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Thorsten J. Pattberg, PhD's avatar

Update: Substack just removed .edu subscribers. They basically force you to use their three US partners .gmail, .yahoo, and .hotmail. No universities shall read Dr. P. ☝️😆

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Thorsten J. Pattberg, PhD's avatar

Ok, some clarifications about the pyramid scheme and why everyone still think they can make it to the top layer. Most late authors, if they are not already famous and have corporate backing, will never find readers here. They're waiting for a miracle. This miracle is called "the algorithm." Sometimes the pigs at Substack feel so bad about their wealth that they decide to throw a few crumbs down the pyramid, resulting in sudden spikes in viewership for your latest random post say. This "reward" then encourages you to write more, try harder, and, craziest of all, repeat whatever was in that viral post, thinking it must have been really good! But it wasn't. It was just random Pavlovian conditioning, "the algorithm," that made you repeat the last thing you were rewarded for. Some examples in 'Pigs of Substack'. Best! T

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