Approach Quote by Alan Kay
“When I first prepared this particular talk... I realized that my usual approach is usually critical. That is, a lot of the things that I do, that most people do, are because they hate something somebody else has done, or they hate that something hasn't been done. And I realized that informed criticism has completely been done in by the web. Because the web has produced so much uninformed criticism. It's kind of a Gresham's Law-bad money drives the good money out of circulation. Bad criticism drives good criticism out of circulation. You just can't criticize anything.”
About This Quote
The internet amplifies shallow, hostile critique, crowd genuine, thoughtful analysis, making constructive criticism scarce.
In simple terms: Online noise drowns quality critique.
Key Takeaway
Bad criticism crowds out good.
Themes
digital culture
communication
critical thinking
information overload
social dynamics
Mood
cautious
reflective
Type
observational
analytical
When to use this quote
- blog commenting
- social media debates
- product reviews
- academic peer review
- political discussion
Key Concepts
Gresham's Law analogy
online discourse
quality vs quantity
Practical Applications
- design guidelines for moderation
- training on constructive feedback
Questions to Reflect On
- How can we incentivize depth over volume in online critique?
- What mechanisms can preserve high‑quality discourse?
