Waterfall and Meritocracy: words coined to describe antipatterns that then turned into accepted practice. Is Monoculture next?
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@jessitron Why would an *actual* meritocracy ever be or have been an antipattern? Isn't this what we all strive for?
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@stilkov Nope. It was invented as a satire. Problem is, "merit" is defined and measured by the people in power. garann.com/dev/2012/you-keep…
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@jessitron But again, let me be clear: I'm not saying we *are* in a meritocracy. Just that we should be.
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@stilkov Only by valuing individuals as people, and then evaluating each action separately, can we be an open, constructive community.
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@jessitron But within a given context, your influence, decision-making powers, etc. should be based on context-specific merit.
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@stilkov Influence is determined by people, with all our biases favoring people like us. We call that "merit" but it cannot be objective
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Replying to @jessitron
@jessitron I don't think we disagree. We can and should strive to make it as objective as possible. What'd be the alternative?

Apr 27, 2013 · 9:56 PM UTC

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Replying to @stilkov
@stilkov Agreed. It's the word "meritocracy" and the entrenched system it perpetuates that I don't like
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@jessitron Understood, and I can relate. I have a feeling many discussions about these topics suffer due to complex connotations words carry