The Stupidity of Human Habit
„A lie doesn’t become truth, wrong doesn’t become right, and evil doesn’t become good just because it’s accepted by a majority.”
— Booker T. Washington
You know the story:
A housewife always cuts off both ends of her roast before putting it in the oven.
Why?
“Because my mother always did.”
So you ask the mother.
“Because her mother always did.”
Finally, you track down grandma and get the truth:
“My pan was too damn small.”
There it is.
Generations following a pointless ritual,
not because it ever made sense —
but because nobody dared to question it.
And here’s the punchline:
That’s how almost all human stupidity survives.
Dog training?
Somebody pins their dog or yells commands because some “expert” once did it.
Why?
Because their mentor did.
And theirs before that.
Not one ever stopped to ask if it works, or who’s suffering.
Science?
Most studies repeat the same tired routines —
lab tests designed decades ago,
measuring what’s easy, not what’s real.
Why?
Because it’s tradition.
Because no one wants to be the first idiot with a bigger pan.
Racism?
People judge skin, culture, accent, or even the “wrong” breed of dog.
Why?
Because their parents did.
Because their teachers did.
Because that’s what you do if you’re too lazy or scared to think for yourself.
Generational prejudice, passed down like a recipe nobody likes but everyone repeats.
Prejudice, bigotry, “us vs. them,”
whether you’re talking about humans or animals —
same old ritual,
same old small pan.
🪓 And that’s the tragedy:
We’re still cutting off the ends of everything —
dogs, facts, futures, people —
simply because we forgot to check if our tools fit the times.**
The worst cruelties are never invented on purpose.
They’re inherited, mindlessly repeated,
protected by the comfort of routine,
and justified by the fear of change.
And if all else fails,
just remember:
Next time you feel tempted to cut off the ends,
check the size of your pan —
and the size of your brain.
Because trust me:
Nobody ever got burned at the stake for asking why.
They got burned for asking twice.
So go ahead,
be the idiot who buys a bigger pan —
and watch the rest of them roast in tradition.
