We need more goat sacrifices
The gist
Author Adam Mastroianni published an essay urging a goat sacrifice before major social policy or philanthropy.
He calls it a humility ritual, citing funded interventions he says failed.
How it unfolded
- Nov 10, 2026Mastroianni publishes "We need more goat sacrifices" on Experimental History, arguing for a goat sacrifice as "procedurally-induced humility" before major policy or philanthropy.
- Nov 10, 2026The post is submitted to Hacker News as "We Need More Goat Sacrifices" by pava, reaching 10 points and 2 comments.
- Nov 11, 2026A second Hacker News submission, "We need more goat sacrifices," is posted by iamnothere, reaching 12 points and 4 comments.
Key terms
- Hacker News
- A social news website focused on computer science and entrepreneurship, run by Y Combinator.
- A/B tests
- A randomized experiment comparing two or more versions of a single variable to determine which performs better.
Source: Wikipedia