Science Friday We’re All Being Played By Metrics
32 snips
Feb 2, 2026 
C. Thi Nguyen, a philosophy professor and author of The Score, examines how metrics reshape what we value. He contrasts soul-crushing real-world scoring with freeing, voluntary game scores. Conversations cover social media likes, KPIs, gaming’s creative constraints, and ways to escape being reduced to a number.
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Not Everything Can Be Measured Well
- Some values fundamentally resist being captured by a single metric, especially subtle judgments like 'good art.'
- Using crude engagement metrics can steer creators toward addiction rather than quality.
Portability Explains Metrics' Power
- Metrics trade context for portability so institutions can share and compare data across settings.
- That decontextualization is both the source of their power and their key limitation.
Watch For Boredom As A Signal
- Watch for signals like boredom or despair that indicate you've adopted values driven by metrics, not true interest.
- If you notice those signals, consider steering away from metric-driven activities toward what originally mattered.
