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Cargo Cult Go
The cargo cults of Melanesia are classic examples of bogus reasoning based on the all too common fallacy post hoc ergo propter hoc. Residents of several Pacific islands observed that military forces during World War II built landing strips which were shortly followed by aircraft delivering cargo. They later built their own torch illuminated airstrips, mock antennas and a control tower complete with a guy wearing wooden headphones. A whole religion emerged based on the belief that these recreations would eventually bring back foreigners' planes brimming with cargo.
Richard Feynman coined the term I've shamelessly copied the term to refer to a kind of go played by many novices (including, on occasion, myself) where the player copies moves they've seen elsewhere without understanding their meaning. The fact that the moves work for strong players and not for themselves can be quite mystifying. Some examples of cargo cult go include:
Author: Fwiffo This is a copy of the living page "Cargo Cult Go" at Sensei's Library. ![]() |