I wonder if the term "projection" first arose in psycology or in mathematics. In math it is used to describe the process of mapping the members of one set say {north, south} into another set say {rich, poor}. In psycology it is the name of a syndrome where the individual projects his own world view onto others. For example if I am greedy I presume that others are greedy. Projection is a thrifty ways of looking at problems. You take something you have a rich model for and you project it on some other problem your not familar with.

Doing this rewards you with a comfortable model you can work with in the new domain. For example if we have our {north, south} -> {rich, poor} mapping in hand then we can start making all kinds of silly inferences. The north is cold, so the rich are cold. The south is humid so the poor are wet. The north has seasons so there is a business cycle. It's all a little silly; but yet somehow plausible. Project gives you good stories to tell and allows you to seem fluent in domains about which you know little.

Projection of one's beliefs on others is common. For example when the right wing accuses the left of dominating the press they do so because they expend so much energy doing just that. They announce that the supreme court is dominated by liberal justices because they have labored long and hard to see to that it isn't. So this is why the right's accusations about liberal ideas seem so bizzare at first blush. They are not statements about liberal ideas they are about the right's ideas.

With that in mind look at this amazing, but incomplete, list of " what conservatives really believe". No wonder they accuse liberals of being pessimistic.

Karen Pryor is the author of the marvalous book “Don’t shoot the Dog”. That's about the craft knowledge of animal training and how to apply it to everyday life. She wrote a number of other books.

One of the things I learned from Karen’s books: You push inanimate objects but you must entice smart animals. Organizations are neither smart nor inanimate. They are so much harder.

In her book on managing an aquatic animal park she talks about the lesions she learned as a manager. Here’s a fun one.

She had a complainer/trouble maker in her group. He was smart and capable, but a real pain. Finally she couldn't stand it anymore and she fired him and her reward was to learn this valuable lesion. That job is a role. In all groups somebody will take that job, or somebody will get volunteered to fill it.

I've often watched this pattern since then. The group is discussing what color to make the widget. After a while the boss Mr. B goes for the close. "Ok, blue sounds good." There follows a pause. The team looks at each other. Finally Mr. A volunteers "Well, you know red is nice." The audience relaxes 'Ah great they all think - this will be fun to watch. 'Debate is the sign of a healthy process that reaches good decisions.'” There follows a tiny debate between A and B and the audience urges them on in subtle ways.

Next time the boss says 'Ok, lets do it.' Everybody in the room leans back in their chairs and glances at Mr. A. Given this encouragement he finally draws himself up falls into the role of defender-of-whatever and says 'Well, you know ...'.

I learned a lot from Karen. I highly recommend “Don’t shoot the Dog”. Which, by the way, explains how to avoid this problem, or if you've failed to avoid it how to resolve it.