Imagine you are walking along out and about, come across a fence, and, eventually see a turtle positioned on top of a fence post. I am guessing you might raise your eyebrows in surprise.
This is how William R. Brody quotes the story of the turtle on a fence post, in the book Uncommon Sense:
Said the farmer: “When you’re driving down a country road and you come across a fencepost [sic] with a turtle balanced on top, that’s a post turtle.”
[…]
“Here’s the thing about post turtles: You know he didn’t get there by hisself [sic], he sure don’t belong there, he doesn’t know what to do while he’s up there, and any decent folks would just want to help the dang fool get down and move on.”
William R. Brody, Uncommon Sense, page 57.
Indeed, the turtle will not have gotten there by itself. But, it did get there somehow.
The image of a turtle on top of a fence post may be expressive, absurd even, but this is of course not really literally about that specifically. The post turtle is a very helpful metaphor though.
Perhaps you are aware of a group that came together for the purpose of addressing some challenge and there is one person, whose presence baffles you. Maybe you have seen that at some point at work, school or some other community that you are involved with. A version of the story is sometimes told in the context of politics.
This is not limited to people. It could be lots of things – budget items, processes, structures, and so forth. It is absolutely possible that removal of that thing or person would be best, you (or the group) would be better off without and should take action accordingly. If it is about a person, they may well be happier, if they can move on, too.
The thing that looks out of place stands out, because you are paying attention and have the impression that what you are seeing is not what you should be seeing. This helps you identify the extra line item in an invoice, notice a delivery that should not have happened as well as errors in otherwise high-quality presentations or reports.
Often, this is true, but sometimes it is not. Just because something seems out of place to you does not mean that it actually is. You might simply be wrong.
This, fittingly, brings us to Chesterton’s fence, a helpful principle, introduced like so:
In the matter of reforming things, as distinct from deforming them, there is one plain and simple principle; a principle which will probably be called a paradox. There exists in such a case a certain institution or law; let us say, for the sake of simplicity, a fence or gate erected across a road. The more modern type of reformer goes gaily up to it and says, “I don’t see the use of this; let us clear it away.” To which the more intelligent type of reformer will do well to answer: “If you don’t see the use of it, I certainly won’t let you clear it away. Go away and think. Then, when you can come back and tell me that you do see the use of it, I may allow you to destroy it.”
Wikipedia quotation on Chesterton’s Fence, retrieved May 30, 2026.
More succinctly: Don’t remove a fence, unless you understand why it was put there.
If it is there (and apparently it is), then it did get there somehow. Something brought it about, right? It is the consequence of actions that led to it. Presumably, building that fence took some work – planning, labor, material. None of that came for free.
At some point in the past, this investment seemed worthwhile, perhaps because there was an actual need for that fence to be there. Has that changed?
There are times when this really matters.
The encounter with the metaphorical turtle on a fence post usually rewards curiosity. The turtle is only inexplicable and appearing out of place to the extent that you lack explanatory information. Chesterton’s fence checks, are you sure?