Skip to content
By using Twitter’s services you agree to our Cookies Use. We and our partners operate globally and use cookies, including for analytics, personalisation, and ads.

This is the legacy version of twitter.com. We will be shutting it down on June 1, 2020. Please switch to a supported browser, or disable the extension which masks your browser. You can see a list of supported browsers in our Help Center.

  • Home Home Home, current page.
  • About

Saved searches

  • Remove
  • In this conversation
    Verified accountProtected Tweets @
Suggested users
  • Verified accountProtected Tweets @
  • Verified accountProtected Tweets @
  • Language: English
    • Bahasa Indonesia
    • Bahasa Melayu
    • Català
    • Čeština
    • Dansk
    • Deutsch
    • English UK
    • Español
    • Filipino
    • Français
    • Hrvatski
    • Italiano
    • Magyar
    • Nederlands
    • Norsk
    • Polski
    • Português
    • Română
    • Slovenčina
    • Suomi
    • Svenska
    • Tiếng Việt
    • Türkçe
    • Ελληνικά
    • Български език
    • Русский
    • Српски
    • Українська мова
    • עִבְרִית
    • العربية
    • فارسی
    • मराठी
    • हिन्दी
    • বাংলা
    • ગુજરાતી
    • தமிழ்
    • ಕನ್ನಡ
    • ภาษาไทย
    • 한국어
    • 日本語
    • 简体中文
    • 繁體中文
  • Have an account? Log in
    Have an account?
    · Forgot password?

    New to Twitter?
    Sign up
vgr's profile
Venkatesh Rao
Venkatesh Rao
Venkatesh Rao
@vgr

Tweets

Venkatesh Rao

@vgr

This is my conversational account. For my work follow @ribbonfarm, @breaking_smart, @artofgig. Tweets are 90% vacuous views, apathetically held. Mediocritopian.

Los Angeles, CA
venkateshrao.com
Joined August 2007

Tweets

  • © 2020 Twitter
  • About
  • Help Center
  • Terms
  • Privacy policy
  • Imprint
  • Cookies
  • Ads info
Dismiss
Previous
Next

Go to a person's profile

Saved searches

  • Remove
  • In this conversation
    Verified accountProtected Tweets @
Suggested users
  • Verified accountProtected Tweets @
  • Verified accountProtected Tweets @

Promote this Tweet

Block

  • Tweet with a location

    You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more

    Your lists

    Create a new list


    Under 100 characters, optional

    Privacy

    Copy link to Tweet

    Embed this Tweet

    Embed this Video

    Add this Tweet to your website by copying the code below. Learn more

    Add this video to your website by copying the code below. Learn more

    Hmm, there was a problem reaching the server.

    By embedding Twitter content in your website or app, you are agreeing to the Twitter Developer Agreement and Developer Policy.

    Preview

    Why you're seeing this ad

    Log in to Twitter

    · Forgot password?
    Don't have an account? Sign up »

    Sign up for Twitter

    Not on Twitter? Sign up, tune into the things you care about, and get updates as they happen.

    Sign up
    Have an account? Log in »

    Two-way (sending and receiving) short codes:

    Country Code For customers of
    United States 40404 (any)
    Canada 21212 (any)
    United Kingdom 86444 Vodafone, Orange, 3, O2
    Brazil 40404 Nextel, TIM
    Haiti 40404 Digicel, Voila
    Ireland 51210 Vodafone, O2
    India 53000 Bharti Airtel, Videocon, Reliance
    Indonesia 89887 AXIS, 3, Telkomsel, Indosat, XL Axiata
    Italy 4880804 Wind
    3424486444 Vodafone
    » See SMS short codes for other countries

    Confirmation

     

    Welcome home!

    This timeline is where you’ll spend most of your time, getting instant updates about what matters to you.

    Tweets not working for you?

    Hover over the profile pic and click the Following button to unfollow any account.

    Say a lot with a little

    When you see a Tweet you love, tap the heart — it lets the person who wrote it know you shared the love.

    Spread the word

    The fastest way to share someone else’s Tweet with your followers is with a Retweet. Tap the icon to send it instantly.

    Join the conversation

    Add your thoughts about any Tweet with a Reply. Find a topic you’re passionate about, and jump right in.

    Learn the latest

    Get instant insight into what people are talking about now.

    Get more of what you love

    Follow more accounts to get instant updates about topics you care about.

    Find what's happening

    See the latest conversations about any topic instantly.

    Never miss a Moment

    Catch up instantly on the best stories happening as they unfold.

    1. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr 7 May 2019
      • Report Tweet
      • Report NetzDG Violation

      Figured out what strikes me as creepy about domestic cozy and Gen Z yesterday. It’s the juxtaposition of unironic traditionalism and youth. I think I didn’t see this earlier because I didn’t stop to ask what traditionalism is. I confused it with political/cultural conservatism.

      8 replies 8 retweets 36 likes
      Show this thread
    2. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr 7 May 2019
      • Report Tweet
      • Report NetzDG Violation

      This isn’t traditionalism as in literally living like their grandparents. It is traditionalism in the sense of giving off a “settled” rut-like vibe. Much less messiness than you’d expect in people still exploring life with eyes wide open. It is creepy in eyes-wide-shut sense.

      2 replies 2 retweets 14 likes
      Show this thread
    3. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr 7 May 2019
      • Report Tweet
      • Report NetzDG Violation

      Disclosure: this is largely based on online interactions with people I guess are under 25. I don’t meet too many of them in person these days, or interact much with them 1:1 in any depth. So this has Highly Online Convenience Sampling Bias (HOCSB, like WEIRD).

      2 replies 0 retweets 12 likes
      Show this thread
    4. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr 7 May 2019
      • Report Tweet
      • Report NetzDG Violation

      You expect intelligent young people under 25 to have strong theoretical political views (left or right) and span the spectrum from culturally conservative to liberal, with interests ranging from classical music to the latest parent-upsetting genre. That’s normal. I was this way.

      1 reply 0 retweets 7 likes
      Show this thread
    5. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr 7 May 2019
      • Report Tweet
      • Report NetzDG Violation

      Equally, you expect the not-too-bright under-25 to not give a shit about this stuff and focus on partying, and when challenged to think, retreat to laziest comforting derp that stops the conversation/restarts the party. That too is normal. I was never this way (shocker, huh?).

      1 reply 0 retweets 5 likes
      Show this thread
      Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr 7 May 2019
      • Report Tweet
      • Report NetzDG Violation

      In either case you expect most *behaviors* (as opposed to thoughts/talk) to be messy, experimental, inexpert, fumbling, exploratory, boundary-testing, slightly risky, imaginative. You *don’t* expect to see rut-like behavior. Ruts are for the middle-aged to have crises in.

      11:00 PM - 7 May 2019
      • 1 Retweet
      • 11 Likes
      • Corn Woman 🌽 brrr Seitz Raj Balakrishnan Ismathullah Aman Nimayi portalnyc AbuseYourIllusions Meghan Kane
      1 reply 1 retweet 11 likes
        1. New conversation
        2. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr 7 May 2019
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          In short traditionalism is not something you expect in the young. You might expect aspiration in that direction, and admiration for tradition from some fraction, but not actual traditionalism. Actual traditionalism is by definition something that you grow into rather than adopt

          2 replies 1 retweet 7 likes
          Show this thread
        3. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr 7 May 2019
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          But traditionalism is neither a political ideology nor a cultural/aesthetic preference. It is not an intellectual attitude at all, but a non-lazy behavioral disposition. A predisposition to do things in a certain demanding way, not think about them from a certain perspective.

          1 reply 0 retweets 6 likes
          Show this thread
        4. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr 7 May 2019
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          Traditionalism does not necessarily imply political+cultural conservatism though that’s the most common comorbidity. For example, in the US you can have a child raised by hippies be “traditionally” activist, do recycling etc. It’s not the thinking, it’s the behaviors.

          1 reply 0 retweets 10 likes
          Show this thread
        5. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr 7 May 2019
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          Traditionalism is marked by uncritically mimetic behavior. The reason it is commonly politically+culturally conservative is, by definition that’s the most imitable pattern. In someone under 25, traditionalism is the opposite of rebellion.

          1 reply 2 retweets 12 likes
          Show this thread
        6. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr 7 May 2019
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          Traditionalism in thought and speech is marked not so much by content but the sense that it is prerecorded speech. Parrot talk borrowed from some invisible but guessable source. You get the sense someone is saying things without *quite* understanding them, *or caring to*.

          1 reply 1 retweet 15 likes
          Show this thread
        7. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr 7 May 2019
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          It’s like phatic speech, but big talk instead of small talk. You can’t engage it as thought at all. It’s more like habitual behavior, like riding a bike or brushing teeth. It shares features with bullshit. Indifference to truth/falsity, except here it’s behavioral, not cognitive

          1 reply 0 retweets 13 likes
          Show this thread
        8. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr 7 May 2019
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          Here’s why it is weird. Traditionalism as such doesn’t really exist. In actual traditional societies (which don’t exist anymore) it is merely the only game in town. Perpetuating tradition and learning adult skills are the same thing. To rebel, you’d have to pioneer an option.

          1 reply 0 retweets 10 likes
          Show this thread
        9. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr 7 May 2019
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          In modern societies, traditionalism is simply habits you acquire when young that you insist on keeping when you’re old, despite changes in the environment that make them weird/maladaptive. At the time of acquisition, the habits may not have been traditional at all.

          1 reply 1 retweet 10 likes
          Show this thread
        10. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr 7 May 2019
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          You also have to distinguish ironic traditionalism, tactical conflict-avoidance, and simple insularity (growing up in a small town without much exposure to rebellious cultural choices) from the kind of traditionalism I’m sensing.

          1 reply 0 retweets 7 likes
          Show this thread
        11. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr 7 May 2019
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          Summary: creepy traditionalism is intelligent 22-year-olds acting and talking like 70-year-olds in ruts when you’d expect some mix of rebellion and super-earnest politics + messy behaviors. It is creepy because it suggests premature pattern-locking as an anxiety coping mechanism.

          2 replies 6 retweets 34 likes
          Show this thread
        12. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr 7 May 2019
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          Why are we seeing this? I have a theory. This is a generation that was raised in the cult of doerism. Hands-on everything. Trial-and-error. Gamified pedagogy. Self-directed learning. Hacking as growing up. They’ve been taught to distrust theory, reflection and contemplation.

          2 replies 2 retweets 19 likes
          Show this thread
        13. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr 7 May 2019
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          This works great for a lot of stuff industrial schooling is supposed to teach, but fails to. People < 25 are used to their developmental environment world being figure-outable by trial and error, without manuals. Reflection is the all-else-fails option.

          2 replies 0 retweets 13 likes
          Show this thread
        14. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr 7 May 2019
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          What happens when you throw a doerist mindset into the much more complex and ambiguous world of adult society where most things aren’t set up to be learnable through trial-and-error doing? You’re likely to quickly find, imitate, and lock-on to, the simplest patterns that work.

          3 replies 0 retweets 15 likes
          Show this thread
        15. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr 7 May 2019
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          Normal 14-25 ways of growing aren’t doerist. They include wild speculation, unreasonable experiments, weird obsessions, rebellion, etc. The space explored is much larger than efficiently learnable doerist space. It includes lots of angsty contemplation, inaction, reflection.

          2 replies 0 retweets 16 likes
          Show this thread
        16. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr 7 May 2019
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          It isn’t all efficient test-driven trial-and-error learning. It has a lot of potential for breaking out of tradition because it is *bad* at tradition. Tradition is something youth settles into at 35 as it runs out of energy rather than locks on to at 19 after A/B testing of chaos

          1 reply 0 retweets 12 likes
          Show this thread
        17. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr 7 May 2019
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          Maybe I’m overfitting some very limited and sparse observational data, but I think there’s something real here. Something analogous, in fact, to deep learning AIs. Gen Z is deep-learning the world rather than GOFAI-learning it like every previous generation.

          1 reply 0 retweets 19 likes
          Show this thread
        18. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr 7 May 2019
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          It might seem weird to call this traditionalism, since the *content* is not necessarily traditional. It’s some uncanny valley memetic soup mixing ancient statuary, “classical” aesthetics, anime, black reaction gifs etc. But the low-energy signature is that of traditionalism.

          1 reply 0 retweets 7 likes
          Show this thread
        19. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr 7 May 2019
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          Is this good or bad? I don’t know. It’s like asking if deep learning is good or bad vis-a-vis GOFAI. I am trying to resist my own sense that it is bad. I’m trying to see how it might be adaptive. But it’s hard not to sense the cost being incurred.

          1 reply 0 retweets 8 likes
          Show this thread
        20. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr 7 May 2019
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          I can’t resist the sense that this is a prematurely aged, prematurely optimized, pattern-locked generation that has been *too good* at learning for its own good. That I was perhaps well-served by my learning environment being “bad”, anti-doerist, and forcing reflection.

          5 replies 3 retweets 23 likes
          Show this thread
        21. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr 7 May 2019
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation

          tldr: This is either an H. L. Mencken generation that has figured out the "an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong" for the complex problem of “life’ by trial and error, OR it is a transcended generation that is experiencing an enlightenment that will leave us oldies behind.

          3 replies 1 retweet 28 likes
          Show this thread
        22. End of conversation

      Loading seems to be taking a while.

      Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.

        Promoted Tweet

        false

        • © 2020 Twitter
        • About
        • Help Center
        • Terms
        • Privacy policy
        • Imprint
        • Cookies
        • Ads info