That response is incorrect. If someone can do something better, then innovation should be used. In the example, the reason the "other" gave, was that t'his is how you replace a heart valve', not 'this is the way we've always done things'. Do you think we replace heart valves in the same way that they were replaced 50 years ago? In fact, now valve replacements can be done laparoscopically, which wasn't available back then.
Pretty sure the commenter knew that the quote was about how it limits innovation when people brush off new ideas because its always been done another way, they were just making a joke about how if the new idea wasn't actually a good idea, then it could be really bad.
But to clarify, the "other" person DID respond with "B-but we've always done it this way!" first, he just went on to clarify that they were talking about replacing a heart valve so the reader would understand exactly whats going on. Its a writing technique to help explain to the audience what is happening with 1 quick sentence rather than writing a bunch of boring non-dialogue describing the setting to the reader.
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· 9 years ago
You should see what someone wrote in response to the surgical example. They totally tore it down and proved that the quote in the picture was true. Pretty awesome.
I have a hard time seeing that as the most dangerous. At worst, that phrase would ensure stagnation and a lack of progress, but there are other ideas out there that can actually push us backwards. Besides, it's grounded in reason -- tradition exists generally as a sum of all the wisdom that has gone before. Sometimes risks are too high and the "innovation" is too dangerous, and it's better to be safe than sorry. But I think what you want is to not only know that it's always been done this way, but to know why it's always been done that way. Then you can decide.
But to clarify, the "other" person DID respond with "B-but we've always done it this way!" first, he just went on to clarify that they were talking about replacing a heart valve so the reader would understand exactly whats going on. Its a writing technique to help explain to the audience what is happening with 1 quick sentence rather than writing a bunch of boring non-dialogue describing the setting to the reader.