The code of tribal wisdom says that when you discover you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount. [But people] often try other strategies with dead horses, including the following: buying a stronger whip; changing riders; saying things like, "This is the way we've always ridden this horse"; appointing a committee to study the horse; ... declaring the horse is better, faster, and cheaper dead; and, finally, harnessing several dead horses together for increased speed.