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Marilyn Strathern's version of Goodhart's Law: "When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure." The things broken about Facebook, are not ju
by rossdavidh 5y ago
Marilyn Strathern's version of Goodhart's Law:
"When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure."
The things broken about Facebook, are not just bugs, they are fundamental to what Facebook is. Pursuing "Likes" and views, inevitably becomes a target, and once it is a target, it is no longer a good metric of how many people actually like something.
To fix this, you would have to remove the "Like" counters, etc. Then, it would become much less addictive, and then it would also make a lot less money. Fixing Facebook, is about like trying to fix tobacco smoking; you would have to remove so much of what it is, that it would not be addictive any more, and therefore not financially viable at anything remotely like its current size.
- greggman3 5y agoThe same is arguably true for HN. For myself I wrote an extension to hide the likes (points) https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/hn-points-exorcism/dpijcanaophgcblkpililldhmgomkjlo?hl=en-US https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/hn-points-exorcism...
- Dracophoenix 5y agoThese issues are fundamental to human society as a whole, not just FB. Factoids, yellow journalism, and lynch mobs have existed since the beginning of time. Literature on the subject, such as the Crucible, point out that people as a whole will always do their damndest to conform for its own sake. Because that's their drug of choice. Not the "Like" button. Not upvotes. Conformity.
- rossdavidh 5y agoThat's sort of like how people have had a craving for sweets since time immemorial. But, modern high-sugar foods cater to that craving more efficiently than ever before. Sure, people have an instinct for conformity and attention. FB and other social networks gave them an ever-available focus for that craving, gamified to manipulate their emotions to keep them logged in and staring at the FB screen.