3 ms·

Many of you have probably read, or at least heard about, Peter Thiel's Zero to One. A core concept of this book is asking your self: "What important truth do ve

Many of you have probably read, or at least heard about, Peter Thiel's Zero to One. A core concept of this book is asking your self: "What important truth do very few people agree with you on?", I recently answered the question in Quora, and decided I'm going to write an essay for each truth I mentioned. Here's the first part of the trilogy.

phaemon 12y ago
Unsurprisingly, I think you're wrong! An unspoken assumption in your essay seems to be that people can only have one cultural identity, which is plainly incorrect. There is also no definition given of what it means for a culture to 'die'. I'll offer that it's when there's nobody left who follows any of that particular culture's elements. And it's when we break it down by element, that I really think your argument doesn't hold together. Take language for example. Clearly it's a central part of cultural identity, whether used for inclusiveness or as a shibboleth. What you're basically saying is that it's important that I stop speaking a particular language. Why? Being able to speak a language other than English gives me a broader understanding of language generally, and improves my English. Why should it be important for me to stop? Or take another fundamental of culture: music. I listen to Scottish music and sing Gaelic songs. Why is it important for me to stop doing this? More generally, what exactly is the One True Music that we should all be listening to, to the exclusion of all others? I think I'll leave it there, lest this turn into a massive rant ;-)
- jdmichal 12y ago
  To support your point, I learned as much if not more English grammar during my several semesters of German in college than throughout most of my prior schooling.
dweinus 12y ago
"The best way to achieve a global, optimal monoculture..." Why would you assume that the best monoculture is better than an ensemble of locally optimal cultures? It seems unlikely for that to be true when the variables that cultures form in response to differ by locality: climate, native flora/fauna, terrain, economy, demographics, etc.

phaemon 12y ago

Unsurprisingly, I think you're wrong! An unspoken assumption in your essay seems to be that people can only have one cultural identity, which is plainly incorrect. There is also no definition given of what it means for a culture to 'die'. I'll offer that it's when there's nobody left who follows any of that particular culture's elements. And it's when we break it down by element, that I really think your argument doesn't hold together. Take language for example. Clearly it's a central part of cultural identity, whether used for inclusiveness or as a shibboleth. What you're basically saying is that it's important that I stop speaking a particular language. Why? Being able to speak a language other than English gives me a broader understanding of language generally, and improves my English. Why should it be important for me to stop? Or take another fundamental of culture: music. I listen to Scottish music and sing Gaelic songs. Why is it important for me to stop doing this? More generally, what exactly is the One True Music that we should all be listening to, to the exclusion of all others? I think I'll leave it there, lest this turn into a massive rant ;-)

jdmichal 12y ago
To support your point, I learned as much if not more English grammar during my several semesters of German in college than throughout most of my prior schooling.

dweinus 12y ago

"The best way to achieve a global, optimal monoculture..." Why would you assume that the best monoculture is better than an ensemble of locally optimal cultures? It seems unlikely for that to be true when the variables that cultures form in response to differ by locality: climate, native flora/fauna, terrain, economy, demographics, etc.