Ameritocracy

» Ameritocracy: fact-checking for the masses

I’m so glad to see some skepticism surrounding Ameritocracy. Skepticism will help us grow. What I really love are people who ask GOOD QUESTIONS. In the comments, a user named Mattt said: “So this is basically an invitation to millions of appeal ad populum fallacious arguments.”

What he means by “appeal ad populum fallacious arguments” is essentially claiming that public opinion is the truth (see Wikipedia: Argumentum ad populum). I love that he brought this up because it’s a core aspect of our site that doesn’t get talked about that often. Porter’s initial goal for the site was to help people get closer to the truth. I feel as the site evolved that it most certainly turned into a show of public opinion which, as we know, can never be presumed as a representation of the truth (a great example is the WMD fiasco).

Mental Note: I should probably message this better on the website…

My personal hope, and one the company shares I believe, is that public opinion plus varying viewpoints will not necessarily show us The Way to The Truth, but that they’ll give us a more rounded understanding of the situation, and with the magic of Collective Intelligence, perhaps give us the whole picture through a variety of opinions. In a way, Wikipedia represents public opinion as well, as it is fully user-generated. We’re hoping to get the same level of quality content on Ameritocracy, although there will be barriers, such as the odd motivation to be jerks about issues like politics.

In anycase, no Mattt, there is no Santa Claus. We do not claim that the public opinion on our site is the truth, but we are hoping it will help us get part-way there, while also encouraging people to engage with these issues and perhaps in the end, making some participants in society shake in their boots.

{ Iris* }