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I always thought "revealed preference" was a rhetorical stretch.

Makes sense opposite "stated preference," but on its own it is just an obtuse way of saying behaviour or habits.

In any case you can be both a consumer and a critique. In fact, the most online people are often the most critical. Ironic, but...



You can only reveal a preference among available choices. A closeup magician can show you a deck of cards, get you to pick one, and it will be his choice of card not yours.


And they have to use the social media sites they don’t trust?


I don't trust the cops but if you won't leave my property I'm still gonna call them to get a bullet put in you rather than DIY it.

Example is absurd but in its absurdity it makes it very clear that the society that we live in all but mandated that we do bend over and comply with all manner of things if we want to live "normal" lives. People would recoil in horror if you shoot someone over something petty, the expectation is that you call the cops and let them make the call.


And using social media is life or death?

But many would say if you broke into their house, shoot first and call the cops afterwards. I don’t personally own a gun. But if I lived in a rural area or a high crime area I would. But I still wouldn’t carry.


>And using social media is life or death?

No, it's not. But neither is having a diver's license, using modern technology, etc, etc. Yet we all do those things because, just like calling the cops rather than dishing out our own violence, it's just one of the expectations that you have to meet if you want to live normally.

Below a certain point of compliance with modernity you can't really live a normal life.

>But many would say if you broke into their house, shoot first and call the cops afterwards.

That's why I chose petty trespassing as my example.


Well, most people have an addiction to food and shelter and need to get to work to support their addictions. Having a car is much more necessary than going on social media.

To be fair though, I do feel a need to at least have a presence on LinkedIn even though I’m only active on it when looking for a job.


I've not owned a car since, I think, 2016. And even then, only had it because my partner had left the country and wanted me to sell it on their behalf.

If you really want to do without a car, you can.

I can do without Twitter and similar. I'm only on FB for the friends who don't go elsewhere. LinkedIn for employment opportunities (and these days the games). GitHub is more social media than I like (I wish it was just a tool), and I can't avoid the site itself in my job even though I don't partake in the social media aspects. Oft-asked question wherever Social Media comes up: does Hacker News itself count?


Or you can say closeup magic is BS and walk away. We aren't talking about heart medication or food rations here.




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