Liliputin- 5082

Only people blinded by politics can't see the Birnam Wood for the trees  ... "
William Shakespeare

Liliputins. What, the heck, is this?
http://stihi.ru/2021/11/24/7101

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can't see the forest for the trees"

The German equivalent of the idiom "can't see the forest for the trees" portrays the idea that someone is so concerned with the details of something that they fail to grasp the situation as a whole. Sometimes being too preoccupied with the smaller things can mean missing the bigger picture.


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Den Wald vor lauter Baeumen nicht sehen

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Blinded by Politics
Those who prejudge people with different views may be missing out.
By Matt Huston published March 5, 2019 - last reviewed on May 6, 2019

It's hard not to make assumptions about people based on their political leanings. Accordingly, we may tread lightly when broaching immigration with a conservative pal—or gun shows with a liberal one. But overly broad inferences about others could prove costly.

Knowing someone's political beliefs, a recent paper contends, can affect how we assess that person's nonpolitical knowledge. In a pair of online experiments, participants responded to questions about political issues and learned the stances of several unseen "sources." They also did a run-through of a symbol-categorization task and saw whether the sources gave correct responses on it.

Later, as participants sought to win a small reward by completing the symbol task accurately, they were allowed to peek at how one of the sources had answered. To succeed, they should have simply turned to the sources who were best at the task. But politics appeared to color their choices. On average, they were no more likely to consult an accurate source who was politically different from them than they were to rely on a politically similar source whose responses were random.

When we perceive someone as similar to us, we may grant them believability "bonus points," says cognitive neuroscientist Tali Sharot at University College London, one of the study's authors. She suspects the findings reflect a halo effect: "If you think someone has a characteristic that you value, that spills over to other characteristics."

This bias could have real consequences, researchers suggest, if it leads us to write off valuable input from experts or media outlets based on their political bent. "We may feel that we have carefully reasoned our way through the issues, so if someone else has reached similar views, we might assume they are careful reasoners too," explains Ryan McKay, a psychologist at Royal Holloway University of London who reviewed the studies. "But that assumption may be mistaken."

Even social inferences that seem safe might be misleading. In one study conducted after the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Clinton voters inferred that immigration—an issue on which Trump was especially outspoken—was a more important factor for Trump voters than his supporters said it was. Quick judgments may prevent us from finding out what actually matters to people who vote differently. "I think the element of overconfidence is dangerous," says IESE Business School researcher Kate Barasz, who co-authored the study. "It allows us to sidestep a dialogue."


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Birnam Wood in Macbeth | Overview & Prophecy
What is Birnam Wood in Macbeth?
Birnam Wood is a forest near Dusinane Hill in Scotland. The English Army cuts it down and uses it to disguise their approach to the hill. This fulfills the prophecy set by the Weird Sisters.

How did Birnam Wood come to Dunsinane in Macbeth?
Birname Wood is chopped down at the command of Malcom by the English army. They carry the branches in order to camouflage their approach to Dusinane.

What did the witches say about Birnam Wood?
The witches conjure three apparitions. One is a child wearing a crown and carrying a tree. He predicts that Macbeth will be King of Scotland until Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane.

Birnam Wood in Macbeth
While Macbeth is a fictitious play authored by William Shakespeare, its primary setting is based on real-world locations. For example, Birnam Wood in Macbeth is a forest near Dunsinane Hill, where King Macbeth lives in his castle. Both of these locations were once battlegrounds for significant conflict in medieval Scotland. In the final act of Shakespeare's play, the forest plays a pivotal role. A prophecy Macbeth receives from three witches suggests he will remain king until Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane. Because trees can't move and entire forests aren't capable of relocating, Macbeth believes this to be impossible. Considering himself invincible, he rests easy. Unbeknownst to Macbeth, his primary antagonists form an army, and Birnam Wood is central in their plan to overthrow his reign. The forest is therefore vital to the play's plot and primarily used to foretell and bring about Macbeth's tragic downfall, which will be further explained in this lesson.

Birnam Wood

The Birnam Wood Prophecy
In Macbeth, Macbeth twice encounters three witches known as the Weird Sisters. In his second visit, they conjure three apparitions, one of which predicts "Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come against him." Macbeth interprets the prophecy literally, considering the possibility of his power being vanquished just as unlikely as trees uprooting themselves and walking up Dunsinane hill. "That will never be," he asserts. "Who can impress the forest, bid the tree unfix his earth-bound root? Sweet bodements! Good!" Satisfied, he returns home, assuming no enemy can harm him. Previously paranoid, he rests in a false sense of security, making himself vulnerable.

The Weird Sisters' prophecies are examples of foreshadowing, a dramatic and literary device providing insight into events that have yet to transpire in the story. Although Macbeth misinterprets them, the prophecies foretell his imminent fate and foreshadow coming events for the audience.