In addition to the Generalized Lie (any set of false beliefs that people keep on repeating because people keep on repeating them), there is also the Cute Story, which is any cliché that would seem to disprove common experience in a delightful fashion.

For example, you have been working in puppet repair for some years. What must happen is: the boss will hire someone who has never seen a puppet before to get a new angle on the whole thing, to help grow the business moving forward.

The new person watches the operation for a bit and immediately asks a pertinent question, such as, “Why do fools fall in love?” or “Why are you doing that?” And you have to say:

“Well, I'll be switched. I've always done it that way. Never thought about it, really.”

And it turns out this thing you've been doing for years is a completely unnecessary step, a fossilized ritual from medieval puppet-repair. According to the Cute Story, that's just the sort of thing that would happen. It is assumed that you, a long-time employee, can no longer see the forest for the trees because you have been there so long. That happens to every woodsman. Most woodsmen, after a few years in the bush, stagger around bumping into things and wondering where the forest got to, and they then have to be airlifted out to civilization to learn how to recognize forests.

Anyway, the crucial thing is, people like Cute Stories, because normal experience can be dismal and boring.

Labels: Why People Are Excited by Halfwit Candidates