@buherator @esther@strangeobject.space This doesn't really engage with my point at all, though - this is basically arguing "but if you kind of squint, with the right conditions, then the current model *can* work like an index of stuff".

And sure, that's true, but the part that matters here is how the system behaves when those conditions are *not* met, and we're *not* living in the optimal case. And in that case, it behaves exactly like I described, and that is considered desirable in the industry because it's what keeps the money coming in.