[MD] Mao & The MoQ

[craigerb at comcast.net]

[Dave] 
> you still have to somehow figure out whether a 
> pattern is intellectual or not and I see no way within the implied MoQ rules 
> it is any more than a guess. 

Maybe an example (from politics) would help: 
Suppose 2 parties are arguing about who should be the next leader . 

One says it should be the crown prince; the other says there should be an election. 
The first is asked why & the reply is:  "it has always been that way." 

 In that case a mindless (social) tradition is being appealed to .     
On the other hand, a justification might be offered: 
"only someone raised to be a ruler is fit to rule; elections are just 
mindless popularity contests." 

In this case the appeal is intellectual.  
Craig