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ShalmaneserIII t1_itpf3uh wrote

Reply to comment by PoopMobile9000 in TIL that in a series of experiments in the 1950s, Solomon Asch asked a group of actors and a single test subject what the longest line was in a "vision test". The actors would intentionally answer incorrectly, causing the subject to also answer incorrectly, despite it being very obvious. by Amateur_Validator

They occasionally call this "Chesterton's Fence", after a passage from an essay by G.K. Chesterton.

Basically, if you don't see the point of a fence being in a location and want to take it down, that's not a good reason in itself. You need to know why the fence was put up in the first place. Someone had a reason to make the effort to put up the fence, and until you know why you don't know the consequences of taking it down.

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PoopMobile9000 t1_itpxpo5 wrote

That’s different. The concept I mentioned is “social proof” and about individuals instinctively copying the behavior of others. Chesterton’s fence is about not disrupting rules or systems without understanding where the rules came from.

(Ie, I learned about social proof in intro psych, and Chersterton’s fence in law school.)

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