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4. "I also wish an individual's pursuit of excellence doesn't get distracted by things specific to social media like having to have an audience etc Social media should be like the community well of yesteryears. No one goes there to build tribe!"
Let's start with 2: scholarly pursuits for internal satisfaction without engaging with the outside world. This is actually an option, if you really want to do it. You could be an independent lurker-scholar who reads and writes in isolation for decades without sharing anything
Although even here I must say: there's something that strikes me as somewhat selfish and hoarder-like about this. After all, where do your scholarly materials come from? You have to read other people's work! You are studying the outside world but you don't want to engage with it
But this *is* an option, and if you choose it, I respect your right to make that choice. You may have your own reasons for wanting to be a shut-in. And of course, there's a HUGE spectrum from "basement rat nobody has ever seen" to "narcissistic center of attention pop star"
Which brings me to 3b: "Learning should be accessible without having to be made a spectacle out of!" – for the most part, you get to choose the precise degree of spectacle that you want. So much of learning happens in the dialogue *between* individuals. You have to see each other
It's true that some people make a huge spectacle out of their pursuits – and you could say that this is what I do. I accept that. It's a choice. (If you observe carefully though, you'll notice that I also make very specific decisions to avoid the worst excesses of spectacle)
I think it's highly likely that there's a selection bias where you look at the absolute circus clownshow that dominates mainstream media and pop youtube and so on, and then assume errenously that that's the only show in town, because it's so lurid
back to 1: "This craze arnd "follow & make friends in social media" "create content for social media" is the toxic madness that has kept most of humanity unhinged in today's world." I think there's a conflation here between unhinged idolatry (bad!) and genuine human connection
what's really wild is that there are so many people who are absolutely suffering in isolation and loneliness, and I think often as a direct consequence of being afraid to share their thoughts and feelings in case they get accused of being narcissists
science is social. scholarship is social. we know this. it is *exceedingly* rare and unlikely that any of your intellectual heroes worked in isolation. even if they did, they must've read books, and thinked their thoughts with language – which is a communal enterprise https://t.co/02tdmH5xd8
ok now let's talk about 3a- echo chambers. I've been thinking about these for many years now. I do think any serious info operator should be very sensitive to the ways in which their info environment has systemic biases built into it, reinforcing signal, https://t.co/Q7jFv7kTf0
"Echo chamber" is phrase that can be used to dismiss anybody who has taken the trouble to design an apparatus for processing info. But every serious info operator HAS to do it. Refuse to weed your garden, and your flowers will die + be overrun with weeds https://t.co/aVG87ZOaPL
I will concede that it's very possible, maybe even more-than-likely, that lots of individuals get on the internet precisely to seek out information that confirms their biases, and they then spiral into getting radicalized + inducted by some cult... lots of sad stories abt this
there's a quote attributed to Mark Twain that goes like, “Censorship is telling a man he can't have a steak just because a baby can't chew it.” I try my best to be kind and compassionate... and/but it's hard to avoid coming to the conclusion that the internet *is* full of babies
maybe not just the internet, maybe it's the species itself that remains woefully underdeveloped emotionally, psychologically and so on. people allegedly need to be protected from themselves and each other and their worst impulses. millennia-old problem https://t.co/T7CHKdcyKz
and yea a big part of this may just boil down to the fact that as a species we have not yet adapted to the consequences of industrialization, living in cities and so on. whole species is babies. 99% of social media activity is screaming and banging pots and pans. fair enough
occurs to me that you could actually argue against all social activity. 😂 "groups of people should be discouraged. every group ends up being overwhelmed by petty politics and infighting, dominated by selfish assholes, groupthink". "wait, ingroup or outgroup?" "all groups bad"
"Social media should be like the community well of yesteryears. No one goes there to build tribe" - is another fascinating statement. I mean, where did the community well even come from? you have to have a community to have a community well. where does that community come from
"oh, that community was already there. but no new communities!" hm https://t.co/uC2uIgDou0
you know what's funny – WE NEED THESE PEOPLE! We need these grumpy people who are anti-spectacle and skeptical of ideologues and narcissists etc to be a part of our communities. because when they exit, then we have a "the inmates are running the asylum" situation
but ofc you cannot coerce people to be part of communities that they don't want to. I'm not trying to force anybody to do anything here. I'm just trying to share what I've learned and what I've seen and hope that it persuades some people to think about this stuff. it's v impt
and I'll share a talking point that I often annoy my wife with: the fact that OP posted this on social media is itself a demonstration that, at SOME level, they understand and appreciate this, even if only subconsciously. they realize that their opinion matters. and I agree!
I will likely continue riffing with some version of this talking point for the rest of my life, bc I remember how frustrating it was for me to try to find people who would talk to me when I a kid. better public commons are possible & we can build them https://t.co/iHc3CSnsDQ
the truth I hate the most is probably "people who are really knowledgeable are publicly silent about the juiciest stuff, because the upside to talking about it publicly is minimal, and the downside potentially catastrophic" really sucks for smart kids in shitty social graphs
and when I say "talk to me", I don't just mean " wah, wah, give me attention". I mean, involve me. In the community. In the world. Give me some meaningful work to do. When good people fail to do this, fascists pick up the slack. I'm serious. https://t.co/dE3xfcL0Aj
but like, no pressure or anything. 😂 [earnestly] hey wanna help me fight fascism at a global scale? no worries if not!! https://t.co/QCM7vrkuBW
@visakanv getting these vibes from this last tweet ^ https://t.co/FF79f7PjiO
