The Death of “Good” and “Bad” | Interpreting Coordinates Ch. 2
Interpreting Coordinates The Human Role in an Algorithmic World PART I · Chapter 2 Why Judgment Language No Longer Works People still speak this way. This is good. That’s not so great. Worth recommending. I would go back. For a long time, this language felt sufficient. Communication appeared to function without resistance. Today, however, these words are steadily losing their effect. By themselves, they no longer do enough explanatory work. 1. “Good” and “Bad” Are the Easiest Words Calling something good is easy. Calling it bad is just as easy. These words allow explanation to be skipped. They reduce responsibility. They bring thinking to a quick conclusion. That convenience is precisely why we relied on them for so long. 2. The Problem Is Not Language, but Environment Judgment language¹ did not fail because people became less capable. The environment changed.ᶜ Options multiplied rapidly. Points of comparison expanded dramatically. More of what we encounter is now filtered, ranked, or ...