@tao@mathstodon.xyz I am probably a bit of a thorn with all of my comments on your posts at this point, but it is one of the only ways I can see myself having any modicum of input into the future that I will be mostly inheriting (as opposed to shaping). These analogies are being stretched too far: we desperately need more precision. You have framed the 'crisis' we are facing today as being primarily about values, rather than the truth status of what you called the (family) of capability conjectures (cc). I don't disagree with this. However, I believe you called the cc a "distraction", and called for mathematicians to redirect their focus towards values. This is where I disagree: right now there is a huge problem with framing the current 'crisis' in terms of values. Framing the crisis in terms of something so subjective has created an environment where we have a small group of mathematical oligarchs, and they are enforcing their values on everyone else, with absolutely no recourse for others (with less 'clout') to influence the direction of our field (unless the oligarchs say so). Personally, I believe these oligarchs to have mostly benevolent intentions. But thats not the point: this is not what mathematicians are meant to do or how mathematics is meant to work. I do not inherently disagree with framing things in terms of values. However, there is no (current) standard of quality or correctness with regard to these discussions in the context of mathematics. And without that standard, there will always be pushback.