Cargo Cults
In this episode Dave and Jonathan ramble on about cargo cults and how humans develop ritualistic behaviors that completely miss the point of what they are trying to accomplish. In programming, business management and even in science itself there are many examples of people doing silly things while appearing to look like they are working.
links:
Animal superstition
Easily hacked certificate authorities (Diginotar)
Dave Keeshan
Jonathan Byrne