Richmond, Virginia, seen from the east across the James River \u2014 an image that\u2019s completely irrelevant to the content of this blog entry except that it\u2019s roughly where I\u2019m posting from.
(Wikimedia Commons)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
On one of the planes today, I began reading Rolf Dobelli, Die Kunst des klugen Handelns: 52 Irrwege, die Sie besser anderen \u00fcberlassen<\/em> (Munich: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, 2014). \u00a0The title translates to something like \u201cThe Art of Smart Action: 52 Wrong Paths that Would Be Better Left to Others.\u201d \u00a0Rolf Dobelli is a Swiss author whose earlier book Die Kunst des klaren Denkens<\/em> (\u201cThe Art of Clear Thinking\u201d) I admired enormously.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
One of the chapters that I read treats what Dobelli calls, in a quintessentially German polysyllabic term,\u00a0Ber\u00fchrungsdenkfehler<\/em> (his rendition of the English contagion bias<\/em>).<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
He opens with the question, which I paraphrase here, \u201cWould you be willing to put on a freshly washed pullover sweater that had once been worn by Adolf Hitler?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then, with seemingly no relevance, he tells a story about the constant warfare of the European ninth century, which plunged that continent into bloody chaos, and about the method successfully used by the bishop of Auvergne in the early tenth century to put an end, largely if not entirely, to the violence and anarchy. \u00a0The bishop summoned other clergy, as well as a large number of the belligerent knights and princes and nobles, to a large gathering. \u00a0But he also assembled a vast number of religious relics \u2014 bones and prayer books and pieces of clothing that had once belonged to various saints \u2014 and, then summoned the assembled warriors to pledge, in the presence of those holy relics, to keep the peace.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Although we enlightened types today might smile at the na\u00efve superstitiousness of those who participated in the bishop\u2019s assembly, Dobelli suggests that we\u2019re really not much different. \u00a0Would you<\/em> put on Hitler\u2019s old sweater? \u00a0Many people, I expect, would be quite uncomfortable with the idea.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
But, of course, there\u2019s no rational reason<\/em> to be uncomfortable about putting on a piece of clothing that once belonged to the F\u00fchrer. \u00a0No physical trace of Hitler would remain on a freshly washed sweater nearly three-quarters of a century after his death. \u00a0And even if it did, what difference would that make?<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dobelli describes an experiment that was carried out by Paul Rozin and his colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania. \u00a0They asked each of their research subjects to bring to the laboratory a photograph of the person nearest and dearest to him or her. \u00a0The experimenters then pinned the photos to a dartboard and asked the participants in the study to throw darts at them.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Obviously, tossing a dart at a photo of your mother doesn\u2019t actually hurt her. \u00a0But those who were asked to aim at pictures of loved ones on a dartboard were significantly less accurate than the control group who simply threw darts at an unadorned target. \u00a0Which suggests that we\u2019re perhaps not as immune to a sense of the magic of physical objects associated with certain persons as we might imagine ourselves to be. \u00a0The bishop of Auvergne and his contemporaries may not be all that far from us.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Posted from Richmond, Virginia<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 On one of the planes today, I began reading Rolf Dobelli, Die Kunst des klugen Handelns: 52 Irrwege, die Sie besser anderen \u00fcberlassen (Munich: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, 2014). \u00a0The title translates to something like \u201cThe Art of Smart Action: 52 Wrong Paths that Would Be Better Left to Others.\u201d \u00a0Rolf Dobelli is a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3322,3319,2686,3316,743,3313,243],"class_list":["post-70483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-contagion-bias","tag-phobias","tag-psychology","tag-relics","tag-religion","tag-rolf-dobelli","tag-science"],"yoast_head":"\n
"Ber\u00fchrungsdenkfehler"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\" On one of the planes today, I began reading Rolf Dobelli, Die Kunst des klugen Handelns: 52 Irrwege, die Sie besser anderen \u00fcberlassen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/beruhrungsdenkfehler.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\""Ber\u00fchrungsdenkfehler"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\" On one of the planes today, I began reading Rolf Dobelli, Die Kunst des klugen Handelns: 52 Irrwege, die Sie besser anderen \u00fcberlassen\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/beruhrungsdenkfehler.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sic et Non\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-02-16T04:51:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-02-17T03:17:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2016\/12\/800px-Richmond_Virginia.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/beruhrungsdenkfehler.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/beruhrungsdenkfehler.html\",\"name\":\"\\\"Ber\u00fchrungsdenkfehler\\\"\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-02-16T04:51:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-02-17T03:17:53+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\"},\"description\":\" On one of the planes today, I began reading Rolf Dobelli, Die Kunst des klugen Handelns: 52 Irrwege, die Sie besser anderen \u00fcberlassen\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/beruhrungsdenkfehler.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/beruhrungsdenkfehler.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/beruhrungsdenkfehler.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"“Ber\u00fchrungsdenkfehler”\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/\",\"name\":\"Sic et Non\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\",\"name\":\"Dan Peterson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dan Peterson\"},\"description\":\"\\\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\\\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\"Ber\u00fchrungsdenkfehler\"","description":" On one of the planes today, I began reading Rolf Dobelli, Die Kunst des klugen Handelns: 52 Irrwege, die Sie besser anderen \u00fcberlassen","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/beruhrungsdenkfehler.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\"Ber\u00fchrungsdenkfehler\"","og_description":" On one of the planes today, I began reading Rolf Dobelli, Die Kunst des klugen Handelns: 52 Irrwege, die Sie besser anderen \u00fcberlassen","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/beruhrungsdenkfehler.html","og_site_name":"Sic et Non","article_published_time":"2019-02-16T04:51:53+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-02-17T03:17:53+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2016\/12\/800px-Richmond_Virginia.jpg"}],"author":"Dan Peterson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dan Peterson","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/beruhrungsdenkfehler.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/beruhrungsdenkfehler.html","name":"\"Ber\u00fchrungsdenkfehler\"","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-02-16T04:51:53+00:00","dateModified":"2019-02-17T03:17:53+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045"},"description":" On one of the planes today, I began reading Rolf Dobelli, Die Kunst des klugen Handelns: 52 Irrwege, die Sie besser anderen \u00fcberlassen","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/beruhrungsdenkfehler.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/beruhrungsdenkfehler.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/beruhrungsdenkfehler.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"“Ber\u00fchrungsdenkfehler”"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/","name":"Sic et Non","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045","name":"Dan Peterson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dan Peterson"},"description":"\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1019"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70483"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70483\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Richmond](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2016\/12\/800px-Richmond_Virginia.jpg\")
<\/a>