Measuring Merit

Any measurement of anything must have a firm scientific basis. While we have made allot of progress in natural sciences, there is much room for improvement in the various social sciences. Improvements in the latter is critical to crate valid and reliable measures of merit. 

Naturally, what we consider merit for a given position differs. E.g. a basketball coach is unlikely to be swayed by a candidates supreme guitar skills, though there are many situations where such guitar skills constitutes merit.  

Key Points:

  • Improve social science methodologies to boost accuracy
  • People can acquire merit theoretically and practically
  • Develop a science of merit (meritology)
    • Build on HR, psychology, cognitive science, etc.
    • Have an interdisciplinary, holistic, approach 
  • Systematically map merit throughout education/work
  • Give people clear ways to improve their merits