age of consent = fluctuates like hemlines.

We may imagine that we are = a great=20 deal smarter and more virtuous than past generations, but = the more=20 history you read, the less likely this seems. People in past = times=20 were much like us. Not heroes, not barbarians. Whatever = their ideas=20 were, they were ideas reasonable people could = believe.

So=20 here is another source of interesting heresies. Diff present = ideas=20 against those of various past cultures, and see what you = get. [4]=20 Some will be shocking by present standards. Ok, fine; but = which=20 might also be true?

You don't have to look into the = past to=20 find big differences. In our own time, different societies = have=20 wildly varying ideas of what's ok and what isn't. So you can = try=20 diffing other cultures' ideas against ours as well. (The = best way to=20 do that is to visit them.)

You might find = contradictory=20 taboos. In one culture it might seem shocking to think x, = while in=20 another it was shocking not to. But I think usually the = shock is on=20 one side. In one culture x is ok, and in another it's = considered=20 shocking. My hypothesis is that the side that's shocked is = most=20 likely to be the mistaken one. [5]

I suspect the only = taboos=20 that are more than taboos are the ones that are universal, = or nearly=20 so. Murder for example. But any idea that's considered = harmless in a=20 significant percentage of times and places, and yet is taboo = in=20 ours, is a good candidate for something we're mistaken=20 about.

For example, at the high water mark of = political=20 correctness in the early 1990s, Harvard distributed to its = faculty=20 and staff a brochure saying, among other things, that it was = inappropriate to compliment a colleague or student's = clothes. No=20 more "nice shirt." I think this principle is rare among the = world's=20 cultures, past or present. There are probably more where = it's=20 considered especially polite to compliment someone's = clothing than=20 where it's considered improper. So odds are this is, in a = mild form,=20 an example of one of the taboos a visitor from the future = would have=20 to be careful to avoid if he happened to set his time = machine for=20 Cambridge, Massachusetts,=20 1992.

Prigs

Of course, if they = have=20 time machines in the future they'll probably have a separate = reference manual just for Cambridge. This has always been a = fussy=20 place, a town of i dotters and t crossers, where you're = liable to=20 get both your grammar and your ideas corrected in the same=20 conversation. And that suggests another way to find taboos. = Look for=20 prigs, and see what's inside their heads.

Kids' heads = are=20 repositories of all our taboos. It seems fitting to us that = kids'=20 ideas should be bright and clean. The picture we give them = of the=20 world is not merely simplified, to suit their developing = minds, but=20 sanitized as well, to suit our ideas of what kids ought to = think.=20 [6]

You can see this on a small scale in the matter = of dirty=20 words. A lot of my friends are starting to have children = now, and=20 they're all trying not to use words like "fuck" and "shit" = within=20 baby's hearing, lest baby start using these words too. But = these=20 words are part of the language, and adults use them all the = time. So=20 parents are giving their kids an inaccurate idea of the = language by=20 not using them. Why do they do this? Because they don't = think it's=20 fitting that kids should use the whole language. We like = children to=20 seem innocent. [7]

Most adults, likewise, = deliberately give=20 kids a misleading view of the world. One of the most obvious = examples is Santa Claus. We think it's cute for little kids = to=20 believe in Santa Claus. I myself think it's cute for little = kids to=20 believe in Santa Claus. But one wonders, do we tell them = this stuff=20 for their sake, or for ours?

I'm not arguing for or = against=20 this idea here. It is probably inevitable that parents = should want=20 to dress up their kids' minds in cute little baby outfits. = I'll=20 probably do it myself. The important thing for our purposes = is that,=20 as a result, a well brought-up teenage kid's brain is a more = or less=20 complete collection of all our taboos-- and in mint = condition,=20 because they're untainted by experience. Whatever we think = that will=20 later turn out to be ridiculous, it's almost certainly = inside that=20 head.

How do we get at these ideas? By the following = thought=20 experiment. Imagine a kind of latter-day Conrad character = who has=20 worked for a time as a mercenary in Africa, for a time as a = doctor=20 in Nepal, for a time as the manager of a nightclub in Miami. = The=20 specifics don't matter-- just someone who has seen a lot. = Now=20 imagine comparing what's inside this guy's head with what's = inside=20 the head of a well-behaved sixteen year old girl from the = suburbs.=20 What does he think that would shock her? He knows the world; = she=20 knows, or at least embodies, present taboos. Subtract one = from the=20 other, and the result is what we can't say.

Mechanism

I=20 can think of one more way to figure out what we can't say: = to look=20 at how taboos are created. How do moral fashions arise, and = why are=20 they adopted? If we can understand this mechanism, we may be = able to=20 see it at work in our own time.

Moral fashions don't = seem to=20 be created the way ordinary fashions are. Ordinary fashions = seem to=20 arise by accident when everyone imitates the whim of some=20 influential person. The fashion for broad-toed shoes in late = fifteenth century Europe began because Charles VIII of = France had=20 six toes on one foot. The fashion for the name Gary began = when the=20 actor Frank Cooper adopted the name of a tough mill town in = Indiana.=20 Moral fashions more often seem to be created deliberately. = When=20 there's something we can't say, it's often because some = group=20 doesn't want us to.

The prohibition will be strongest = when=20 the group is nervous. The irony of Galileo's situation was = that he=20 got in trouble for repeating Copernicus's ideas. Copernicus = himself=20 didn't. In fact, Copernicus was a canon of a cathedral, and=20 dedicated his book to the pope. But by Galileo's time the = church was=20 in the throes of the Counter-Reformation and was much more = worried=20 about unorthodox ideas.

To launch a taboo, a group = has to be=20 poised halfway between weakness and power. A confident group = doesn't=20 need taboos to protect it. It's not considered improper to = make=20 disparaging remarks about Americans, or the English. And yet = a group=20 has to be powerful enough to enforce a taboo. Coprophiles, = as of=20 this writing, don't seem to be numerous or energetic enough = to have=20 had their interests promoted to a lifestyle.

I = suspect the=20 biggest source of moral taboos will turn out to be power = struggles=20 in which one side only barely has the upper hand. That's = where=20 you'll find a group powerful enough to enforce taboos, but = weak=20 enough to need them.

Most struggles, whatever they're = really=20 about, will be cast as struggles between competing ideas. = The=20 English Reformation was at bottom a struggle for wealth and = power,=20 but it ended up being cast as a struggle to preserve the = souls of=20 Englishmen from the corrupting influence of Rome. It's = easier to get=20 people to fight for an idea. And whichever side wins, their = ideas=20 will also be considered to have triumphed, as if God wanted = to=20 signal his agreement by selecting that side as the = victor.

We=20 often like to think of World War II as a triumph of freedom = over=20 totalitarianism. We conveniently forget that the Soviet = Union was=20 also one of the winners.

I'm not saying that = struggles are=20 never about ideas, just that they will always be made to = seem to be=20 about ideas, whether they are or not. And just as there is = nothing=20 so unfashionable as the last, discarded fashion, there is = nothing so=20 wrong as the principles of the most recently defeated = opponent. Representational=20 art is only now recovering from the approval of both Hitler = and=20 Stalin. [8]

Although moral fashions tend to arise = from=20 different sources than fashions in clothing, the mechanism = of their=20 adoption seems much the same. The early adopters will be = driven by=20 ambition: self-consciously cool people who want to = distinguish=20 themselves from the common herd. As the fashion becomes = established=20 they'll be joined by a second, much larger group, driven by = fear.=20 [9] This second group adopt the fashion not because they = want to=20 stand out but because they are afraid of standing = out.

So if=20 you want to figure out what we can't say, look at the = machinery of=20 fashion and try to predict what it would make unsayable. = What groups=20 are powerful but nervous, and what ideas would they like to=20 suppress? What ideas were tarnished by association when they = ended=20 up on the losing side of a recent struggle? If a = self-consciously=20 cool person wanted to differentiate himself from preceding = fashions=20 (e.g. from his parents), which of their ideas would he tend = to=20 reject? What are conventional-minded people afraid of=20 saying?

This technique won't find us all the things = we can't=20 say. I can think of some that aren't the result of any = recent=20 struggle. Many of our taboos are rooted deep in the past. = But this=20 approach, combined with the preceding four, will turn up a = good=20 number of unthinkable = ideas.

Why

Some=20 would ask, why would one want to do this? Why deliberately = go poking=20 around among nasty, disreputable ideas? Why look under=20 rocks?

I do it, first of all, for the same reason I = did look=20 under rocks as a kid: plain curiosity. And I'm especially = curious=20 about anything that's forbidden. Let me see and decide for=20 myself.

Second, I do it because I don't like the idea = of=20 being mistaken. If, like other eras, we believe things that = will=20 later seem ridiculous, I want to know what they are so that = I, at=20 least, can avoid believing them.

Third, I do it = because it's=20 good for the brain. To do good work you need a brain that = can go=20 anywhere. And you especially need a brain that's in the = habit of=20 going where it's not supposed to.

Great work tends to = grow=20 out of ideas that others have overlooked, and no idea is so=20 overlooked as one that's unthinkable. Natural selection, for = example. It's so simple. Why didn't anyone think of it = before? Well,=20 that is all too obvious. Darwin himself was careful to = tiptoe around=20 the implications of his theory. He wanted to spend his time = thinking=20 about biology, not arguing with people who accused him of = being an=20 atheist.

In the sciences, especially, it's a great = advantage=20 to be able to question assumptions. The m.o. of scientists, = or at=20 least of the good ones, is precisely that: look for places = where=20 conventional wisdom is broken, and then try to pry apart the = cracks=20 and see what's underneath. That's where new theories come=20 from.

A good scientist, in other words, does not = merely=20 ignore conventional wisdom, but makes a special effort to = break it.=20 Scientists go looking for trouble. This should be the m.o. = of any=20 scholar, but scientists seem much more willing to look under = rocks.=20 [10]

Why? It could be that the scientists are simply = smarter;=20 most physicists could, if necessary, make it through a PhD = program=20 in French literature, but few professors of French = literature could=20 make it through a PhD program in physics. Or it could be = because=20 it's clearer in the sciences whether theories are true or = false, and=20 this makes scientists bolder. (Or it could be that, because = it's=20 clearer in the sciences whether theories are true or false, = you have=20 to be smart to get jobs as a scientist, rather than just a = good=20 politician.)

Whatever the reason, there seems a clear = correlation between intelligence and willingness to consider = shocking ideas. This isn't just because smart people = actively work=20 to find holes in conventional thinking. I think conventions = also=20 have less hold over them to start with. You can see that in = the way=20 they dress.

It's not only in the sciences that heresy = pays=20 off. In any competitive field, you can win big by = seeing=20 things that others daren't. And in every field there are = probably=20 heresies few dare utter. Within the US car industry there is = a lot=20 of hand-wringing now about declining market share. Yet the = cause is=20 so obvious that any observant outsider could explain it in a = second:=20 they make bad cars. And they have for so long that by now = the US car=20 brands are antibrands-- something you'd buy a car despite, = not=20 because of. Cadillac stopped being the Cadillac of cars in = about=20 1970. And yet I suspect no one dares say this. [11] = Otherwise these=20 companies would have tried to fix the = problem.

Training=20 yourself to think unthinkable thoughts has advantages beyond = the=20 thoughts themselves. It's like stretching. When you stretch = before=20 running, you put your body into positions much more extreme = than any=20 it will assume during the run. If you can think things so = outside=20 the box that they'd make people's hair stand on end, you'll = have no=20 trouble with the small trips outside the box that people = call=20 innovative.

Pensieri=20 Stretti

When you find something you can't = say, what=20 do you do with it? My advice is, don't say it. Or at least, = pick=20 your battles.

Suppose in the future there is a = movement to=20 ban the color yellow. Proposals to paint anything yellow are = denounced as "yellowist", as is anyone suspected of liking = the=20 color. People who like orange are tolerated but viewed with=20 suspicion. Suppose you realize there is nothing wrong with = yellow.=20 If you go around saying this, you'll be denounced as a = yellowist=20 too, and you'll find yourself having a lot of arguments with = anti-yellowists. If your aim in life is to rehabilitate the = color=20 yellow, that may be what you want. But if you're mostly = interested=20 in other questions, being labelled as a yellowist will just = be a=20 distraction. Argue with idiots, and you become an = idiot.

The=20 most important thing is to be able to think what you want, = not to=20 say what you want. And if you feel you have to say = everything you=20 think, it may inhibit you from thinking improper thoughts. I = think=20 it's better to follow the opposite policy. Draw a sharp line = between=20 your thoughts and your speech. Inside your head, anything is = allowed. Within my head I make a point of encouraging the = most=20 outrageous thoughts I can imagine. But, as in a secret = society,=20 nothing that happens within the building should be told to=20 outsiders. The first rule of Fight Club is, you do not talk = about=20 Fight Club.

When Milton was going to visit Italy in = the=20 1630s, Sir Henry Wootton, who had been ambassador to Venice, = told=20 him his motto should be "i pensieri stretti & il viso = sciolto." Closed thoughts and an open face. Smile at = everyone,=20 and don't tell them what you're thinking. This was wise = advice.=20 Milton was an argumentative fellow, and the Inquisition was = a bit=20 restive at that time. But I think the difference between = Milton's=20 situation and ours is only a matter of degree. Every era has = its=20 heresies, and if you don't get imprisoned for them you will = at least=20 get in enough trouble that it becomes a complete=20 distraction.

I admit it seems cowardly to keep quiet. = When I=20 read about the harassment to which the Scientologists = subject their=20 critics [12], or that pro-Israel groups are "compiling = dossiers" on=20 those who speak out against Israeli human rights abuses = [13], or=20 about people being sued for violating the DMCA [14], part of = me=20 wants to say, "All right, you bastards, bring it on." The = problem=20 is, there are so many things you can't say. If you said them = all=20 you'd have no time left for your real work. You'd have to = turn into=20 Noam Chomsky. [15]

The trouble with keeping your = thoughts=20 secret, though, is that you lose the advantages of = discussion.=20 Talking about an idea leads to more ideas. So the optimal = plan, if=20 you can manage it, is to have a few trusted friends you can = speak=20 openly to. This is not just a way to develop ideas; it's = also a good=20 rule of thumb for choosing friends. The people you can say = heretical=20 things to without getting jumped on are also the most = interesting to=20 know.

Viso Sciolto?

I = don't=20 think we need the viso sciolto so much as the = pensieri=20 stretti. Perhaps the best policy is to make it plain = that you=20 don't agree with whatever zealotry is current in your time, = but not=20 to be too specific about what you disagree with. Zealots = will try to=20 draw you out, but you don't have to answer them. If they try = to=20 force you to treat a question on their terms by asking "are = you with=20 us or against us?" you can always just answer=20 "neither".

Better still, answer "I haven't decided." = That's=20 what Larry Summers did when a group tried to put him in this = position. Explaining himself later, he said "I don't do = litmus=20 tests." [16] A lot of the questions people get hot about are = actually quite complicated. There is no prize for getting = the answer=20 quickly.

If the anti-yellowists seem to be getting = out of=20 hand and you want to fight back, there are ways to do it = without=20 getting yourself accused of being a yellowist. Like = skirmishers in=20 an ancient army, you want to avoid directly engaging the = main body=20 of the enemy's troops. Better to harass them with arrows = from a=20 distance.

One way to do this is to ratchet the debate = up one=20 level of abstraction. If you argue against censorship in = general,=20 you can avoid being accused of whatever heresy is contained = in the=20 book or film that someone is trying to censor. You can = attack labels=20 with meta-labels: labels that refer to the use of labels to = prevent=20 discussion. The spread of the term "political correctness" = meant the=20 beginning of the end of political correctness, because it = enabled=20 one to attack the phenomenon as a whole without being = accused of any=20 of the specific heresies it sought to = suppress.

Another way=20 to counterattack is with metaphor. Arthur Miller undermined = the=20 House Un-American Activities Committee by writing a play, = "The=20 Crucible," about the Salem witch trials. He never referred = directly=20 to the committee and so gave them no way to reply. What = could HUAC=20 do, defend the Salem witch trials? And yet Miller's metaphor = stuck=20 so well that to this day the activities of the committee are = often=20 described as a "witch-hunt."

Best of all, probably, = is humor.=20 Zealots, whatever their cause, invariably lack a sense of = humor.=20 They can't reply in kind to jokes. They're as unhappy on the = territory of humor as a mounted knight on a skating rink. = Victorian=20 prudishness, for example, seems to have been defeated mainly = by=20 treating it as a joke. Likewise its reincarnation as = political=20 correctness. "I am glad that I managed to write 'The = Crucible,'"=20 Arthur Miller wrote, "but looking back I have often wished = I'd had=20 the temperament to do an absurd comedy, which is what the = situation=20 deserved." [17]

ABQ

A Dutch = friend says=20 I should use Holland as an example of a tolerant society. = It's true=20 they have a long tradition of comparative open-mindedness. = For=20 centuries the low countries were the place to go to say = things you=20 couldn't say anywhere else, and this helped to make the = region a=20 center of scholarship and industry (which have been closely = tied for=20 longer than most people realize). Descartes, though claimed = by the=20 French, did much of his thinking in Holland.

And yet, = I=20 wonder. The Dutch seem to live their lives up to their necks = in=20 rules and regulations. There's so much you can't do there; = is there=20 really nothing you can't say?

Certainly the fact that = they=20 value open-mindedness is no guarantee. Who thinks they're = not=20 open-minded? Our hypothetical prim miss from the suburbs = thinks=20 she's open-minded. Hasn't she been taught to be? Ask anyone, = and=20 they'll say the same thing: they're pretty open-minded, = though they=20 draw the line at things that are really wrong. (Some tribes = may=20 avoid "wrong" as judgemental, and may instead use a more = neutral=20 sounding euphemism like "negative" or = "destructive".)

When=20 people are bad at math, they know it, because they get the = wrong=20 answers on tests. But when people are bad at open-mindedness = they=20 don't know it. In fact they tend to think the opposite. = Remember,=20 it's the nature of fashion to be invisible. It wouldn't work = otherwise. Fashion doesn't seem like fashion to someone in = the grip=20 of it. It just seems like the right thing to do. It's only = by=20 looking from a distance that we see oscillations in people's = idea of=20 the right thing to do, and can identify them as=20 fashions.

Time gives us such distance for free. = Indeed, the=20 arrival of new fashions makes old fashions easy to see, = because they=20 seem so ridiculous by contrast. From one end of a pendulum's = swing,=20 the other end seems especially far away.

To see = fashion in=20 your own time, though, requires a conscious effort. Without = time to=20 give you distance, you have to create distance yourself. = Instead of=20 being part of the mob, stand as far away from it as you can = and=20 watch what it's doing. And pay especially close attention = whenever=20 an idea is being suppressed. Web filters for children and = employees=20 often ban sites containing pornography, violence, and hate = speech.=20 What counts as pornography and violence? And what, exactly, = is "hate=20 speech?" This sounds like a phrase out of = 1984.

Labels=20 like that are probably the biggest external clue. If a = statement is=20 false, that's the worst thing you can say about it. You = don't need=20 to say that it's heretical. And if it isn't false, it = shouldn't be=20 suppressed. So when you see statements being attacked as = x-ist or=20 y-ic (substitute your current values of x and y), whether in = 1630 or=20 2030, that's a sure sign that something is wrong. When you = hear such=20 labels being used, ask why.

Especially if you hear = yourself=20 using them. It's not just the mob you need to learn to watch = from a=20 distance. You need to be able to watch your own thoughts = from a=20 distance. That's not a radical idea, by the way; it's the = main=20 difference between children and adults. When a child gets = angry=20 because he's tired, he doesn't know what's happening. An = adult can=20 distance himself enough from the situation to say "never = mind, I'm=20 just tired." I don't see why one couldn't, by a similar = process,=20 learn to recognize and discount the effects of moral=20 fashions.

You have to take that extra step if you = want to=20 think clearly. But it's harder, because now you're working = against=20 social customs instead of with them. Everyone encourages you = to grow=20 up to the point where you can discount your own bad moods. = Few=20 encourage you to continue to the point where you can = discount=20 society's bad moods.

How can you see the wave, when = you're=20 the water? Always be questioning. That's the only defence. = What=20 can't you say? And why?

Thanks to = Sarah=20 Harlin, Trevor Blackwell, Jessica Livingston, Robert Morris, = Eric=20 Raymond and Bob van der Zwaan for reading drafts of this = essay, and=20 to Lisa Randall, Jackie McDonough, Ryan Stanley and Joel = Rainey for=20 conversations about heresy. Needless to say they bear no = blame for=20 opinions expressed in it, and especially for opinions = not=20 expressed in it.

You'll find this essay and = 14 others in=20 Hackers=20 & Painters.


		Notes				Re: What You = Can't=20 Say

		Labels				Japanese = Translation

		Buttons				The=20 Perils of Obedience

		A = Civic=20 Duty to Annoy				Aliens=20 Cause Global Warming

		Hays=20 Code				Stratagem=20 32

		Conspiracy=20 Theories				Mark Twain: = Corn-pone=20 Opinions

		French=20 Translation

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