I think managing the exclusiveness that comes with expertise is one of the core challenges of our time. No physicists shouldn’t have to hang out with randos and debunk yet another perpetual motion machine. But letting experts self-segregate entirely is a source of catastrophe. 1/

I think there are institutional approaches we can take to maintain a social infrastructure of expertise that is broadly inclusive even while not depriving you of conversation with other specialists or wasting too much of your time interacting with novices. /fin

i say inclusive! i want to say that anyone can choose to be a gay communist gun-lover if they want, but it’s controversial whether gay can be taken as a matter of choice. 1/

But when groups are filtered by some ascriptive or immutable characteristic, i’d still class it not exclusive (though perhaps not inclusive) as long as that group is large, the characteristic pretty common, and they don’t otherwise select. 2/

(If the characteristic is freely choosable, it’s inclusive no matter how few choose it! The Miami Lutefisk Lovers Club is very inclusive!) /fin

i’ve complicated views on the “paradox of tolerance”, but setting that aside, even though it does imply exclusion, it doesn’t really imply “exclusive” in the common sense of that word. 1/

“exclusive” implies available to a relatively select group, which is different from a requirement to agree to common standards of behavior that are accessible by anyone and everybody who wishes to be included. 2/

a bridge club that accepts anyone who wishes to play bridge is not “exclusive” because it chases away people interested in singing Christmas carols instead at the meeting. so too a requirement to behave with a degree of tolerance and civility. /fin

(i don’t know but i suspect @alonlevy.bsky.social does. note though these costs come with social benefits, in addition to the direct transfer to existing riders. more universal transit renders plausible other improvements and efficiencies in city life.)

(more universal use of transit and increased use by existing users) (does mean the cost of provision likely rises somewhat as well, to meet the increase in quantity demanded)