How do you propose that one could measure this? Do you have a counter-example of a highly coordinated society that DOESN’T have a shared mythic/legendary/literary canon? I reject the implication that I have to have a quantitative measure on hand in order to suggest that something is valuable.
One note is there are highly successful individuals and entire nations who know absolutely none of any of these specific bits of knowledge regarding American civics
Irrelevant. I am not suggesting that American civics are important to every society ever, but that they’re important to American society, precisely because these legends are part of what give American society its American character. (If you aren’t American, feel free to substitute the founding legends of your own country.)
knowledge of the characters and superpowers of the MCU is also a way to gain access to a “mythopoetic commons”
I agree, but I don’t see how this is a counter-argument. The exact content of your society’s legendarium is always to some degree arbitrary (though it certainly has downstream effects), but its arbitrariness doesn’t prevent it from functioning as cultural glue.
knowing about the MCU, no matter how cool, doesn’t pay rent
For the first paragraph, I acknowledge that measurement is difficult.
For the second bit: my definition of “pays rent”: a fact or algorithm that enables a human being to make a decision that has a higher expected value. Information that doesn’t pay rent is by definition worthless. (as an aside in most contexts, “trivia” knowledge doesn’t pay any rent)
For the third bit: you haven’t taken it far enough. If a living being needs to ‘socialize’ to survive, the facts/technique that give them the greatest chance of socializing successfully with the subgroup of humans who are most valuable is the highest paying rent item. All knowledge even for the purpose of a shared “mythopoetic” base is not equal.
While I acknowledge that I don’t have a way to directly measure this, likely knowledge of popular TV shows or bands is more useful to most humans than knowledge of civics.
Which is rather interesting, because this actually has some explaining power.
> knowing about the MCU, no matter how cool, doesn’t pay rent
Is not “enables socialization” a form of rent?
In favor of this particular point, I know about the MCU despite disliking superhero movies and comics (except Watchmen) precisely because it is helpful in my social circles.
Regarding @jaspax’s main point, it is not obvious that formal education is necessary to generate a shared mythopoetic structure. OTOH I can’t think of an example of a long-lasting one that does not have a group actively involved in educating people about it. So, it is not obvious that it is a poor candidate for formal education either.
How do you propose that one could measure this? Do you have a counter-example of a highly coordinated society that DOESN’T have a shared mythic/legendary/literary canon? I reject the implication that I have to have a quantitative measure on hand in order to suggest that something is valuable.
Irrelevant. I am not suggesting that American civics are important to every society ever, but that they’re important to American society, precisely because these legends are part of what give American society its American character. (If you aren’t American, feel free to substitute the founding legends of your own country.)
I agree, but I don’t see how this is a counter-argument. The exact content of your society’s legendarium is always to some degree arbitrary (though it certainly has downstream effects), but its arbitrariness doesn’t prevent it from functioning as cultural glue.
Is not “enables socialization” a form of rent?
For the first paragraph, I acknowledge that measurement is difficult.
For the second bit: my definition of “pays rent”: a fact or algorithm that enables a human being to make a decision that has a higher expected value. Information that doesn’t pay rent is by definition worthless. (as an aside in most contexts, “trivia” knowledge doesn’t pay any rent)
For the third bit: you haven’t taken it far enough. If a living being needs to ‘socialize’ to survive, the facts/technique that give them the greatest chance of socializing successfully with the subgroup of humans who are most valuable is the highest paying rent item. All knowledge even for the purpose of a shared “mythopoetic” base is not equal.
While I acknowledge that I don’t have a way to directly measure this, likely knowledge of popular TV shows or bands is more useful to most humans than knowledge of civics.
Which is rather interesting, because this actually has some explaining power.
In favor of this particular point, I know about the MCU despite disliking superhero movies and comics (except Watchmen) precisely because it is helpful in my social circles.
Regarding @jaspax’s main point, it is not obvious that formal education is necessary to generate a shared mythopoetic structure. OTOH I can’t think of an example of a long-lasting one that does not have a group actively involved in educating people about it. So, it is not obvious that it is a poor candidate for formal education either.