Certainty and Order

A person who is 6 feet tall is taller than another who is 5 feet tall. 90 kg weighs more than 70 kg.

A bank balance of 5 Lakhs is more than a bank balance of 25,000. A distance of 100 km is more than the distance of 25 km.

You get the drift. A lot of things in this world can be measured. But many can’t be.

Is the sunset of Havelock island more beautiful than the sunrise of Bali? Is the experience any worse or any better?

Is the food at an Indian restaurant tastier than the pasta at a Cafe? Is the ambience any worse or any better?

Is a painting by an artist better than the poem by another poet? How does it make you feel?

You get the drift. A lot of things in this world cannot be measured. But many try to.

In this world that desires certainty and order, and when there is demand for the measurement, some proxies are created.

So we track popularity. reviews. photos. number of views. All proxies that lose the moot point. But because they are there, there are scores. And because there are scores, we use them. And because we use them, they keep on getting tracked even more. With more proxies.

And so we go with the scores. It’s a proxy, nothing more, nothing less. We still can’t be sure if the sunset is better or the food is tastier or the book of poetry will move us.

***