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How does one begin to measure an amorphous social, cultural, and memetic inflection due to a particular author without a control and without concrete evidence?
by failwhaleshark 5y ago
How does one begin to measure an amorphous social, cultural, and memetic inflection due to a particular author without a control and without concrete evidence? To attempt to characterize trendsetters seems purely provincial and an anecdotal self-assessment based on biases and upbringing.
Furthermore, why can't a number of books and writers be similarly yet differently influential without a requirement of ranking them? Can't there be strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries?
- totaldex 5y agoThere is value in 'ranking' things like books and authors: It may serve to emphasize a point someone is making about their relative importance or impact. It's helpful to have some sort of comparison, even if they're imperfect or highly subjective (as historical observations often are). With a more cynical take, we can perhaps call it analytical clickbait.