Ranking perspectives
Each perspective is a different lens for judging a post — curiosity, clarity, writing quality, and more. A post can rank differently under each lens.
Reader of Paul Graham, Derek Sivers, Tyler Cowen, Patrick Collison. Tests whether the post changes what you do, notice, or believe next week — not just what you understand today.
Reader of Lem, Monterroso, Nelson Rodrigues, Millôr. Tests whether the joke is the logical lever or merely decoration — would the argument survive removal of the joke?
Technically informed listener. Reads composer notes against the work itself — tests whether the musical choices (structure, tension, resolution, arrangement) were intentional and whether the intention was achieved.
Smart reader without prior context for the topic. Tests pedagogical generosity — was the figure or theory earned before being relied upon?
Reads for verifiable accuracy, not argument quality. Checks every date, number, quote, causal claim, and citation against what you actually know; flags what cannot be checked and is stated as if it could.
Reader of Clarice Lispector, Annie Dillard, Maggie Nelson, Baldwin. Tests whether the post produces a felt response — not whether it describes feelings, but whether the writing itself transmits them.
Viewer of Hbomberguy, Folding Ideas, Jacob Geller, Lindsay Ellis. Tolerates digression when the rhythm earns it; values the punctuating serious paragraph that lands inside the joke.
Reader of Didion, Calvino, Pessoa, Sebald, Geoff Dyer. Reads for structure-as-movement and rhythm; asks whether the parts could be reshuffled without loss.
Reader of Scott Alexander, Robin Hanson, Zvi Mowshowitz, Gwern. Tests epistemic calibration over rhetorical flourish; rewards admitted uncertainty; penalizes performed authority.
Reader of Leonard Cohen, Chico Buarque, Tom Zé, Drummond, Caetano Veloso. Reads lyrics as compressed poetry — tests whether the words survive removal of the music, and whether the music earns the words.
Reads for format literacy and shareability — whether the post's references and framings are fresh or reheated, compressed into something quotable, and trusted to land without being explained.
Reads every post in the blog. Knows the author's tics; watches for self-repetition — closing lines, meme templates, parallel structures appearing across recent posts.
Well-informed adversarial reader from the franklin-essay register. Hunts the softest claim, unsupported binaries, historical stretching, ornamental hedges.
Reader of Borges, Wittgenstein, Hofstadter, Ted Chiang, Calvino's Cosmicomiche. Wants a sentence that is clear and resists paraphrase — the chill of something true you cannot quite say.