[smogcutter]

> Never let it be said that shame isn't an effective tool.

This is true, but at the same time I think shame as a motivator is often really unhealthy. People can do all kinds of terrible things to avoid shame: at the extremes, witness things like family annihilators or so-called “honor killings”.

I’ve been reading a book about Midway lately so this is on the brain, but a culture of shame is part of the complex that prevented the Japanese from reeling in insubordinate but “patriotic” junior officers, and from realistically assessing their own and their opponents’ capabilities. Meanwhile the modern process for evaluating air accidents (constantly applauded on HN) explicitly removes the question of blame and shame.

So, I’m not really saying anything about Rice university. I’m sure they don’t have to worry about honor killings on campus. This has just been on my mind lately. Just saying that without social release valves for shame you can get some really wild consequences.

PS for anyone interested in Midway, read Shattered Sword for everything you ever wanted to know about early-war Japanese flight deck operations.