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The PeopleRank (Quora feature).Basically, the People Rank is an algorithm decide how "weighted" your action is on Quora. On the surface, Quora's upvote/downvote system is fair. One person, one vote; an answer with most upvotes will be promoted at the top, while answers with certain number of downvote will be collapsed. Right?No.If you have a higher people rank (PR), your vote worth more than those with lower PR scores. On the flip side, High PR users downvotes would collapse an answer far more quickly.Quora downplayed PeopleRank quite purposefully. I've been on Quora since 2012, and only told about PeopleRank by another user last year. And other than acknowledge its existence, Quora haven't provided any detail regarding this algorithm.Everything we know about PR, we learn from experiments.For example: although we don't know how many downvotes it requires to collapse an answer, we do see when an answer is collapsed or restored. If all the downvotes worth the same, if user A downvoted one answer and led to the answer being collapsed, user B's upvote would un-collapse it. But in the experiment, it's not the case. It requires more users’ upvotes to un-collapse an answer if it's downvoted by a High PR user. That's why sometimes you see answers with few upvotes listed at the top; it could be that this answer was upvoted or written by a high PR user. In short, if you have higher people rank, one vote from you equals X number of votes from regular users.We speculate that people rank has something to do with number of your followers and with whether you're a TW or not. I think the calculation works similar to credit score: good conforming behavior adds score, while bad, controversial, and antagonizing behavior get your bad score.I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing that some users' actions are weighted. People with proven track record who have contributed a lot to the community should be rewarded and be trusted to guide the community by upvoting good answers and downvoting bad answers.But I think it is an extremely sinister control mechanism when the users are not clearly informed of this feature. The only reason Quora acknowledge this feature is because the upvote/downvote system is obviously weighted, anyone with half a brain would start question the promises of "one person, one vote; everyone is equal" if they stick with Quora long enough. But other than the bare minimum acknowledgement, Quora didn't tell us anything. We don't know how the people rank was determined, we don't know why it's decided in such a way, we don't know how it works in practice, and we don't know who has high people rank. All we know is that this feature exists, and we have a very vague idea about how this feature works. But you could be sure as hell that Quora employees and Quora admins have the highest people rank. Meaning, one downvote or one upvote from them could mean top of the page or collapse, and it would requires many normal users vote to turn the tide.The PeopleRank feature effectively created a shadow elite class of people who can (knowingly and unknowingly) decide what majority of users get to see from behind the scene.In other word, Quora had created an illusion of a fair platform, of a democracy; but in reality, the entire system is rigged. And that is about the most unfair, most hypocritical thing any platform can do.

1. DEFINITIONSLet us define a problem as x such that [math]x\in\mathbb{R}^-[/math] and a system of problem solving as [math]u(n,x)[/math] where [math]u(n,x)\in\mathbb{R}^{\pm}[/math], and n is the number of sub-systems employed to solve it. n must, by definition, have the quality [math]n\in\mathbb{I}^+[/math]. Let the sub-systems be indexed with [math]a,b,…,N[/math] where N is the number of sub-systems.Further, because sub-systems can “learn” from one another, we can understand that [math]u_a(n,x)=u_b(n,x)[/math] when [math]u_a(n,x)\in\mathbb{R}^+[/math] or [math]u_b(n,x)\in\mathbb{R}^+[/math].2. PROBABILITY of SOLUTION DISCOVERYGiven the above definitions, we can asses the probability of finding a solution to convert x from a problem (x < 0) to a solution (u > 0). Let us assume that problem-solving ability follows some form of Gaussian structure—though we need not know the specific variables. We nonetheless understand the probability of discovering a solution to x within a single time, t, in accordance with Theorem 2.1.THEOREM 2.1The probability of a Gaussian, multi-subordinated, problem-solving system discovering a solution, where [math]n[/math] is the number of sub-systems, [math]x[/math][math][/math] is the problem, and the possible outcomes are distributed according to [math]\sigma[/math], is defined as[math]\Pr[u(n,x)>0]=n(1-\int_{-\infty}^{0}\frac{1}{\sqrt{2\pi\sigma^2}}e^{\frac{-(0-x)^2}{2\sigma^2}})[/math]subject to the stated definitions of Section 1, especially [math]x\in\mathbb{R}^-[/math] and [math]n\in\mathbb{I}^+[/math].It is clear that when [math]\Pr[u(n,x)>0]>\Pr[u’(n’,x)>0][/math], then [math]u(n,x)\succ u’(n’,x)[/math]. That is, we should prefer the higher probability discovering a solution to a lower probability.We are, then, concerned with the inequality [math]\Pr[u(n,x)>0]>\Pr[u’(n’,x)>0][/math]. Therefore, when[math]n(1-\int_{-\infty}^{0}\frac{1}{\sqrt{2\pi\sigma^2}}e^{\frac{-(0-x)^2}{2\sigma^2}})-n'(1-\int_{-\infty}^{0}\frac{1}{\sqrt{2\pi\sigma^2}}e^{\frac{-(0-x)^2}{2\sigma^2}})>0[/math]is true, we should expect to prefer [math]u(n,x)[/math] over [math]u’(n’,x)[/math]. Simplifying the above expression, we find [math]n-n’>0[/math], which is true iff [math]n>n’[/math].Therefore we can conclude, in all cases where our assumptions hold, that more sub-systems of problem solving are preferable to fewer. If we define a “libertarian” system as a system for which there are more sub-systems, and a “centralist” system as a system for which there are fewer sub-systems, then we should mathematically conclude that the “libertarian” system is preferred to the “centralist” system from the perspective of the probability for finding a solution to a given problem.3. SYSTEM FRAGILITYLet us model a simple problem-solving system as [math]u(n,x)=\sum_{i}^{n}\frac{1}{n}(x+\varepsilon_i)[/math] where [math]\varepsilon[/math] is a stochastic normalized variable, such that [math]\varepsilon[/math] is drawn randomly from [math]\mathcal{N}(m,s)[/math] such that [math]x<m[/math] (and where [math]\mathcal{N}(\cdot)[/math] is the probability density function. In most cases, we would expect [math]m>0[/math], which would assume that solutions implemented positively effect the system, on average.Given that Taleb and Douady [2013] show that the model of a system need not be accurate to determine the fragility of a system, we are not concerned with the relative accuracy of the model above. We can determine the fragility of such a system, relative to a variable, even with an inaccurate model of said system. As Taleb and Douady put it, “a broken ruler will not measure the height of a child, but it can tell you whether he is growing or not.”Taleb [2012] offers a heuristic approach to determine system fragility (more formally proven in Taleb and Douady [2013]) using the [math]h(\cdot)[/math] function. When [math]h(\cdot)=0[/math] we can determine the system is robust, when [math]h(\cdot)<0[/math] the system is fragile, and when [math]h(\cdot)>0[/math], the system is antifragile. We are concerned with the fragility of a system with respect to n, the number of sub-systems. Thus, [math]h(n)=\frac{1}{2}[u(n-\Delta n,x)+u(n+\Delta n,x)]-u(n,x)[/math].Because [math]\lim_{(n\pm\Delta n)\to \infty}u(n-\Delta n,x)+u(n+\Delta n,x)=0[/math] and [math]u(n,x)\in\mathbb{R}^-[/math] by default, we can conclude that [math]0-u(n,x)>0[/math], hence [math]h(\cdot)>0[/math] and the system is proven antifragile in all cases.By contrast, [math]\lim_{(n\pm\Delta n)\to 1}u(n-\Delta n,x)+u(n+\Delta n,x)=2(x+\varepsilon)[/math], leading to [math](x+\varepsilon)-\sum_{i}^{n}\frac{1}{n}(x+\varepsilon)>0[/math]. Therefore, we can conclude that a system with fewer sub-systems is only conditionally antifragile. We should reasonably prefer the antifragile system to the conditionally antifragile system.Therefore, if we label the “libertarian” system as that with more sub-systems, and the “centalist” system as that with fewer sub-systems, then we should reasonably prefer the libertarian system on the basis of its antifragility.4. CONCLUSIONS (too long, didn’t read)We have shown how we should reasonably prefer the “libertarian” system of problem-solving to the “centralist” system through two lenses. In the first, we show how the libertarian system has a higher probability of finding solutions to problems. This is, of course, contingent on the sub-systems having the ability to communicate—that is to say, it is conditional on the assumption that other groups will adopt successful solutions.In the second, we show how the libertarian system of problem solving is less fragile in all cases than the centralist system of problem solving. Further, we have shown that while the centralist problem solving system may be antifragile, the libertarian problem solving system is always antifragile.Therefore, I find reasonable basis to prefer the libertarian system of problem solving to the centralist system.5. REFERENCESTaleb and Douady, “Mathematical definition, mapping, and detection of (anti)fragility.” Quantitative Finance, Vol. 13, No. 11, 2013. (https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01151340/document)Taleb, “A New Heuristic Measure of Fragility and Tail Risks.” IMF Working Paper, 2012. (https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2012/wp12216.pdf)

Most people would be surprised at both how many Obama conspiracy theories there are and how looney they are. Here's a list of real-life conspiracy theories about Obama to demonstrate just how insane they can be. Decide for yourself which is the craziest. I have checked out enough to believe this is a good list:Obama is a secret Muslim: This one began right after he took the stage at the 2004 Democratic convention, with chain emails alleging his "true" religious affiliation. The rumor soon found its way onto the popular conservative online forum Free Republic, and took on a whole new life in the years to come. Related: Obama secretly speaks Arabic, attended a madrassa as a kid in Indonesia, referred to "my Muslim faith" in an interview, and was sworn in on a Koran.Barack Obama religion conspiracy theorieshttp://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2007/dec/20/chain-email/obama-attended-an-indonesian-public-school/Obama is bringing 100 million Muslims to America: Avi Lipkin and his PR outfit Special Guests claimed to have evidence of a scheme to bring roughly 100 million Muslims from the Middle East into the United States, converting the country into an Islamic nation by the end of Obama's second term and making it easier to obliterate Israel. Obama's Secret Plot To Bring 100 Million Muslims to the USObama once aided the mujahideen: Harlem pastor and professional race-baiter James David Manning contended that in his younger days, Obama went undercover as a CIA agent to facilitate the transfer of cash and weapons to the Afghan mujahideen in the '80s, thereby aiding what would become the Taliban. Where Stupid Meets Racist: Venn Diagram Of Every Major Right Wing Obama Conspiracy! (INFOGRAPHIC)There is a POTUS who aided the Mujahideen, Reagan: Operation Cyclone - WikipediaObama is in the pocket of the Muslim Brotherhood: Billy Graham's son Franklin wants you to know that Obama is allowing the Muslim Brotherhood to take over the federal government.Obama redecorated the Oval Office in Middle Eastern style: Driven by his fierce sense of anti-American interior design, Obama got rid of the red, white, and blue decoration scheme in his White House office. President Obama Has Redecorated the Oval Office Middle Eastern Style-Fiction!Obama married a Pakistani guy: World Net Daily correspondent and conspiracymonger extraordinaire Jerome Corsi posted a video in which he claimed to have "strong" evidence that Obama was once married to his college roommate from Pakistan. The smoking gun: Photos of the chums in which the future president is "sitting about on the [Pakistani roommate's] lap." Related: For years Obama wore a gold ring on his left hand. Was it his gay-wedding ring? Tea Party author says evidence proves Obama married a Pakistani man (VIDEO)Obama's ring has a Koranic verse on it: The very same ring, which Obama now wears as his (straight) wedding band, is allegedly emblazoned with a key phrase in the Islamic declaration of faith: "There is no god except Allah." (It's not.) Obama’s ring: ‘There is no god but Allah’Obama was funded by a Saudi prince:Another fairy tale courtesy of Corsi: In late-'70s Chicago, Obama secured political and academic funding from a variety of sketchy Arab sponsors, including a Saudi prince. Which may explain why President Obama bowed to the Saudi king when they met in 2009. Saudis control Obama & Fox NewsObama was born in Kenya: In early 2008, fringe theorists began a push to prove Obama was born on foreign soil and was therefore ineligible to live in the White House. The theory gained national attention thanks to the efforts of perennial GOP candidate Alan Keyes, "birther queen" Orly Taitz, and Corsi. Related: Obama's birth certificate is a fake, he killed his grandmother in Hawaii because she knew the truth, sealed access to his birth certificate and other damning documents, and did pretty much everything you could possibly do for the sake of a phony birth certificate. Unexploded Bombshell: Barack Obama Admitted Kenyan Birth - Freedom OutpostObama lost his US citizenship: According to Corsi, Obama became a citizen of Indonesia while he lived there as a child.Michelle's "whitey" tape: During the 2008 campaign, rumors surfaced that a video of Michelle Obama using the word "whitey" would be released to sink her husband's campaign. It's never materialized. Related: The time Glenn Beck called Barack Obama a racist. Whitey tape - RationalWikiMichelle is a male transexual named Michael: More right wing fascination with homosexuality. Michelle Obama, First Lady of the United States, was born Michael LaVaughn Robinson in Chicago, Illinois on January 17th, 1964. He was the second son born to Fraser Robinson III, a well known cocaine dealer and union thug for Crime Lord/Mayor Richard J. Daley, and Marian Shields Robinson, a transient street prostitute who was diagnosed with the HIV virus in 1998. He [Michael] was a popular high school athlete and in 1982, he accepted a scholarship to play middle linebacker for the Oregon State Beavers. Michelle Obama is a transexual?Michelle as Michael, #44Obama was a Black Panther: Well, only if you're not very good at spotting photoshopped images. Obama would have been in grade school at the time the photo was taken. snopes.com: Barack 'Black Panther' ObamaPhotoshoppedThe originalObama's favorite: "That military exercises we were doing in Texas were designed to begin martial law so that I could usurp the Constitution and stay in power longer. Anybody who thinks I could get away with telling Michelle I’m going to be president any longer than eight years does not know my wife." Obama Reveals His Favorite Anti-Obama Conspiracy TheoryObama is the son of Malcolm X: Because, you know, black people. This charmer popped up on Atlas Shrugs, Pamela Geller's anti-Muslim website. (Geller is also known for obsessing over Shariah turkeys she believes are destroying Thanksgiving.) http://pamelageller.comObama is the son of Frank Marshall Davis: The conspiracy film Dreams From my Real Father espouses the theory that Davis, a leftist activist, was not only Obama's ideological mentor but his biological father. Related: Obama got a nose job to make his nose look less like Davis'. Andy MartinThe ProofObama's mom and dad were communists: That would be his real father, Barack Obama, Sr.Obama's ghostwriter was Bill Ayers: So what if he did but conservatives love to create mountains from mole hills. Conservative commentators claimed they uncovered evidence that ex-Weatherman Bill Ayers was the true author of Obama's 1995 memoir Dreams from my Father. Beyond their shared radicalism, Obama asked Ayers to help because he had writer's block. Ayers has expressed disappointment at receiving no royalties for his supposed efforts. Bill Ayers Admits For Second Time He Wrote Obama's 'Dreams From My Father'Obama trained to overthrow the government: In 2008, leading Obama conspiracy theorist Andy Martin declared on Fox News' Hannity's America that the then-presidential candidate had trained for "a radical overthrow of the government" during his time as a community organizer in Chicago. Andy MartinObama wouldn't say the Pledge of Allegiance: During the '08 campaign, Obama was rumored to have refused to say the pledge during a town hall meeting. A photo of the incident was actually taken while the national anthem was being sung.Obama removed the flag from Air Force One: …and replaced it with his campaign logo.The proof!!! However the plane is not Air Force One, it is his campaign plane.Obama ordered soldiers to swear allegiance to him: In April 2009, a clearly satirical report detailing how secretary of defense Robert Gates was growing "extremely frustrated" with the White House's plans to scrub the Constitution from the military oath of loyalty made the rounds on the right-wing blogosphere.Obama secretly gave away American islands to Russia: Texas House candidate Wes Riddle endorsed this theory and noted the relinquishment as grounds for impeachment. However, the seven Arctic islands were actually given away in 1991 by President George H.W. Bush. Conspiracy Watch: Did Obama Give American Islands to Russia?Obama caused the recession—in 1995: According to a Daily Caller story, Obama's efforts to force banks to lend to African Americans in the mid-'90s led to the subprime mortgage crises that killed the economy in 2008.Obama's youth reeducation camps: Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) warned that "young people will be put into mandatory service" at politically correct, billion-dollar camps run by the Democrats. Bachmann Warns Of "Re-Education Camps" For Young PeopleObama's coming for your guns: Extreme gun-rights outfits, along with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), alleged that the Obama administration is supporting the (nonexistent) United Nations Small Arms Treaty, which would lead to nationwide gun confiscation. Unfounded fears of gun confiscation have multiplied since the Newtown massacre.Obama's coming for your gold: This theory was floated by Glenn Beck—and the gold company he shilled for.Obama is planning FEMA concentration camps: Again with the camps. This theory got a big boost from Glenn Beck (who claims he didn't mean anything by it). Related: An executive order titled, "National Defense Resources Preparedness," was issued in the middle of March 2012. Conservative commentators saw it as a martial law power-grab that allowed the president to commandeer farmland, steal everyone's food, and draft any American into slave labor for a war of aggression against Iran. Also, he has a "secret vault" at Interpol's headquarters for imprisoning Americans. Secret FEMA Death Camps: Already At A Location Near YouObama wants to confiscate your IRA: Conservatives sent out a message ad claiming that Obama wants to seize your retirement account by force.Obama caused the BP oil spill: Conspiracy-minded radio host Alex Jones promoted the theory that the Deepwater Horizon spill was all part of the administration's plans of oil nationalization and global government.Obama was behind the Aurora massacre: In July, Gun Owners of America blasted out a press release claiming that the mass murder at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, was suspiciously timed. "Someone in Washington" was probably behind it, paving the way for Obama-led firearm confiscation and "government genocide." WorldNetDaily Pundit Suggests The Obama Administration Is Behind Mass ShootingsObama personally caused Hurricane Sandy: It wasn’t global warming that made Sandy so intense; it was Barack. Alex Jones' site reported the president engineered the storm using a Pentagon weather modification project. The mayhem caused by the hurricane would afford Obama the opportunity to score points by briskly managing disaster relief a week before the election. Conspiracy Theorists Say Obama Engineered Hurricane Sandy - US News - BustleObama had Andrew Breitbart killed: In March 2012, conservative media impresario Andrew Breitbart died of heart failure. Less than a month prior to his death, he had announced that he had uncovered footage of Obama's formative years as a radical. So obviously, Obama had him offed. (The tapes were later revealed to contain things like a young Obama hugging a black college professors.) Related: People—like a Rod Blagojevich fundraiser and an Obama impersonator—died between 2008 and 2012. Obama was in office between 2008 and 2012…coincidence?!?! http://www.nachumlist.com/deadpool.htmObama spiked the jobs report: "Jobs truthers" (like former GE CEO Jack Welch and Florida tea party congressman Allen West) accused the Obama administration of cooking the September unemployment numbers to manufacture a rosier picture of the economy and boost the president's chances of reelection.Obama faked bin Laden's death: Since no photographs of Osama bin Laden's corpse were produced, the Al Qaeda leader must still be out there. Fox News' Steve Doocy and Andrew Napolitano entertained the idea that Operation Neptune Spear was merely a ploy to revive Obama's sagging approval ratings.Obama's plan to fake an assassination attempt: A false-flag operation would create urban tumult and give Obama the pretext to declare martial law, thus suspending democracy, postponing the 2012 election, and prolonging his stay in office. The theory was flagged by Tenn. State Rep. Kelly Keisling, among others, after circulating online. Page on tennessean.comObama’s death squads targets gun rights activists: The tea party, with the help of libertarian websites, has uncovered this one. They were tipped off by Russian security forces. The Latest Right-Wing Conspiracy Theory: Obama Death Squads Targeting Gun Rights ActivistsObama's planning a third term: The dust from the 2012 election had barely cleared when this one popped up.Obama the brainwashing hypnotist: As a master of neurolinguistic programming, Obama persuaded Americans to vote for him via subliminal messages. Related: Rush Limbaugh pondered if hypnosis was the reason that so many Jewish voters were in the bag for Obama. In October, Georgia GOP lawmakers held a briefing on the president's secret mind-control plot. BustleObama's teleprompter: Obama's eloquence is a myth! The 44th president is incapable of speaking in public without his teleprompter. Republicans mock Obama’s teleprompter useObama had a ghostwriter for everything: Jack Cashill over at WND had a hot scoop on how Obama's love letters to his college girlfriend were ghostwritten.Obama's anti-Semitic poetry: However, according to the American Thinker, Obama's ghostwriters did not write his youthful poem "Underground," which compares Jews to fig-eating underwater apes and echoes Koranic verse.Obama's exiled lover: Obama was supposedly fooling around with an attractive young staffer from his 2004 Senate campaign. Michelle Obama had the temptress packed off to the Caribbean before the '08 campaign.Obama is gay: Which explains why he joined Rev. Jeremiah Wright's church. (Via Corsi, of course) This Man Has Proof That Obama Is Gay | VICE | SwedenObama's crack cocaine/gay sex/murder orgy cover-up:In 2008, a small-time conman named Larry Sinclair and his kilt-wearing lawyer held a press conference to tell the world of the future president's murderous, drug-and-sodomy-fueled crimes.Mom of Murdered Obama Gay Lover Speaks UpFlashback: Obama’s Gay Sex-Cocaine Romps with Larry Sinclair -Obama's campaigns were funded by drug money: During an October conference call organized to oppose pot legalization, a writer from Lyndon LaRouche's magazine asked about "reports [that both Obama's] 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns have been financed in part by laundered drug money."Obama is the Antichrist: Related: If you play his 2008 Democratic nomination acceptance speech backwards, you can hear him instruct listeners to do Satan's bidding.Obama is a lizard overlord: According to codes hidden in Biblical verse, Obama is a reptilian humanoid. This idea has found its way on to some right-wing radio shows, and two Daily Caller reporters recently published a (satirical?) e-book on the topic titled, The Lizard King: The Shocking Inside Account of Obama's True Intergalactic Ambitions by an Anonymous White House Staffer.Obama is a LizardBarack Obama is the Lizard-King, Say 12 Million AmericansObama's adventures on Mars: As a teen, Obama participated in a CIA initiative to teleport to Mars using a top-secret "jump room." Self-described time travelers William Stillings and Andrew Basiago claim to have met the future POTUS at American space bases on the Red Planet. In early 2012, a spokesman for the National Security Council actually acknowledged these claims, and issued a fairly convincing denial. Bustle - Mars visitors Basiago and Stillings confirm Barack Obama traveled to MarsObamacare can withhold care from those un-“worthy of medical care”: Sarah Palin informed us Obamacare will have “death panels” who can decide to withhold care from those unworthy of medical care such as Palin’s elderly parents or children with Down syndrome. As a result a worthy section of the bill to provide voluntary counseling to Medicare patients about living wills, advance directives, and end-of-life care options was removed from the bill. "Death panel" was named as PoliticFact “Lie of the Year", one of FactCheck’s "whoppers", and the most outrageous new term by the American Dialect Society. Death panelIn 2014 Tea Party Nation emailed members the following. These guys love legalese:The time has come to DEMAND the IMMEDIATE ARREST and PROSECUTION of one BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA upon his willful and transgression of 18 U.S. Code § 2339A.I hereby call on all members of the house and the senate to begin impeachment proceeding against Barack Hussein Obama and for Andrew B. “Drew” Willison, the current Senate Seargent [sic] at Arms to issue and execute an arrest warrant, taking the president, Barack Hussein Obama into custody.Barack Hussein Obama is in direct violation of 18 U.S. Code § 2339A – Providing material support to terrorists as a result of the removal of five Taliban GITMO detained terrorists and the transfer OF them to the government of Qatar where they, according to the specified arrangement negotiated BY Obama that they only be keep [sic] from traveling for a period of one year. IMPEACH AND ARREST THE TYRANT KING OBAMA!!