"An unfortunate side effect of reading philosopher C. Thi Nguyen's latest book, The Score, is noticing how much sway metrics hold over you. I say "unfortunate" not because the realization is unwelcome, quite the opposite, but because you'll find yourself taking account of the numerical scrum in your life. And that exercise gets unnerving fast. KPIs, BMIs, OKRs, credit scores, savings rates, social media likes, screen time, steps walked, hours worked, hours slept,"
"The problem, Nguyen points out in his book, isn't necessarily the metrics. Used properly and with care, they are handy tools that allow us to measure all sorts of things and easily communicate information to others. No, the problem arises when what the metrics measure and what really matters to us become unaligned. When numbers become the scoring systems for our lives, they no longer help us achieve our goals or live according to our values. They capture us."
"To get a little textbook-y: A metric is a quantitative assessment used to track and compare certain types of information. I highlight quantitative because while it's a given, it's also key. As Nguyen told me, making information quantitative makes it easier to travel between different contexts and people. A GPA instantly tells you something about a student's performance in school."
Numerical metrics permeate everyday life, encompassing KPIs, credit scores, sleep hours, steps, calories, social likes, and many other rate-based measures. Metrics can serve as useful descriptive and communicative tools when applied carefully across contexts. Harm arises when metrics and core values diverge, because numbers can become scoring systems that reshape behavior and obscure what truly matters. Some metrics are externally imposed by institutions, while others are voluntarily adopted, creating pervasive incentives to meet numeric targets. Recognizing what a metric quantifies and its limitations is essential to avoid having measures capture and distort priorities.
Read at Big Think
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