Recommendation Algorithms

Does picking what you already like change what you’re offered next?

A familiar scene

You watch one workplace comedy on a slow evening. Within a few sessions your home screen is visibly heavier on comedies — not because you told it your preferences, and not because you watched anything else in between.

This week’s question

A recommendation feed never has to say no to you. Do five small, individually reasonable picks in a row change what you’re even shown by the sixth?

Feedback loops don’t need intent

A simple rule

"Show more of what this person picked before"

Applied repeatedly

Every pick becomes an input to the next round's options

No step removes variety

Repetition alone does the narrowing

The narrowing loop

Pick a showFeed updates the mixMenu narrows slightlyPick again↻ repeats

The interactive experiment: The Narrowing Feed

Five rounds. Each shows four categories; pick one. The next round’s mix updates based only on your pick history, following a fixed, simplified rule — not a real streaming algorithm, just enough of the same shape.