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To wax philosophically on this topic: From a systems perspective, the observed phenomenon is that the system enters a state where agents no longer meaningfully
by alexandercrohde 7y ago
To wax philosophically on this topic:
From a systems perspective, the observed phenomenon is that the system enters a state where agents no longer meaningfully exchange information and further attempts at information exchange paradoxically result in reduced consensus.
This isn't a problem unique to HN, but is one that HN has systematically tried to avoid. I have no answer, but am taking time to frame and pose the question properly, so that we can consciously acknowledge the phenomenon and address it properly.
One might speculate that if people could systematically avoid entering such a state things such as war wouldn't be possible, I imagine PG would agree.
- dang 7y agoA weaker and perhaps more achievable goal would be to back out of that state, a little, once we get into it. I'm not PG but have had the same thought about war, and mentioned it recently here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19994991 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19994991. Sometimes I think that the patterns of behavior we're trying to work out in this trivial internet forum are not, in the end, so trivial.