I find the idea of rating systems and evaluation to be interesting. On the surface, they seem simple: assign a number to represent a quality. Five stars for an excellent movie, or 1 star for an awful meal. But sometimes, things aren’t so simple. I rate every book and movie I read/watch, but refuse to rate concerts. What if I give a low rating to a show I attended with friends? Am I implicitly criticizing their experience or taste? And concerts have a large context range — how do I compare the free show I attended with friends, the concert I took my mom to for her birthday, or a show from the band I’ve seen 40+ times? Giving a precise number also seems tough, especially for experiences where my reflections are bound to evolve over time, when the very act of ascribing a precise rating may feel like a commitment.
Tyler Cowen has an interesting Straussian solution to this problem. When Tyler shares episodes from his podcast Conversations With Tyler on his blog, Marginal Revolution, he will write a post titled “My conversation with” xxx, providing an excerpt from the podcast, a link to it, and a brief endorsement or description of it. If Tyler leaves the conversation impressed with the guest, the post will instead be titled: “My conversation with the excellent” xxx,
To rank each episode, Tyler uses the following scoring system::
- No endorsement = 1/4
- Mild, non-endorsing commentary = 2/4
- Writes “Interesting throughout” = 3/4
- Writes “Self-recommending” or “recommended” = 4/4
I suspect Tyler keeps his rating system illegible because it would be seen as rude to tell a guest, “Oh yeah, thanks for coming on my podcast, it gets a ¼ and I left the experience thinking you were mediocre.” Because of this, Tyler provides similar information, but in a way that will only be understood and interpreted appropriately by those who care, while not being noticeable for others, and especially not bothering or offending anyone.
Another interesting dynamic of evaluation is that sometimes not receiving feedback is a neutral sign, while other times it’s a negative sign. When you invite friends over for dinner, or bake someone cookies, it is expected they will compliment you on how delicious it is. In this context, if you don’t hear any compliments, it means you are failing to meet expectations.
This has implications for both recipients and providers. If you haven’t received praise lately, it’s worth reflecting on if you are in a neutral environment, or one where it’s common for people to receive positive feedback. Similarly, people who are a bit more neurotic often are reluctant to give praise for things they view to be neutral, or done as expected— they should ask themselves if they are in an environment where compliments for neutral outcomes are the norm, for fear of committing a social faux pas.