From the Catching-Up Department: Several weeks ago my sister* pointed me to the October 17 episode of The Engines of our Ingenuity, which is a daily five minute piece on public radio about science and engineering. This episode was about two World War II Japanese soldiers who refused to surrender until 1972 and 1974, respectively, despite repeated attempts to convince them the war was over.
Excerpt:
How, we wonder, were these soldiers, and others like them, so unequipped to make sense of the facts around them? Both lived by a strong and principled code of simple belief.
One can only admire such dedication to principle. It’s the simplicity part that deluded them.
The world is complex. Simple answers are surely the best answers, but only when they’ve been squared with all the facts. What we know has to evolve as new evidence unfolds.
(Emphasis original, extra paragraphing added.)
* who prefers that I refer to her as my sainted, much younger sister
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