Acquaintance with rituals

Since I’ve come to this software development business I’ve been struck by the role that ritual plays - more so in corporate bussinesses, but also on start-ups.

There are roles specifically designed for people to (1) know what is the proper ritual to hold at the given moment and (2) ensure the ritual is held appropriately. And people filling those roles don’t need to know how to code - they don’t need to have much technical knowledge at all actually, just enough to fulfill those 2 points laid above.

When I was first presented to that sort of arrangement (scrum rituals in my case, when I was just out of technical school on my first internship), I found it somewhat peculiar, and that young me couldn’t help thinking it was suboptimal - it was a small team of programmers, on the same table, so “why couldn’t we just talk to ourselves when we found the need, and otherwise just do our business? I can’t see a need for a cristalyzed ritual”, I thought.

If one thinks about it, it makes sense: for small teams (and I’m yet to see a large team (though, granted, most often those small teams have to talk to many other teams (or squads or what have you), but that’s (I’d argue) a different issue, for a different post)) the people involved could just talk to each other, see what each one can do, each one would get tasks according to their capacity and then, when wathever issue comes, they’d just talk among themselves how to solve it (on pre-covid times, it wasn’t unusual for teams to work on the same room and same table, so communication would likely not be much of an issue).

And yet people, smart people, thought it would be a good idea to develop and nurture rituals for code development - the industry largely following suit. Why is that? That is, what is the role of the ritual, and what is its importance?

A disilusioned master

I think there’s hardly anyone better to give a try in answering that question than a confucian scholar, so I enlisted one to talk to our agile-master-in-doubt on the Delfos Cafe (a cafe where one can find all sort of interesting characters, I recommend the visit).

Dalto is an agile master who oversees a number of teams at a corporation, but has grown tired of (what he sees as) those silly repetitive rituals. So he decides going to Delfos cafe, to relax and see if he can better organize his ideas.

As he sits and asks for his coffee and black cake, ms. Luísa, a confucian scholar sees the grief in his face and decides to talk to him, to see if she can lift him up somewhat.

The Conversation

First she greets him, with a smile a small reverence and a “hi”, to which the agilist replied likewise, albeit in a slightly more shy manner, and then

Confucian - I see you work on company X. It must be really tiresome, I guess they fill you with work…

Agilist - Nah.. much of the time is spent waiting for them to fill the bureaucratic requests so the team can work. But I’m an agile master, so that doesn’t hurt me all that much to be honest.

C - Oh, is it? That’s interesting. And what does an agile master do, would you mind telling me?

A - It’s pretty simple and dull actually. My role is to simply take up some rituals, and ensure the people follow those rituals apropriatelly. That’s it… pretty boring, isn’t it?

C - Oh, but it doesn’t seem boring at all! Sounds like a very important role actually, and one that can help ensure not just an institution’s health but also, and most importantly, the health of those composing it!

The agile master then thought “it seems this person is either a newly formed agilist herself, taken by all the marketing and convinced by the couple agile conferences she likely attented to, or else is a very experienced one, who sees all this business in a completely different light than I do - in any case this might be an interesting conversation”. And went on:

A - You seem rather sure on your point… May I ask you what do you do for life? Are you an agilist yourself?

C - An agilist? No..

(“agilist”, sounded to her like a sport modality, but she knew the proper use of words is an important part of the ritual - and she wouldn’t like to disrespect it, so she tried hard not to laugh)

C - I’m a… scholar of chinese philosophy. I’m particularly into confucianism, neo-confucianism… that sort of thing, you know?

A - Oh.. yeah, I know, sure

(he didn’t, of course, but did least of all want that fine lady know he didn’t).

A - I recall Bruce Lee mentioning him… or something. He was a philosopher, you know, Bruce Lee.

(he said, while trying and failing to not to evince how tired his mind was to find a better reference)

C - Oh, Bruce did study philosophy, that’s one thing… I can’t say of how he practiced though…

(she’d only heard of Bruce Lee in passing, so that was her trying to be polite)

A - Never mind that. I guess you were trying to tell me how my work is important and interesting and all that, right?

C -I can’t say of how you do your work, but the overseeing the undertaking of rituals is indeed very important and interesting.

A - How come? A ritual is just a cristallyzation of a process. It takes away some of our freedom to stick you with a predetermined route. And that’s just what the corporations want, of course, some safe path for money. But real life is messy, each day is different, and by demanding us to stick to a definite set of rituals we end up underperforming, which is also worse off for the company! They market those notions of “innovation” and so on, but in truth they’d like to make us work like automata, to generate a steady flux of profit. So that’s why they institutionalize the rituals they see fit - that is, the rituals they find to bring them the most profit per worker, and do it in such a way to make us think it’s our idea - but we of course have very little saying in the process. How do you find that all so interesting?

(as a matter of fact, he hadn’t given too much tought to those assertions he just made, and wasn’t sure whether they’re honest and fair, but thought it was a good opportunity to vent with someone of a different area who would probably not know much of his work to contradict him)

C - Ok… I think first we must do a rectification of words here¹. You use “ritual” as if it were something to control people, as if it were some kind of law, but that is not so. The goal of rituals, when properly held - and it seems to be your duty to make sure they’re properly held - isn’t to control our responses, but to train them. Moreover, overcoming oneself by submitting to ritual is how we become both human and humane.”

A - Alright miss, with all due respect, that sounds kind of ridiculous.

(he was starting to repent giving her too much of an opening, “but now it’s too late”, he thought - it should be added that that that was said in a very gentle tone, as was the entire conversation actually)

C - I grant you it might sound kind of ridiculous, but let me give you and example. Do you recall what we did just before we began talking?

A - We cumplimented each other. You were quite polite and seemed pretty inviting as well.

C - You see, that is ritual. I didn’t force you to do anything, didn’t constrain you in any manner, and yet with a simple word and a gesture, I managed you to do well, I would even sey to be virtuous - that is, simply to respond apropriatelly. And by following that oh-so-simple ritual, we were both better off. By beginning with a cumpliment, I let you know that I care about you and about your presence, and by responding you acknowledged that and at the same time let me know you care as well. And all that done in just a couple moments with barely any effort. Can you see now how powerful a ritual can be?

A - Hmm… I see, you got a point, but yet your previous assertion still sounds like a big overstatement.

C - Does it? But let’s think about it. What is it that makes you the you that you are? And not just you, but humans overall, are mostly made up of reactions learnt through life, in a mostly haphazard manner. We learn all sorts of bad habits, of unconcious biases, of automatic responses. If left by themselves for some time and then asked to “be who you really are” or something like that, to surface will come all sorts of virtues, sure, but also of vices. For that reason - among others - every society has devised rituals. That is so that at least in that social setting they know what to do and, by performing that kind of ritual, even the minor ones like the one we just did, we may train ourselves to… well, to overcome ourselves. That is, to break free of that chain of automatic actions and reactions that is the default in most people’s lifes, and by that becoming more free human beings.

A - And you think rituals can help with that?

(he was tired, so he just said something he thought would just make her continue speaking, so he’d have more time to digest)

C - Well, yes, but just having any ritual isn’t enough, of course. It’s necessary to have a proper ritual. Namely, a ritual designed to impart desired qualities in a human being - so, a ritual is a tool for training, has no value in itself. And then also, just having a proper ritual isn’t enough, one needs to hold it appropriately. To hold a ritual appropriately is to do it humanely² - a ritual without that isn’t a proper ritual. A ritual could be used in all kind of bad ways, and, in order to avoid that, one has to approach it with the right attitute, that is a benevolent² attitude, an attitude that aims to advance society or, at the very least, of the ones present. Without that, the ritual becomes empty and meaningless - you can’t do without it.

A - I see your point. But you said, if I recall correctly, that ritual is what makes us humans. Doesn’t that kind of contradict what you were just saying - if I understood correctly, the point of rituals is that we for a moment don’t do what we usually do, but something different, something that is set to somehow help us develop some kind of quality. But if that were to help us be humans, we would naturally develop it, wouldn’t we? Like, say, language for instance. Most children learn it very quickly, with no need for someone to be laying down any sort of specific ritual. What do you say of that?

C - Oh, I have to say that you forget language in itself is by design full of rituals. They’re what give the structure that enables us to learn it so readily in the first place. But that aside… it’s an interesting question. In ancient times, in ancient Greece for instance, poets were highly valued because they were the memory of society, as well as the means of propagating their values. I’d say rituals fulfill a very similar purpose: they’re like a living memory of society. And, although I’m not to say other animals don’t have culture and that kind of thing, I think it’s safe to say that hardly any other animal developes such a sofisticated cultural memory as we do - for the good or the bad. So, in a way, rituals are one thing that makes us different from caveman - as well as one thing we can use to make us different and better from what we are now, as I’ve argued some moments ago, as a means for setting training grounds, if you like, for improving ourselves.

It might not be obvius from the words above, but the entire conversation ran in a very friendly manner, the confucian almost smiling while speaking, and the agilist couldn’t help but be lifted up by her mood (even if he might not have paid attention to all that was said - we cut him some slack though, we know he’s tired).

At that point, he noticed she hadn’t touched on the cake she asked herself, and went

A - Oh, you haven’t touched your cake!.. and your coffee seems to be getting cold as well. I sure don’t want to deprive you of your delicious cake and delicious coffee :)

C - Haha I forgot to eat, but thanks for reminding me³.

A - So… after your coffee, why don’t you tell me - is that what confucianism is about? Rituals and that sort of thing?

C - Oh, I don’t know what confucianism is really about, to be honest. That’s why I study it, actually. But yes, rituals are surely involved. If you work with that - rituals, that is - maybe you’d find Confucius’ say on it of some interest.

I didn’t add this sort of comment too often, not to break the flux of the conversation, but although the entire conversation was a friendly and in gentle terms, it might be worth noting that at that time the smile she made was specially big and bright.

A - I do enjoy learning, and it does seem interesting. I might well read it sometime, sure. Learning is something I’m quite interesting in.

C - I see, but I’m yet to find someone who loves to learn more than I do⁴.

After they finished their coffee, they went together to her apartment, to study. The guy became a pretty good agilist afterwards, so it’s fair to say Confucius was a teacher for him as well.