What is our obsession with ranking things?

[Perfection]

I find it comical how we have this obsession of ranking and comparing massive systems on very broad concepts.

I've seen respected magazines try rate which country is best. Is it true that they can take all data into account and work it through a value system we all can agree on and make valid comparisons? I doubt it. I just saw a poll in the History forum on which empire was most influential to the world. I think we can all agree that they all caused massive change, but is there a good way of measuring that? Doubtful.

Now that I've established the difficulty in making many of these rankings and comparisons I must ask what reward does that confer? By saying which country is overall best what wisdom would we gain? Little to none it would appear as the country still certainly is flawed and has much to learn from other nations. Would it really be worthwhile to know that the Greeks gave more than the Romans when we both know that they both contributed so much?

So why do it?

What is our obsession with ranking things?

 

[carlosMM]

all animals that are kinda smart classify and categorize things. It is very helpfull not only to know that red is red, and that both apples and berries can be red, but also to be able to use the category 'color' - knowing that redness and greeness and blueness refer to the same property of different things in different versions.

Ranking then uses this principle to sort for 'the best' - after all we WANT the best for ME! ME! ME! - Darwin @ work!

That this actually leaves the area of the usefull and diversifies into ranking useless things, or things that cannot ahve rank - well, only normal to misapply a process. Think of how independent the feeding-peck@beak-thing has gotten in many birds - the young will pick at anything that has the right color - even if they really must know that a red and yellow plastic stick is not momma!

 

[Hitro]

Or in short, because people are stupid. Most complex things can't be rated effectively but most complex things are just too complex for most and thus they want a ranking so that they support what others tell them got the highest rank without having to think about it.

 

[Paradigne]

I'm #1
The Head Honcho
The Big Cheese
El Hefe

 

[Perfection]

That this actually leaves the area of the usefull and diversifies into ranking useless things, or things that cannot ahve rank - well, only normal to misapply a process. Think of how independent the feeding-peck@beak-thing has gotten in many birds - the young will pick at anything that has the right color - even if they really must know that a red and yellow plastic stick is not momma!

That's an interesting idea, but I wonder if it is truely correct that this just comes from an instinct to rank things or if it's just the ignorance of the fallacy of rank certain things.

 

[MajII]

A simple mind attempting to understand a complex system.

It's also a self-esteem issue.

 

[~Corsair#01~]

Don't look at me, my rank is "Can't we just get along".

 

[downwithgravity]

It's human nature to try to organize things into recognizable patterns or groups...it doesn't have anything to do with us being stupid, it has more to do with us being intelligent.

 

[Flintlock]

Proabably some deep phycological reason...

Am I the only one who noticed that just a few minutes ago, there was a thread ranking Perfection?
Funny how things work out

 

[Perfection]

It's human nature to try to organize things into recognizable patterns or groups...it doesn't have anything to do with us being stupid, it has more to do with us being intelligent.

While it's certainly intelligent to do so in many cases, in many cases it is not. It appears to me that many attempt to rank things were the use and knowledge gained is very limited and the methodolgy so problematic is not intelligent behavior. Now of course I would be calling this stupidity, but it's certainly a limit to our intelligence (although when made aware I think more can better understand).

 

[WillJ]

This is the worst thread ever.

While it's certainly intelligent to do so in many cases, in many cases it is not. It appears to me that many attempt to rank things were the use and knowledge gained is very limited and the methodolgy so problematic is not intelligent behavior. Now of course I would be calling this stupidity, but it's certainly a limit to our intelligence (although when made aware I think more can better understand).

I'd say that "stupid" ranking is a sign of intelligence in the sense that a truly stupid being couldn't do it, and with an increase of intelligence above those truly stupid beings comes the desire to do it, but then there's another step---of even higher intelligence---which you apparently have reached and which is characterized by realizing the stupid ranking is a waste of time.

Sort of like murder.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Our instinct to organize data has been taken over by marketing folks, digested and regurgitated as rankings because it sells things. And we all love a booming economy.

 

[HighlandWarrior]

It's pointless to rank countries, everyone knows the USA is the greatest.

how would you know if half life 2 was good without a ranking? how would you know that hitachi flat screen tv was better than the phillips? (does hitachi make tvs?)