It’s not precisely that the average of a reasonably-size group guesses the weight of the cow more or less correctly (and nearly no individual does)… though this effect can be demonstrated under limited conditions. Rather it is that there’s a hidden aspect of our own cognition… that only really emerges in groups.

And most of us have only rarely glimpsed this, and, sometimes, in relatively bizarre contexts.

But this quality can be hijacked, so that we experience something like the opposite of a meaningful derivation or perspective… from the perspective ‘over’ the group in question.

If the core purposes of relationships are hijacked… let’s say ‘for convenience’… then the produce of the position above the individual… will not merely reflect that… it will exaggerate it.

Perhaps we need to learn the origins and structural imperatives of the processes that, when we are no longer vigilant… naturally invade and then dominate… the space of relation between us. And all of life…

For a social animal like ours, most of our assets only emerge in authentic social contexts. Counterfeiting these won’t do. It might actually undo… everything.