You have an incredible way of breaking down and rationalizing a lot of internet culture things that are on my mind! Loved this post! I also wonder if social media has accelerated the phases of idea dissemination... ideas seem to go belly up (i.e go through the phases) faster than they did before widespread adoption of social media.
Thank you so much! That's a good point, it makes a lot of sense that social media and increased connectivity would speed up the process. Might not be such a bad thing though –– it's pretty incredible that we have easy access to so many different perspectives from around the world, even if it can be overwhelming at times!
Really interesting piece. Do you think it's inevitable that ideas will go through some variation of the process? Or is it possibly for a sufficiently dedicated group of geeks / fanatics, armed with this model, to avoid the cringe and backlash phases by keeping the ideas "pure".
Oooh interesting question! What do you think? My gut feeling is that this process is inevitable, especially in the age of social media (things happen too quickly and at such a large scale, and I can imagine there being a serious backlash to any efforts to "gatekeep" ideas/groups)
I lean toward it being innevitable. Even in academic discussion of niche ideas in specialist fields, definitions get maddeningly muddled. Gatekeeping of ideas (although probably not artistic styles) can be very useful to preserve the essential core to survive until phase 5. (Gatekeeping in the sense of "this is the true thing" rather than "you don't belong in this community")
I think your conclusion that we should take a long view is very important. Crenshaw could reasonably be pissed with the dillution of intersectionality, but she can also be proud to have really shifted the debate.
Again though, great piece. I got even more out of it the second time reading, which is always a good sign.
This article reminds me immediately of the Age of Enlightenment and I can’t help but make comparisons with current day idea exchanges.
What are your thoughts on the effect of technology on the idea cycle? Do we view the Age of Enlightenment with a bias that only great ideas were generated or was there a benefit to the slower cycle of ideas when technology and literacy rates slowed down the evolution of an idea. Did the slower rate of idea dissemination allow for ideas to mature more before entering the mainstream?
You have an incredible way of breaking down and rationalizing a lot of internet culture things that are on my mind! Loved this post! I also wonder if social media has accelerated the phases of idea dissemination... ideas seem to go belly up (i.e go through the phases) faster than they did before widespread adoption of social media.
Thank you so much! That's a good point, it makes a lot of sense that social media and increased connectivity would speed up the process. Might not be such a bad thing though –– it's pretty incredible that we have easy access to so many different perspectives from around the world, even if it can be overwhelming at times!
Really interesting piece. Do you think it's inevitable that ideas will go through some variation of the process? Or is it possibly for a sufficiently dedicated group of geeks / fanatics, armed with this model, to avoid the cringe and backlash phases by keeping the ideas "pure".
Oooh interesting question! What do you think? My gut feeling is that this process is inevitable, especially in the age of social media (things happen too quickly and at such a large scale, and I can imagine there being a serious backlash to any efforts to "gatekeep" ideas/groups)
I lean toward it being innevitable. Even in academic discussion of niche ideas in specialist fields, definitions get maddeningly muddled. Gatekeeping of ideas (although probably not artistic styles) can be very useful to preserve the essential core to survive until phase 5. (Gatekeeping in the sense of "this is the true thing" rather than "you don't belong in this community")
I think your conclusion that we should take a long view is very important. Crenshaw could reasonably be pissed with the dillution of intersectionality, but she can also be proud to have really shifted the debate.
Again though, great piece. I got even more out of it the second time reading, which is always a good sign.
This article reminds me immediately of the Age of Enlightenment and I can’t help but make comparisons with current day idea exchanges.
What are your thoughts on the effect of technology on the idea cycle? Do we view the Age of Enlightenment with a bias that only great ideas were generated or was there a benefit to the slower cycle of ideas when technology and literacy rates slowed down the evolution of an idea. Did the slower rate of idea dissemination allow for ideas to mature more before entering the mainstream?