Cargo Cult Science: The Illusion of Understanding
After World War II, some South Pacific islanders observed Allied cargo planes delivering supplies during the war. When the soldiers left, the planes stopped coming. Believing that they could attract the planes again, the islanders built imitation airstrips, wooden control towers, and even wore carved headphones—faithfully copying every visible detail. But no planes ever landed, because what they lacked was not appearance but the underlying infrastructure: navigation systems, logistics, and global networks.
Physicist Richard Feynman later used this story to define cargo cult science—research or practice that looks scientific but lacks genuine scientific integrity. It follows the form of science—controlled experiments, graphs, technical jargon—without the spirit of curiosity, honesty, and rigorous self-checking.
A modern-day example appears in business and technology: companies mimic the surface of innovation—open offices, Agile meetings, slogans about “disruption”—but without understanding the deeper culture of experimentation or learning from failure. Similarly, in education, schools may adopt “STEM” branding while continuing rote learning that discourages inquiry.
To identify cargo cult thinking, ask:
Are we copying success without understanding its cause?
Do we measure results critically, or just repeat rituals that look right?
Are we open to being wrong, or only to appearing competent?
Avoiding cargo cult science requires humility and self-awareness. True progress is built not by imitation of outcomes, but by understanding the invisible systems—the thinking, questioning, and honesty—that make those outcomes possible.
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