Forgive a detour into nerdland, but my argument about strictly academic thinking in yesterday's "Con-Con" post reminded of a Star Trek episode, "The Immunity Syndrome," where the ship Intrepid, manned by Vulcans, has been destroyed. Dialog between Kirk and Spock:
S: Their logic would not have permitted them to believe they were being killed.Our collective memory does not allow most to fathom that they personally could end up in a mass grave.
K: Explain.
S: Vulcan has not been conquered within its collective memory. The memory goes back so far that no Vulcan can conceive of a conqueror. I knew the ship was lost because I sensed it.
K: What did you sense?
S: A touch of death.
K: And what do you think they felt?
S: Astonishment.