Re: [Membership] Divide and rule by geography or language

[Elliot Nesterman <elliot@inch.com>]

FWIW Dept.
The holes in a fishnet are not designed to allow fish _in_, they are
designed to keep them from getting  _out_. Thus, if you fish with a net
with 5cm holes you will catch only fish _larger_ than 5cm. Then you
might say that there are no small fish in the sea. If you use a net with
larger holes you will indeed let more fish through, to the detriment of
your catch.

Michael Sondow scripsit:
>If you fish in the sea with a net that has holes two inches wide, you will
>catch only fish that measure two inches. People who don't know the sea may,
>if they look at your catch, be impressed by the numbers of small fish in the
>sea; but using your catch as an argument that all the fish in the sea are
>tiny is foolish. All you can really say is that there are small fish in the
>sea and that nets with small holes catch them. And if you are selling fish
>retail to the public you may go broke despite the size of your catch,
>because most people don't like to clean little fish. It would be better for
>you to use a net with bigger holes, to let all the fish through. That way,
>you could choose the best ones. Of course, you couldn't do this if you
>didn't know there are big fish in the sea also.