A few weeks ago, I contrasted some aspects of quantity vs. quality. (see “Quantity & Quality“). Here, I want to revisit that general topic, from a very particular point of view.
In mulling over this topic, I also considered a few related ideas, but pushed them aside, because they would probably open huge cans of worms — such as: “does democracy work at all?” or “are democratic principles always better (than non-democratic ones)?” For me, one case which seems to be a prominent counter-example is quite generally medical decisions, or in particular questions about such matters as a tooth-ache. I think only extremely foolish people would let a poll of random people decide over such decisions, in which very specific kinds of knowledge and expertise are called for.
Yet today, such popularity contests seem more popular than ever before. Pretty much every Silicon Valley startup in the past couple decades has been guided by the nonstop mantra of growth — tallying numbers and statistics like there’s no tomorrow.
The resulting universal fixation on celebrity status leads to an overindulgence on gigantic proportions. Due to the widespread inflation of bubbles, only the most over-inflated bubbles are able to stand out like Kim Kardashian did once when she became the first celebrity to break the Internet.
Such astronomical numbers rely on suckering masses of suckers with an extravagantly rich menu of free lunches. ACT NOW to become a member of the crowd phenomenon. Herds rush in, swarms swarm around, the general activity of swarming and swooping and whatnot more leads to a dizzying buzz, humms and whirring noises abound, sensationalism for all the senses floods the markets and data streams into every nook and cranny.
Gluttons for bits and pieces of action are having their heyday today. If there is one thing you can count on, it’s that in Silicon Valley there is someone who is willing to count it up — whatever IT is. Whether bugs or gnats, machines or molehills, empty spaces or mouse overs, if the growth is sufficiently up, then it’s fit to squint at and envision the endless opportunities.
In contrast, an individual opinion is greeted with skepticism. If a person is alone, then they almost appear abnormal. This is despite the obvious fact that a specialist is almost by definition a special case.
When I myself am aware that I am not knowledgeable regarding some issue, I not only welcome the expertise of a subject-matter specialist, I actually seek out such experts rather than to simply refer to the results of some more-or-less arbitrary public opinion poll. That is one way in which my approach to information seems to be very different from the approaches taken by some of the most popular Silicon Valley darlings — first and foremost Google (yet the reader is advised to note that Google doesn’t actually scour the entire Internet any more; today, the company gives much more attention to their paying customers, also known as advertisers).
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