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Would any of the old classics (take your pick from Aristotle to Tolstoy) have been created in a data-driven world? What those authors put out into the world (I
by hliyan 3y ago
Would any of the old classics (take your pick from Aristotle to Tolstoy) have been created in a data-driven world? What those authors put out into the world (I think), was what they thought was missing in the world, not what they thought the world wanted to hear. This is getting very hard to do today, even when you're honestly trying to do so, because the data is constantly telling you not to. And the data is necessarily short term an one dimensional, never fully capturing value in the way that our brains organically do.
- DharmaPolice 3y agoI don't disagree, but something like Shakespeare's plays or the Odyssey/Iliad probably were refined/changed based on audience responses before they became the fixed works we have now. Dickens (after publication) softened the language towards Jews in the latter parts of Oliver Twist based on reactions he got from acquaintances. It's hard to evaluate cultural production without the benefit of hindsight. In two hundred years someone will take the best YouTube video produced today (best by their future standards) and be amazed at how great people were in 2023.
- jyunwai 3y agoIt remains possible to produce great original works of art, independent of popular trends. For example, Thomas Pynchon is a modern-day example of an author still creating significant works of literature, who is notably reclusive from the public view: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Pynchon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Pynchon