Overthinking It

What is the Sound of One Hand Clapping?

Oh, my Stars and Thumbs… does it even matter?

Photo by Nghia Le on Unsplash

I’m not sure what our collective obsession with ratings and rankings and “Likes” is all about. I know that my only real interest in the algorithms is to not have my writing stirred and churned down to the bottom of the swirly paint can, to watch my words languish and die in the sticky sludge of eggshell obscurity before anyone can read and recommend them to friends the old fashioned way: word-of-mouth advertising.

Some people, though, live or die by those ratings. “Stingy bastard,” they think when you clap just once. Or they become so insecure that they contemplate disemboweling themselves with a fountain pen, and resolve never to write again.

I try not to overthink it, and I will definitely keep writing — in fact, don’t bother saying, “Write on!” or “Keep on writing!” to encourage a writer, because their first thought will be, “Just try to stop me!” I also know, though, that I am weirdly competitive, and I will admit that a single clap stings a little.

The psychology of rating, and receiving ratings, is fascinating. It also varies from one culture to another. In the United States, for example, a five-star rating generally equates to the grading system everyone’s familiar…