

Meh and the Mundane Sublime - paulgerhardt
http://www.bogost.com/blog/meh_and_the_mundane_sublime.shtml

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ctkrohn
If I'm not mistaken, the Netflix recommendation algorithm corrects for this
effect by normalizing the scores. For example, suppose you're a movie cynic.
The most you'll ever rate a movie is 3; suppose your average rating is a 2.
Someone else might rate movies from 3. to 5 with an average rating of 4. From
the recommendation engine's point of view, the cynic's 2 rating is equivalent
to the other person's rating of 4. Thus the algorithm corrects for different
notions of "average."

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idlewords
This starts off as a somewhat dull Netflix rant, but turns into a sublime
masterpiece of drivel:

'While "meh" may seem to imply disapproval or disinterest, it is actually a
sophisticated response of veneration, a celebration of something's ability to
be a part of the anonymous formlessness philosopher Jean-Luc Nancy calls
"whatever."'

~~~
paulgerhardt
I wouldn't call that drivel- obtuse maybe.

I think the reality is it's important to care about how many of the eyeballs
who watch your movie, listen to your talk, or try out your new product are
glazed. That is the percent of people who bothered to respond vs. the total
number who responded.

With Netflix (or IMDB reviews) I would rather watch a polarizing film where
the majority of viewers felt they needed to voice their praise or disgust than
one that illicits a non-response.

