Why Social Media Keeps Getting Worse: A 19th-Century Law Explains How it Happens.

[ericjhensal]

https://erichensal.substack.com/p/the-science-of-enshittification-i

Back in 1834 at the University of Leipzig, Ernst Heinrich Weber had a question: how can we study human sensation like any other physical phenomenon? Until Weber, sensations were seen as too subjective to measure. Asking subjects “is this rock heavy” yields different responses based on a particular subject’s strength. Weber’s insight was to study how humans differentiate—is A heavier than B, or is C brighter than D? That was measurable.

Weber discovered that the smallest detectable difference between two sensations was not a fixed amount, but depended on the baseline comparison itself. Selecting the heavier between one- and two-ounce weights was easy, but choosing between 10 lbs. 1 oz. and 10 lbs. 2 oz. was not. The greater the stimulus, the greater the difference needed before a subject can tell the difference. That 19th-century observation now shapes how digital platforms, consumer products, and even political institutions change without provoking resistance.

Weber’s Law:

**snip**