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Comment by forgottenacc56 | Hacker News Reader

'Cargo' cult? Why not just 'cult'? Why cargo?

Cargo cults are behaviors that arise from observing something and then misunderstanding it being caused by a specific thing you control.

They first came into prominence during WW2, when native tribes would observe food and other goods literally dropping from the sky for no apparent reason. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo_cult#Pacific_cults_of_Wo...

I know what a cargo cult is but use of the term would only be appropriate if that is the core premise of the article.

I've thought for a long time that a huge amount of business advice is cargo cultism, since the actual underlying determinants of success are so complex and hard to pick apart.

Anything far beyond the basics of value, product market fit, making something that costs less than you can sell it for, etc. is a bit suspect, especially if it starts to wax hyperbolic about ephemeral character traits and other wooey things.

I believe the usage of the term among science/technology folks has a lot to do with Feynman's use of the term:

http://www.lhup.edu/~DSIMANEK/cargocul.htm

Thank you for bringing that up. I realized the other day I don't know what "cargo cult" means despite having looked it up many times. It's one of those words.

Using the term "cargo cult" when only cult would suffice is a type of cargo cult on itself

More words makes a stronger point.

The CEOs are following a "cargo cult" if they falsely come to believe "X means that Y will happen" without understanding the deeper system.

Anyone following those CEOs would probably be in a cult, though :P

Because hauling cargo requires more physical endurance...

The term implies mimicking behaviors in vain hope of achieving the same results as those being mimicked. In this case, that'd be less sleep more multitasking more conspicuous effort.

If it were just "cult" I'd wonder where the meetings are being held, what the initiation rites are, and if there are cool-looking robes worn at them.

Cult does not necessarily means you need to associate with people in the same place. "cult movies" are not "cult" because people get together to talk about them or something. Cult has several meanings.

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