4 ms·

I think the internet is forking the consensus machine. It's now very easy to find a large number of people who share a belief system. People who, in the past, w

I think the internet is forking the consensus machine. It's now very easy to find a large number of people who share a belief system. People who, in the past, would have felt that they had unique beliefs and society would probably shun them, can now find kindred spirits and join a "movement". See alt right, MRA, incels, and many other net-savvy extremist groups that only manage to reach critical mass due to the internet.

User23 8y ago
That happened in the 90s.
- Intermernet 8y ago
  Yes, so did the internet. I'm not sure if you're agreeing with me or not!
  - User23 8y ago
    I'm agreeing with you.
nyolfen 8y ago
my original phrasing was 'shattering', maybe i should have left it that way. but i agree. one of the best essays i've read on the subject: https://www.gwern.net/The-Melancholy-of-Subculture-Society https://www.gwern.net/The-Melancholy-of-Subculture-Society > The otaku & hikikomori recognizes this dilemma and he chooses - to reject normal life! He rejects life in the larger culture for his subculture5. It’s a simple matter of comparative advantage; it’s easier to be a big fish in a small pond than in a large one.6 [...] > As ever more opt out, the larger culture is damaged.7 The culture begins to fragment back into pieces. The disconnect can be profound; an American anime geek has more in common with a Japanese anime geek (who is of a different ethnicity, a different culture, a different religion, a different language…) than he does with an American involved in the evangelical Christian subculture. There is essentially no common ground - our 2 countrymen probably can’t even agree on objective matters like governance or evolution! > With enough of these gaps, where is "American" or "French" culture? Such cultural identities take centuries to coalesce - France did not speak French until the 1900s (as The Discovery of France recounts), and Han China is still digesting & assimilating its many minorities & outlying regions. America, of course, had it easy in starting with a small founder population which could just exterminate the natives.

User23 8y ago

That happened in the 90s.

Intermernet 8y ago
Yes, so did the internet. I'm not sure if you're agreeing with me or not!
- User23 8y ago
  I'm agreeing with you.

nyolfen 8y ago

my original phrasing was 'shattering', maybe i should have left it that way. but i agree. one of the best essays i've read on the subject: https://www.gwern.net/The-Melancholy-of-Subculture-Society https://www.gwern.net/The-Melancholy-of-Subculture-Society > The otaku & hikikomori recognizes this dilemma and he chooses - to reject normal life! He rejects life in the larger culture for his subculture5. It’s a simple matter of comparative advantage; it’s easier to be a big fish in a small pond than in a large one.6 [...] > As ever more opt out, the larger culture is damaged.7 The culture begins to fragment back into pieces. The disconnect can be profound; an American anime geek has more in common with a Japanese anime geek (who is of a different ethnicity, a different culture, a different religion, a different language…) than he does with an American involved in the evangelical Christian subculture. There is essentially no common ground - our 2 countrymen probably can’t even agree on objective matters like governance or evolution! > With enough of these gaps, where is "American" or "French" culture? Such cultural identities take centuries to coalesce - France did not speak French until the 1900s (as The Discovery of France recounts), and Han China is still digesting & assimilating its many minorities & outlying regions. America, of course, had it easy in starting with a small founder population which could just exterminate the natives.