science

Warnock's dilemma

Warnock's dilemma is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Warnock's dilemma rather than just read about it. In short: Warnock's dilemma, named for its originator Bryan Warnock, is the problem of interpreting a lack of response to a posting in a virtual community. The term originally referred to mailing list discussions, but has been applied to Usenet posts, blogs, web forums, and online content in general.

Key takeaways

Warnock's dilemma belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Warnock's dilemma to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Warnock's dilemma from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Warnock's dilemma, named for its originator Bryan Warnock, is the problem of interpreting a lack of response to a posting in a virtual community. The term originally referred to mailing list discussions, but has been applied to Usenet posts, blogs, web forums, and online content in general. The dilemma arises because a lack of response does not necessarily imply that no one is interested in the topic, but could also mean for example that readers find the content to be exceptionally good (leaving nothing for commenters to add). On many internet forums, only around one percent of users create new posts, while nine percent reply and 90 percent are lurkers that do not contribute to the discussion. When no users reply, the original poster has no way of knowing what lurkers think of their contribution. Warnock's dilemma leads to online writers and publishers adopting more provocative writing strategies in order to ensure that they will get a response. However, this can also lead publishers to avoid producing the kind of content that might fail to generate comments due to its high quality. This problem arises particularly with sites that focus on viral content, such as BuzzFeed and Huffington Post.

Original description The problem with no response is that there are five possible interpretations: The post is correct, well-written information that needs no follow-up commentary. There's nothing more to say except "Yeah, what he said." The post is complete and utter nonsense, and no one wants to waste the energy or bandwidth to even point this out. No one read the post, for whatever reason. No one understood the post, but won't ask for clarification, for whatever reason. No one cares about the post, for whatever reason. Since Warnock's original description of the dilemma in August 2000, the expression has become used in the Perl world.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Warnock's dilemma

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Warnock's dilemma claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Warnock's dilemma before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Warnock's dilemma ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Warnock's dilemma

In research: Warnock's dilemma appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Warnock's dilemma in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Warnock's dilemma is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Dilemmas, Internet culture, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Warnock's dilemma outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Warnock's dilemma in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Warnock's dilemma means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Warnock's dilemma out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Warnock's dilemma in simple terms?

Why does Warnock's dilemma matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Warnock's dilemma?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Warnock's dilemma.