Master Foo and the Nervous Novice
<p>There was a novice who learned much at the Master&#8217;s feet, but felt something to be missing. After meditating on his doubts for some time, he found the courage to approach Master Foo about his problem.</p>
<p>â€œMaster Foo,â€ he asked â€œwhy do Unix users not employ antivirus programs? And defragmentors? And malware cleaners?â€</p>
<p>Master Foo smiled, and said â€œWhen your house is well constructed, there is no need to add pillars to keep the roof in place.â€</p>
<p>The novice replied â€œWould it not be better to use these things anyway, just to be certain?â€</p>
<p>Master Foo reached for a nearby ball of string, and began wrapping it around the novice&#8217;s feet.</p>
<p>â€œWhat are you doing?â€ the novice asked in surprise.</p>
<p>Master Foo replied simply: â€œTying your shoes.â€</p>
<p>Upon hearing this, the novice was enlightened.</p>
<p>(Other koans <a href="http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/unix-koans/">here.)</a></p>
