The Hare and the Tortoise of Meritocracy

John 15:2 (NIV)
"He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit,
while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes
so that it will be even more fruitful."

I’ve always loved the concept of meritocracy—a society where effort, skill, and vision are rewarded. It’s a cornerstone of capitalism and an essential driver of innovation and growth. Meritocracy is about striving, excelling, and ultimately contributing something meaningful to the world.

But as much as I value this principle, I’ve started to question how modern meritocracy operates in a world dominated by social media and marketing. The rise of the attention economy has warped the merit hierarchy, placing visibility above depth and marketing above creation. This shift has fundamentally distorted the way we evaluate value, skill, and contribution.

The Tortoise and the Hare of Modern Meritocracy

Imagine two individuals:

• Person A is a furniture maker. Over the past 10 years, they’ve dedicated themselves to their craft, developing a unique style that reflects their vision and creativity. Their chairs are masterpieces—each piece meticulously designed and imbued with character. However, their approach to marketing is modest. They believe that their work should speak for itself and that quality will naturally find its audience.
• Person B, on the other hand, has no particular vision or depth. They learned the basics of furniture making through step-by-step YouTube tutorials and produce items that are generic and uninspired. Their work resembles mass-market IKEA furniture, devoid of uniqueness. Yet, they excel in marketing. Overnight, their social media presence skyrockets, garnering followers and sales through flashy presentations and relentless self-promotion.

The paradox is obvious: Person B, with no real innovation or depth, succeeds in this system. Meanwhile, Person A, whose work is exceptional, struggles for recognition.

The Problem with Marketing as a Merit

Deep down, I can’t accept the idea that marketing and social media ability should rank higher on the merit hierarchy than the vision and quality of what you’re actually creating. After all, isn’t the value of your contribution measured by the thing itself—the product, the art, the design, the idea? Marketing is simply a vehicle for delivery, not the essence of the work.

Think about it: marketing can sell anything, even empty bottles of water. We see this in the art world, where the value of work often hinges on how convincingly it’s marketed rather than its actual substance. The art world, in particular, has become a distortion of meritocracy—celebrating those who can convince us that the sky is a different color, rather than those who create something genuinely transformative.

This leads to a broader question: should we be elevating social media and marketing as essential components of merit? Should they carry the same weight as the creativity and effort that go into the work being marketed?

Social Media: A Distortion of Reality

Social media, for all its utility, has become a kind of reality distortion. It oversimplifies identity, reducing people—especially those with depth—to a curated image or persona. It rewards flashiness over substance, favoring those who can shout the loudest rather than those who have the most to say.

This is why marketing-driven success feels hollow. The value of something should come from its inherent quality, not from how effectively it’s presented. Yet, we’ve created a system where marketing can overshadow the very thing it’s meant to promote.

The Case for Curation

In this noisy, oversaturated world, curation has become more important than ever. Curation is the antidote to the distortion created by marketing and social media. It’s the process of sifting through the noise to find what truly matters—what has depth, quality, and meaning.

Think of a record shop owner carefully selecting albums that resonate with their personal taste and values. This act of curation adds value because it filters out the clutter and highlights the best. In the same way, a strong meritocracy relies on curation to identify and elevate excellence.

The Future of Independent Creation

Over the next five years, the number of independent creators will grow exponentially. Technology is giving individuals more autonomy than ever before. The interconnected nature of our digital world allows creators to work from anywhere, access global audiences, and operate independently of traditional gatekeepers.

This shift is both exciting and daunting. As more creators emerge, the responsibility to curate—to distinguish quality from noise—becomes even more critical. And this is where technology itself can help.

AI, for example, has the potential to revolutionize curation by identifying quality work based on fundamental principles of what makes something great. While some argue that curation is subjective, this isn’t entirely true. Great work often aligns with universal principles—whether it’s the balance, proportion, and detail in architecture or the thoughtfulness and craftsmanship in furniture making.

Consider the difference between a multi-story car park and a cathedral. Both are functional, but only one aligns with our higher nature and evokes a sense of wonder. The fundamentals of excellence are not arbitrary; they resonate deeply with who we are as humans.

An Open Question

The rise of independent creators and the democratization of creativity is a positive development. But it also raises important questions. Are we prioritizing the right things? Should marketing and social media prowess carry more weight than the actual work being promoted? If we continue to place style over substance, what kind of society are we building?

Curation is the answer. It ensures that depth and quality are not lost amidst the chaos and that those who truly excel are given the recognition they deserve. With the help of AI and human discernment, we can move toward a future where meritocracy thrives not on noise but on substance.

Let’s build a world that values creation over marketing, substance over style, and innovation over noise. It’s not an easy path, but it’s the one that will lead us toward a brighter, more meaningful future.