Input

In two of today’s brief items I made the same point without trying.

Input matters more than output.

This isn’t true of everything, but it’s a view we tend to skip when analyzing social, economic, and physical quantities.

When we discuss “freedom” and “rights”, we concentrate on what people are saying. We neglect the equally important freedom to censor or edit. “Freedom of the press” is specifically about input and selection. A publisher can’t be forced to print or broadcast or monetize anything. A publisher can ignore or reject or demonetize whatever he wants.

In economics we concentrate on maximizing OUTPUT of production or income. We neglect the equally important ability to STORE and SELECT ideas and materials and money. We rejoice for the “free river” when a dam is removed, but we ignore the loss of flood control and irrigation and hydroelectric power.

In electronic and mechanical devices we want MAX NOISE and MAX POWER and MAX ACCELERATION. We neglect a device’s ability to sense inputs without destroying them, and we neglect a vehicle’s ability to stop or maintain low speeds, and we neglect acoustical absorption.

In education we concentrate on the allegedly ideal output, a mind filled with Disruptive Innovation, whatever the fuck that means. We ignore the PERMANENT FACT that college is ALWAYS more about selection than training. The entire sequence from freshman to postdoc is a narrowing channel, rejecting unorthodox or unsuitable people at every stage. That’s the PURPOSE.