Excellent article! In college I studied the works of Michel Foucault, who argues (less quantitatively) that much of the development of American standards and traditions were similarly driven by perceptions of quantity that were out-of-touch with reality; one aspect he captures well that is more about quality is the sense of safety and aversion of fears (which you addressed in an earlier article). Fun to think about these concepts again, and in the quantitative terms you share here.
Love the quantitative analysis of what we perceive vs what we actually believe. I binged watched The Fall of the House of Usher which is a fantastic illustration of the Pursuit of the American Dream and the deals and consequences we are willing to wager to get what we think is valuable. The story always ends the same because we are not collectively minded (externally) about the power structures we reinforce everyday.
Excellent article! In college I studied the works of Michel Foucault, who argues (less quantitatively) that much of the development of American standards and traditions were similarly driven by perceptions of quantity that were out-of-touch with reality; one aspect he captures well that is more about quality is the sense of safety and aversion of fears (which you addressed in an earlier article). Fun to think about these concepts again, and in the quantitative terms you share here.
Love the quantitative analysis of what we perceive vs what we actually believe. I binged watched The Fall of the House of Usher which is a fantastic illustration of the Pursuit of the American Dream and the deals and consequences we are willing to wager to get what we think is valuable. The story always ends the same because we are not collectively minded (externally) about the power structures we reinforce everyday.