17 Dec
2003
17 Dec
'03
11:17 p.m.
Vladimir Z. Nuri wrote:
taking this idea to the cyberspace arena, the application is immediately obvious-- pages that are linked to by a lot of other pages are valuable, those that are not are not as valuable.
The above is wrong from two standpoints: Locally: if my taste is sufficiently different from that of other people, why should I follow their preferences? Globally: Vladimir's recommendations lead to a vicious circle of "tyranny" of popular sites because hte more people view a site, the more will follow and the site's "attractiveness" rating will go even higher. It is similar to a recommendation to buy stocks when they are rising. If enough people follow it, stock crashes like in 1929 are imminent. - Igor.