François CholletVerified account

Well put

I’d like to believe this to be the case, but at least nowadays influencing doesn’t seem to need or use honesty in its ingredients, certainly not as its main ingredient. Illusion of honesty, maybe.

There's a few panderers and shills who hold tremendous, outsized influence. Generally true for the most part, but those pesky outliers that have incredible effect-size...

When universities, government agencies, and mainstream media aren't trusted, we lose our common reality. Everyone will insist on being entitled to their own facts as well as their opinions. This horse may already have fled the barn.

It’s pure but naïve. Pandering ruins trust for 0.001% of the auditory. Everyone else does not care nor even notice such things. The opinion must be either thought or taken from somewhere, and influencers are the new era media, no matter how honest they are.

BS escape velocity: when in the long run you will have to pay for it but the long run is longer than your life People profiting from talking have incentives to talk more, and to put the effort on making their words look good https://twitter.com/trylks/status/1389897188667535360 …

That is a noble sentiment but, frankly, not supported by all that much evidence throughout mankind’s history.

I wish honesty and earnestness were conditions sine qua non. Unfortunately it is not the case.