Appeal to tradition (argumentum ad antiquitatem)

Biological Parallel

Migrating caribou follow the same trails for thousands of years, even when satellite tracking reveals shorter routes. This conservatism is adaptive—proven paths have survived testing by countless ancestors, while novel routes risk cliffs, predators, or resource scarcity that killed previous explorers. The appeal to tradition exploits survival bias built into cultural transmission: we inherit only solutions that worked, creating an illusion that old = optimal. Traditions are pre-tested, not perfect.