Signals #003: Courtesy, Character, and the Collapse of Distinction - Christopher Butler (opens in new tab)

Introduction There’s a pattern emerging across disparate domains: the collapse of meaningful distinction. Swiss watches stopped being precision instruments and became billboards. AI-generated text is making the web semantically narrower and relentlessly cheerful. Petro-masculinity turns environmental concern into a referendum on manhood. In each case, what once had substance—craftsmanship, semantic diversity, ecological responsibility—gets replaced by performance. By signaling. By brand. But ...