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On the other hand, judging people for actions/justifications like these makes it easier to postpone or avoid making demands for systematic changes. Blaming indi

On the other hand, judging people for actions/justifications like these makes it easier to postpone or avoid making demands for systematic changes. Blaming individuals is easier, and has a higher chance of getting results. The fossil fuel industry is great at utilizing this, placing blame on individuals of the general public for pollution.

MichaelGroves 5y ago
If you're a race car driver who takes sponsorships from Ford to promote car culture and sell more gas guzzlers to the general public, shouldn't your chosen role in this system that earn you some ire? That's just "the player playing the game", except the game is a big problem. And if the game is a problem, then so are the players who choose to play it. Maybe that race car driver is a brainlet who would otherwise be living in poverty, so we shouldn't give him too much grief for it. Probably not, but maybe. But the veritasium guy? He's surely a bright guy with plenty of opportunities; he could have chosen another line of work.
- raziel2p 5y ago
  I think your points are valid, and it's an interesting problem, but I think a few key differences are worth noting. A race driver is a much more elite position. There are less of them than there are Youtubers, and there's a lot more attention on you. A dismissal of a sponsorship could be spun into a big PR move, if they wanted to. Compare that to a single social media actor, you'd have to be an absolute huge name to make any sort of difference, simply because there are so many others out there that will immediately fill the gap you'd leave. Maybe Derek (I had to google his name) would be able to choose another line of work, but what if your passion is to spread knowledge about science and such to the general public? As much as I dislike them myself, I really do believe that social media such as Youtube, Instagram, Tiktok, is the best way to achieve that goal today.
jjj123 5y ago
I hear that, but it seems like in the video he doesn’t place any blame on the platforms, and treats it as a kind of natural phenomenon (I stopped watching after he compared it to evolution). I don’t think anything he said is incorrect, but he does seem to miss the world of possible incentive structures that would reduce clickbait.

MichaelGroves 5y ago

If you're a race car driver who takes sponsorships from Ford to promote car culture and sell more gas guzzlers to the general public, shouldn't your chosen role in this system that earn you some ire? That's just "the player playing the game", except the game is a big problem. And if the game is a problem, then so are the players who choose to play it. Maybe that race car driver is a brainlet who would otherwise be living in poverty, so we shouldn't give him too much grief for it. Probably not, but maybe. But the veritasium guy? He's surely a bright guy with plenty of opportunities; he could have chosen another line of work.

raziel2p 5y ago
I think your points are valid, and it's an interesting problem, but I think a few key differences are worth noting. A race driver is a much more elite position. There are less of them than there are Youtubers, and there's a lot more attention on you. A dismissal of a sponsorship could be spun into a big PR move, if they wanted to. Compare that to a single social media actor, you'd have to be an absolute huge name to make any sort of difference, simply because there are so many others out there that will immediately fill the gap you'd leave. Maybe Derek (I had to google his name) would be able to choose another line of work, but what if your passion is to spread knowledge about science and such to the general public? As much as I dislike them myself, I really do believe that social media such as Youtube, Instagram, Tiktok, is the best way to achieve that goal today.

jjj123 5y ago

I hear that, but it seems like in the video he doesn’t place any blame on the platforms, and treats it as a kind of natural phenomenon (I stopped watching after he compared it to evolution). I don’t think anything he said is incorrect, but he does seem to miss the world of possible incentive structures that would reduce clickbait.