In the social sciences, the term "honest signal" refers to a signal that is costly to create, like the tail of a peacock, which (honestly) signals health and vigor, or, say, a crisp and powerful broadcast transmission from a community radio station. Some claim an honest signal to be a trait revealed by people's behavior on the air, even when that may be contrary to their reported preferences for quiet contemplation. Listeners may report greater attention to geopolitics than popular culture, for example, but an honest data signal might reveal that they click on articles about Kim Kardashian or listen to John Hell, while scrolling past updates on Ukraine or Brexit. The problem is that the click metric doesn't translate. A click on a live stream is simply not as costly as growing a plume of feathers or listening to more than 5 minutes of NOSE HAIR LINT GLAND. And any inference of the clicker's intent is likely a statistically noisy guess. A click can serve as a weak proxy for interest or engagement, but that's about it. Of course, “honest signal” certainly sounds better than “weak proxy.” However, nothing says "honest signal" like the undeniable investment that Karen Carpenter and KrOB put into this FINAL BROADCAST; colorful, bold and definitely not cheap.

NOSE HAIR LINT GLAND: Great production values for honest listeners.


Chatroom History
February 7, 2017 10:00pm - 12:30am

nexus6: Trump: you're wild Bannon, wild! (11:03pm)