The story of the sheep and three black lines. What are the lessons? Why do we behave the way we do? Do you pause and think about your behaviour?

"The Story of the Sheep"

There was a little boy in Texas

The teacher asked the class, “If nine sheep are in the pen and one jumps out, how many are left?

And everybody got the answer right except this little boy, who said

“None of them are left.”

And the teacher said, “You don’t understand arithmetic.”

And he said, “No teacher. You don’t understand sheep.”

That day, the teacher learned a lesson: “Numbers and maths may not always solve the real-world problem”.

The smart little boy will grow up to be a wise man when he finds out that the sheep can change its mind anytime without telling him.

Certainty is an illusion.

"Three black lines"

Psychologist Asch investigated the inherent need to conform to social pressure.

Students from Swarthmore College, US participated in a “vision test”. In a group of 8, 7 were actors and agreed in advance to the wrong answer and the real participant had no clue.

Each person in the room had to state aloud which comparison line (A, B, or C) was most like the target line. The answer was always obvious C. The real participant sat at the end of the row and gave his or her answer last.

On average, about one-third of the participants who were placed in this situation went along and conformed with the incorrect majority on critical trials.

Why?

We still have a primitive evolutionary brain, the need to be part of the tribe stems from the urge to survive. Death was certain for the early human outcast by the Hunter-Gatherer tribe, individuals had no chance.

Even if you are a contrarian and right, you better be right within a time frame else you risk being either left behind by the tribe or run over by the herd.

The question always is and will be “To be, or not to be”

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The sheep story was narrated by none other than Charlie Munger

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