What we value
Examining what this "value" thing is we are all trying to create
What we value
This is the paradox of our time: the very tools designed to free us from labor are trapping us in an endless cycle of escalating work.
Tina He • Jevons Paradox: A personal perspective
Yes.
Fire up a blank page with a question in mind, however, and the world becomes grownup Blue’s Clues. You’re reading something or talking to someone and it’s almost as if you see a blue paw print and hear little kids shouting “A clue! A clue!” whenever something you might be able to use appears.
Long Questions/Short Answers
This is a clue!
Efficiency doesn’t necessarily reduce our workload—it expands it. The more we’re capable of producing, the more we expect of ourselves and others. The more output becomes possible, the further the goalposts are moved on what is considered “enough.”
AI Turned Me Into a Content Agency of One
This statement is the key. The expectations grow with technology, and wages don’t grow with expectations. Wages are based on past values.
"Your boos mean nothing, I've seen what makes you cheer" is actually an excellent and life-affirming attitude
Divya Venn • Tweet
This is incredible
By the simplification-as-collapse theory, good futures, ones worth working for, are by definition going to be too complex to be legible before we’ve actually lived through them. If you tell your story in a powerful, inspiring, coherent way that millions resonate with, and cannot see in what way your story invisibly features degrowth and collapse,... See more
every story is a degrowth story
Ok, I think I see where he’s going. But I think there’s also a possibility of a counter narrative that can re-write the degrowth one in terms of growth.
- Paladin saves the world? Degrowth story.
- Barbarian masculine energy saves the world? Degrowth story.
- Enlightened sexless bureaucracy saves the world? Degrowth story.
- Nurturing feminine energy saves the world? Degrowth story.
- Unbridled technological acceleration saves the world? Degrowth story.
- Unbridled GDP growth saves the world? Degrowth story.
- Saintly
every story is a degrowth story
These I agree are degrowth stories.
I think the connection he’s making is to the book, so that the loss of complexity in society leaves people feeling lost and unvalued, and that leads to societal collapse.
What if we don’t tie society to complexity?
The Rise of SNARF
SNARF stands for Stakes/Novelty/Anger/Retention/Fear. SNARF is the kind of content that evolves when a platform asks an AI to maximize usage. Content creators need to please the AI algorithms or they become irrelevant. Millions of creators make SNARF content to stay in the feed and earn a living.
SNARF stands for Stakes/Novelty/Anger/Retention/Fear. SNARF is the kind of content that evolves when a platform asks an AI to maximize usage. Content creators need to please the AI algorithms or they become irrelevant. Millions of creators make SNARF content to stay in the feed and earn a living.
Jonah Peretti • The Anti-SNARF Manifesto
This is one of the battles we are fighting. Kill SNARF with fire.