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   JA Westenberg (daojoan@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 22-Apr-2025 19:18:19 JST JA Westenberg

   A system that can’t tell the difference between confidence and competence will eventually promote the most captivating liar.

   • Haelwenn /элвэн/ :triskell: likes this.
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     gmsizemore (gmsizemore@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 22-Apr-2025 21:09:23 JST gmsizemore

     in reply to

     @Daojoan Our whole electoral system evolved such that the people who get elected are those that are most electable*. It's a bit like _sexual selection_ in Darwinian science. Traits can be selected that function only to garner copulations.

     *Note that this likely has nothing to do with the ability to solve the pressing problems that threaten civilization and the species

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     Rich Felker (dalias@hachyderm.io)'s status on Tuesday, 22-Apr-2025 21:09:23 JST Rich Felker

     in reply to

     • gmsizemore

     @gmsizemore @Daojoan The way you solve this is the analogue of the way biology solves this with asexual reproduction: random selection (sortition).

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     Rich Felker (dalias@hachyderm.io)'s status on Wednesday, 23-Apr-2025 02:23:31 JST Rich Felker

     in reply to

     • gmsizemore

     @gmsizemore @Daojoan Yeah I worded that poorly as if it were a "way to solve" (wrongly implying path from here to there) rather than a system that doesn't have the same problem.

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     gmsizemore (gmsizemore@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 23-Apr-2025 02:23:32 JST gmsizemore

     in reply to

     • Rich Felker

     @dalias @Daojoan Well, that would be a better system, certainly, but the suggestion is sort of like the suggestion that you can stop a pandemic with effective vaccines; the second variable in that equation is how many people use 'em. In this case, the determiners of whether or not sortition is implemented are the very people who would stand to lose and their owners. Not gonna happen. But, again, yes...a better system. Not as good as simply appointing actual skilled problem solvers...