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By what specific evidence do you suggest that one person is "better" than another, or the "best [person] for the job"? Keep in mind that, historically, such lin

By what specific evidence do you suggest that one person is "better" than another, or the "best [person] for the job"? Keep in mind that, historically, such lines of reasoning have not actually been used to seek merit, but to disenfranchise various minorities and underprivileged folk. Humans are broadly similar to each other, and minor athletic differences usually do not matter to job performance, so do we really want to structure our society around such trivialities?

jpd- 6y ago
> By what specific evidence do you suggest that one person is "better" than another, or the "best [person] for the job"? Experience and/or accomplishments for the vast majority of jobs. Under what circumstances do you believe it is not possible to select among candidates based on merit?
- Kednicma 6y ago
  Let's pick one real-world example: Organ transplants. Do we select candidate recipients based on their life experience and/or accomplishments? Nope, we consider [0]: * Blood type * Immune system mismatch * Organ size * Distance donated organ must travel * Urgency of donation The closest we come to considering life experience is in two time-related criteria: Children and adults are different (relates to organ size), and time spent on waitlists is taken into account (relates to urgency). Certainly, a merit-based organ transplant system is possible. In China, there are reports of (involuntary) organ harvesting from political and religious undesirables [2]; these people have been deemed meritless. China continues to work to deploy a single system for measuring merit, the Social Credit System [1]. For hiring and jobs, we might imagine hiring people based on skill sets and job duties; we would consider people based on their ability to carry out the tasks required of the position. Just like with organ transplants, this is a pragmatic approach, rather than one based on celebrity or subtlety. [0] https://unos.org/transplant/frequently-asked-questions/ https://unos.org/transplant/frequently-asked-questions/ [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Credit_System https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Credit_System [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organ_harvesting_from_Falun_Gong_practitioners_in_China https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organ_harvesting_from_Falun_Go...

jpd- 6y ago

> By what specific evidence do you suggest that one person is "better" than another, or the "best [person] for the job"? Experience and/or accomplishments for the vast majority of jobs. Under what circumstances do you believe it is not possible to select among candidates based on merit?

Kednicma 6y ago
Let's pick one real-world example: Organ transplants. Do we select candidate recipients based on their life experience and/or accomplishments? Nope, we consider [0]: * Blood type * Immune system mismatch * Organ size * Distance donated organ must travel * Urgency of donation The closest we come to considering life experience is in two time-related criteria: Children and adults are different (relates to organ size), and time spent on waitlists is taken into account (relates to urgency). Certainly, a merit-based organ transplant system is possible. In China, there are reports of (involuntary) organ harvesting from political and religious undesirables [2]; these people have been deemed meritless. China continues to work to deploy a single system for measuring merit, the Social Credit System [1]. For hiring and jobs, we might imagine hiring people based on skill sets and job duties; we would consider people based on their ability to carry out the tasks required of the position. Just like with organ transplants, this is a pragmatic approach, rather than one based on celebrity or subtlety. [0] https://unos.org/transplant/frequently-asked-questions/ https://unos.org/transplant/frequently-asked-questions/ [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Credit_System https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Credit_System [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organ_harvesting_from_Falun_Gong_practitioners_in_China https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organ_harvesting_from_Falun_Go...