Originally Posted by Kharon
regulator paranoia around 'liability' and abrogation of responsibility
Kharon, this whole situation reminds me of the second of
Celine's Laws, first articulated by Robert Anton Wilson.
Celine's Second Law:
Accurate communication is possible only in a non-punishing situation.
Wilson uses the eye in the pyramid as a symbol of the dysfunction of hierarchies. Every level except the top is blind, but the eye can see only one way.
Wilson rephrases this himself many times as "communication occurs only between equals." Celine calls this law "a simple statement of the obvious" and refers to the fact that everyone who labors under an authority figure tends to lie to and flatter that authority figure in order to protect themselves either from violence or from deprivation of security (such as losing one's job). In essence, it is usually more in the interests of any worker to tell his boss what he wants to hear, not what is true.