The Score: C Thi Nguyen on how metrics can replace what we truly value

Philosopher C Thi Nguyen’s new book The Score argues that the gamification of everyday life and our reverence for metrics lead people and institutions to mistake “points for the point” and to build lives around things they do not really want. Nguyen, writing from personal experience, describes learning Japanese on Duolingo and shifting from genuine study to chasing experience points and leaderboard positions, even repeating a short Kanji lesson “over and over” while ignoring other priorities.

He calls this phenomenon “value capture”: when measurements begin to blur with what you care about and “redefined your core sense of what’s important”. He uses the example of American law school league tables, which collapsed nuanced institutional missions into a single number and, Nguyen says, diverted resources toward gaming rankings rather than pedagogy.

Part of that gaming, he argues, is exploiting metrics such as rejection rates; some schools solicit applications they are unlikely to accept so they can reject more students and appear more selective. Nguyen mixes philosophical argument with vivid personal enthusiasms — from rock climbing’s “explosive hip twists” to fly-fishing as “a nexus point in this gorgeously overwhelming flow of information” — and admits he has made himself miserable obsessing over philosophy department and journal rankings.

Key Topics

Culture, C Thi Nguyen, Duolingo, Value Capture, Law School Rankings, Leaderboards