I think it’s some mix of genuine improvement and legibility bias.
We really have learned more about the world and made many aspects we care about more legible. On the other hand, we also tend to focus on what we see and ignore what we don’t, so improved legibility in some areas may make us more likely to pay attention to those at the expense of others.
Things get extra tricky if we optimize too hard on legible metrics. To the extent illegible things matter, we can goodhart and incur illegible technical debt that’s masked in the short run by legible improvements.
I think it’s some mix of genuine improvement and legibility bias.
We really have learned more about the world and made many aspects we care about more legible. On the other hand, we also tend to focus on what we see and ignore what we don’t, so improved legibility in some areas may make us more likely to pay attention to those at the expense of others.
Things get extra tricky if we optimize too hard on legible metrics. To the extent illegible things matter, we can goodhart and incur illegible technical debt that’s masked in the short run by legible improvements.