KQED's Forum Philosopher C. Thi Nguyen on Freeing Ourselves from Metrics
Jan 23, 2026
C. Thi Nguyen, philosopher and author of The Score, explores how rankings and simple metrics can replace our deeper values. He contrasts playful, self-chosen scoring with institutional metrics that hijack meaning. Short, lively takes cover climbing, gamification, screen time, healthcare quotas, and why some measurements make life feel emptier.
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Climbing Shifted From Skill To Score
- C. Thi Nguyen describes how rock climbing felt like logic puzzles and yoga that forced him to live in his body.
- He later became obsessed with difficulty ratings and had to reframe climbing toward beauty and flow.
When Metrics Replace What You Care About
- Value capture happens when rich values are replaced by simplified metrics that take over choices.
- Nguyen gives examples: grad-school status lists and social media likes displacing original motives.
Viral Success Warped Motives
- Nguyen recounts joining Twitter wanting conversations and then becoming obsessed after going viral.
- He spent a year just wanting the number to go up, illustrating social-media value capture.
