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Notes -
You know who else claimed to know better sources than the mainstream? Hipsters.
Consider a few alternative explanations:
it isn’t a meritocracy, just emergent patterns from the signaling and countersignaling of eight billion status games
it isn’t a meritocracy, just the human brain imagining trends where there are none
it is a meritocracy, but it is noisy and slow to act, so some chaff remains in with the wheat
it is a “meritocracy,” but truth doesn’t play any part in its metric of memetic fitness
it is a meritocracy, and the rich and influential actually have better taste than you
It’d be rather hard to tell these apart based on two data points.
Worse, it could be a combination: the public eye is fickle, and optimizes for dumb things like “outrage” and “tits.” Meanwhile, a million elites push two million competing causes, and billions of proles struggle to read those tea leaves for personal status. Out of the multitudes asserting their love for the Truth, few agree on what should qualify. Hipsters claim to know of a quality blog; counter-hipsters descend to explain how it is Problematic or perhaps a mouthpiece for the Cathedral. God forbid that someone wade in with less-than-pure motives!
If you’ve untangled this knot, then tell me: what is good, Phaedrus?
This is what I mean by meritocracy.
Status 451 and John Nerst get as many viewers/comments/likes as SA/EY?
10 years is too slow?
Still a meritocracy.
The rich have a more democratic taste? I wouldn't call that better, and do you think their tastes are identical down to the point where themselves being criticized is A-OK, and how do you account for the lack of such criticism?
Divide by 1000 and I'd say you're onto something.
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