#media/article: https://www.gwern.net/The-Melancholy-of-Subculture-Society#subcultures-set-you-free Author: Gwern
- how the internet divided big groups into small groups
- “An American anime geek has more in common with a Japanese anime geek (who is of a different ethnicity, a different culture, a different religion, a different language…) than he does with an American involved in the evangelical Christian subculture.” interplay of subcultures and monoculture concept of opting out of a culture you don’t agree with silicon valley’s ultimate exit
- we are status-seeking
- multiple hierarchies of status are good bc we can seek affirmation elsewhere
- status as a service
- secrets about people
- Lotka’s Law
- many minor characters and a few incredibly influential charters
- combination of lots of normal distributions makes a power law distribution people become experts in their own field to feel good (get status and affirmation) even if those things are “useless”
- people who know about this won’t do it but people who don’t know do it
- should we interfere? are subcultures good or not