The Shang of early China are a good example. The oracle bone divination was highly systematized. They would ask the ancestors questions written on bones and shells, with the supposed answers forming along the cracks through the writing when subjected to intense heat. This role was fundamental to the king's power and authority -- a common question was whether and how to perform human sacrifices.
They were meticulous record keepers about it. Answers were collated and tallied. Ancestors who weren't helpful were punished and not asked as many serious questions; those who were helpful became relied upon. Almost experimental in nature.
Anyway, it may have all worked. In the sense of producing decisions with outcomes better than random chance. Like the common interpretation of how a Ouija board works, sort of. Group subconsciousness subtly pulling in one direction more than another.
Having a vehicle to ponder big questions is needed for development. Each step in development is a new context available for reconsideration. Decision making becomes dogmatic otherwise.
When all else fails one can always fall back to intuition.
They were meticulous record keepers about it. Answers were collated and tallied. Ancestors who weren't helpful were punished and not asked as many serious questions; those who were helpful became relied upon. Almost experimental in nature.
Anyway, it may have all worked. In the sense of producing decisions with outcomes better than random chance. Like the common interpretation of how a Ouija board works, sort of. Group subconsciousness subtly pulling in one direction more than another.