Brett HodnettApr 8, 2025

If #civilization began again from scratch, what kinds of societies would evolve next time? #Communal, #capitalist. #theocratic, #meritocratic, #secular, #egalitarian, #exploitive? Societies are usually a combination of these types, but do they always combine as we expect them to? Are our choices about the type of #society we create completely up to us, or are we constrained by the environment and circumstance? Tomorrow is the last day I’ll be giving away my novel HUMAN to FediHumans. Visit https://bretthodnett.com/FreeHUMAN.html and use the code ‘fedihuman’ to get your free EPUB!

#HUMAN #WhatToRead #BookBlog #Readers #BrettHodnett #SpeculativeFiction #SciFi #WritersOfMastodon #SFF #SF #ScienceFiction #Author #Writer #Writers #Books #Livres #Bookstodon #BookCover #HumanEvolution #PostApocalypse #ApocalypticFiction #Evolution #EPUB #Ebook #FreeBook #FreeBooks #GiveAway

HUMAN

A remarkable exploration of family, society, and what makes us human, HUMAN will take you from the post-apocalyptic world of the near future, to the two very different societies that emerge 15 million years later, where those few surviving individuals have evolved to become something that we might not fully recognize as human.

David Palk (Palky)Jan 23, 2025
#UKPolitics #inequality #society
Something many of us have recognised for a long time. #capitalism depends on #elites & #social_stratification which makes a mockery of the claims of the #meritocratic right wing b.s. 'they' that would have us believe in upward movement. It has never been harder to climb the 'social ladder' than now. (if that's your thing 😎 ) Thanks @fkamiah17 https://tribunemag.co.uk/2024/12/the-new-property-feudalism
The New Property Feudalism

After being taught that education and work was the path to ‘getting on’, millennials have learnt the hard way that the vast wealth being inherited by the children of property-owning parents is far more important than any idea of social mobility.

JHShieberMay 29, 2023
My new piece, "Talent Surpluses and the Myth of Meritocracy in Science," is now live at 3QuarksDaily.
https://3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily/2023/05/talent-surpluses-and-the-myth-of-meritocracy-in-science.html
#Science #Meritocratic #Philosophy
Talent Surpluses and the Myth of Meritocracy in Science - 3 Quarks Daily

by Joseph Shieber It is ironic that one of the primary obstacles to meritocracy in science, the oversupply of talent, is simultaneously a key contributor to the myth that merit reigns in science. To explain, I’ll proceed in three steps. First, I’ll devote most of my efforts to provide reason for thinking that there IS…

3 Quarks Daily
Hobson LaneDec 31, 2022

Really appreciating Prof. Pedro Domingo's definition of #meritocracy.
An economic system should not reward people according to their "merit".
Instead, it we strive for #meritocratic systems that enable people to do the things they are best at.
That way we can all contribute as much as possible to the collective good of #society.
Ideally #rewards (#money, #power) are distributed to support that goal, empowering everyone to be their best selves.

ML Street Talk @ 43:20 https://pca.st/episode/8cfae32b-f67f-4881-a3f3-5d057dbe5f40?t=2591

#96 Prof. PEDRO DOMINGOS - There are no infinities, utility functions, neurosymbolic - Machine Learning Street Talk (MLST)

Pedro Domingos, Professor Emeritus of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Washington, is renowned for his research in machine learning, particularly for his work on Markov logic networks that allow for uncertain inference. He is also the author of the acclaimed book "The Master Algorithm". Panel: Dr. Tim Scarfe TOC: [00:00:00] Introduction [00:01:34] Galaxtica / misinformation / gatekeeping [00:12:31] Is there a master algorithm? [00:16:29] Limits of our understanding  [00:21:57] Intentionality, Agency, Creativity [00:27:56] Compositionality  [00:29:30] Digital Physics / It from bit / Wolfram  [00:35:17] Alignment / Utility functions [00:43:36] Meritocracy   [00:45:53] Game theory  [01:00:00] EA/consequentialism/Utility [01:11:09] Emergence / relationalism  [01:19:26] Markov logic  [01:25:38] Moving away from anthropocentrism  [01:28:57] Neurosymbolic / infinity / tensor algerbra [01:53:45] Abstraction [01:57:26] Symmetries / Geometric DL [02:02:46] Bias variance trade off  [02:05:49]

Pocket Casts
Tobias ZimmermannDec 4, 2022
"The #meritocratic ideal is not a remedy for #inequality; it is a justification of inequality."
"Differences of #talent are as morally arbitrary as differences of #class."
From „The Tyranny of #Merit“ by Michael Sandel. Topics: #Credentialism in #education, exaggerated promise of #upwardmobility or holding unsuccessful/poor people responsible for their misfortune all by themselves. #equity #bookstodon
https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/313112/the-tyranny-of-merit-by-sandel-michael-j/9780141991177
The Tyranny of Merit

A TLS, GUARDIAN AND NEW STATESMAN BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020 The new bestseller from the acclaimed author of Justice and one of the world's most popular philosophers "Astute, insightful, and empathetic...A crucial book for this moment" Tara Westover, author of Educated These are dangerous times for democracy. We live in an age of winners and losers, where the odds are stacked in favour of the already fortunate. Stalled social mobility and entrenched inequality give the lie to the promise that "you can make it if you try". And the consequence is a brew of anger and frustration that has fuelled populist protest, with the triumph of Brexit and election of Donald Trump. Michael J. Sandel argues that to overcome the polarized politics of our time, we must rethink the attitudes toward success and failure that have accompanied globalisation and rising inequality. Sandel highlights the hubris a meritocracy generates among the winners and the harsh judgement it imposes on those left behind. He offers an alternative way of thinking about success - more attentive to the role of luck in human affairs, more conducive to an ethic of humility, and more hospitable to a politics of the common good.

Tobias ZimmermannDec 3, 2022
„The #americandream is alive an well, and living in #Copenhagen.“ Currently reading „The Tyranny of #Merit - Can We Find The Common Good?“ by Michael J. Sandell. In it, many important social issues are addressed that are relevant to most Western societies, e.g. #Credentialism in #education, the highly illusionary promise of #upwardmobility or the flip side of a #meritocratic view: That unsuccessful and poor people are held responsible for their misfortune all by themselves. #equity #bookstodon