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What the Hell Is Going On? Effects of Information Abundance

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Re: What the Hell Is Going On? Effects of Information Abundance

#71

Post by mc32 »

jononor wrote: post #65

The article argues that college bundles education and signaling (of competence). And that as information becomes more available, and college tuition costs skyrocket new signalling mechanisms are emerging / will emerge. What are these new signaling mechanisms?

Searchable information? Things people publish or is written about them. Instead of proxies like educational institutions you get to examine them via other evidence. So education remains important but renown of institution as proxy for the individual goes away?

Re: What the Hell Is Going On? Effects of Information Abundance

#72

Post by Redoubts »

tsunamifury wrote: post #64
martythemaniak wrote: post #10

One thing that I find interesting is how none of the great dystopian works of the 20th century featured celebrities as the ruling class. The antagonists are like Bond villains, smart, sophisticated, rational, cruel. A worthy adversary you could respect and feel good about struggling against. Our reality is that we've made our lives so advanced and comfortable, that our fantasies can try to become our reality. I guess…

Have you considered that the rational bond villains use celebrities as a visibility and accountability shield to accomplish goals that would otherwise be shut down if proposed directly?

Sounds like the Hitchhikers Guide.

Re: What the Hell Is Going On? Effects of Information Abundance

#74

Post by pavlov »

tsunamifury wrote: post #64
martythemaniak wrote: post #10

One thing that I find interesting is how none of the great dystopian works of the 20th century featured celebrities as the ruling class. The antagonists are like Bond villains, smart, sophisticated, rational, cruel. A worthy adversary you could respect and feel good about struggling against. Our reality is that we've made our lives so advanced and comfortable, that our fantasies can try to become our reality. I guess…

Have you considered that the rational bond villains use celebrities as a visibility and accountability shield to accomplish goals that would otherwise be shut down if proposed directly?

Rupert Murdoch was overtly portrayed as a Bond villain in one of the late ‘90s films...

Re: What the Hell Is Going On? Effects of Information Abundance

#75

Post by martythemaniak »

miloshadzic wrote: post #21
martythemaniak wrote: post #10

One thing that I find interesting is how none of the great dystopian works of the 20th century featured celebrities as the ruling class. The antagonists are like Bond villains, smart, sophisticated, rational, cruel. A worthy adversary you could respect and feel good about struggling against. Our reality is that we've made our lives so advanced and comfortable, that our fantasies can try to become our reality. I guess…

Don't forget Idiocracy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGUNPMPrxvA

Well, the US does currently have a president who got (at least partly) famous in the Pro Wrestling circuit, so big points there. But it's only a superficial resemblance.

President Comacho saw a real problem (lack of food), realized he needed help tacking the issue, sought out literally the smartest person in the world, followed his advice and solved the issue.

President Trump makes up problems, staffs his cabinet with some of the lowest quality members those offices have ever had, discards virtually all expert advice (In his own words, he only consults himself because he has a "very good brain") and generally seems to exist solely to troll people.

So even though Idiocracy seems to have hit it right on, it didn't. Mike Judge still could not make the mental leap required to make Comacho different from what he already knew (and I don't blame him).

Re: What the Hell Is Going On? Effects of Information Abundance

#76

Post by deathhand »

dkarl wrote: post #53
martythemaniak wrote: post #10

One thing that I find interesting is how none of the great dystopian works of the 20th century featured celebrities as the ruling class. The antagonists are like Bond villains, smart, sophisticated, rational, cruel. A worthy adversary you could respect and feel good about struggling against. Our reality is that we've made our lives so advanced and comfortable, that our fantasies can try to become our reality. I guess…

It's hard to see celebrities as anything other than an especially visible subset of people clawing their way into the ranks of the wealthy. Hereditary celebrity is possible, but wealthy celebrities mostly don't try to make their children celebrities. The ones who seem (subjectively) like the smartest choose to gift their children the traditional advantages of wealth, education, and connections.

To add a current day example:

Jay-Z and Beyonce's child has their Instagram professionally done: https://www.instagram.com/blueivy.carter/?hl=en

Re: What the Hell Is Going On? Effects of Information Abundance

#77

Post by 0x445442 »

martythemaniak wrote: post #10

One thing that I find interesting is how none of the great dystopian works of the 20th century featured celebrities as the ruling class. The antagonists are like Bond villains, smart, sophisticated, rational, cruel. A worthy adversary you could respect and feel good about struggling against. Our reality is that we've made our lives so advanced and comfortable, that our fantasies can try to become our reality. I guess…

How about The Running Man? I never read the book but I believe the villain was a game show celebrity, same as in the movie.

Re: What the Hell Is Going On? Effects of Information Abundance

#78

Post by Mary-Jane »

blueboo wrote: post #48

It's nicely written but I don't know how thoughtful it is. > Big institutions, whose dominance once seemed eternal, are on the brink of collapse. > The explosion of information has undermined and obsoleted the 20th-century organizational model. Big brands are losing market share. Big universities are going bankrupt. Big political parties are splintering and losing their control over the political narrative. Isn't the…

The point wasn't that David has beat Goliath. Netflix and Apple are examples of companies that changed the rules: when was the last time you visited a Blockbuster or used your Palm Pilot? What happened to companies like Sears, Border's, Radio Shack, Kodak? The point is that the mindset that used to enable these companies now works against them.
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