The Idea Stock Exchange
Arguments scored like stocks. Evidence sets the price of an idea, strong arguments rise, weak ones fall, and anyone can audit exactly why.
A working method, an open codebase, and a live wiki. The scoring engine is being built in public. Every score you see is an honest placeholder, shown in [brackets], never fake precision.
Online debate is broken
Every argument you have ever read online has been made a thousand times before, and it will be made a thousand times again, because nobody keeps score. The same points get repeated, the evidence gets scattered, and the loudest claim beats the best-supported one. The fix is not more debate. It is a ledger: one page per topic, pros and cons side by side, every argument scored by its logic, its evidence, and its real-world consequences.
See it working: America should…
Live belief pages built with the full process. Click any title for the complete pro and con analysis with evidence tiers, objective criteria, and conflict resolution. The Direction bar and the score color show relative strength at a glance; the numbers stay in brackets because the ReasonRank engine that will compute them live is still in development. We would rather show you honest brackets than fake precision.
Bar length shows Direction toward the claim (how far the belief leans support). Score color shows relative strength: green is strong, blue is moderate, orange is weak. Every value is a bracketed placeholder until the engine computes it. Also on the exchange: Voting Reform.
How the scoring works
One page per topic. Every debate lives on a single structured page, pros and cons side by side. No fragmentation and no reruns: similar arguments get merged and scored once.
ReasonRank. Like Google's PageRank, but for arguments: a belief's score is computed from the scores of its sub-arguments, so it updates automatically when the evidence changes.
Tiered evidence. Every source is classified: peer-reviewed, expert, journalism, or anecdote. A study and a hot take stop counting the same.
Cost-benefit analysis. Every claimed cost and benefit becomes a debatable claim with its own argument tree, weighted by likelihood and objective criteria, not tribal feeling.
Conflict resolution. Map each side's interests, find where they actually overlap, and surface compromises that give both sides their core concerns.
This isn't just theory. It's how I'll govern.
I am running for office with a commitment to use this system for every decision I make. My reasoning will be public. You can add evidence. If you change the evidence, you change my position, and everyone will be able to see exactly why. It is how the Forward principle of data-driven governance becomes practice instead of a slogan.
See my positions →
Help build it
The ISE is open-source and early-stage. The methodology works today; the automated scoring engine is being built. That means the most valuable contributions anyone will ever make are the ones made now.
Thinkers: add arguments, attach evidence, and score claims for truth, linkage, and importance.
Writers: draft neutral pro and con analyses using the belief template.
Peacemakers: propose compromises that address both sides' interests.
Developers: Next.js, TypeScript, PostgreSQL. Pick a good first issue, or star the repo to raise its visibility.
Weak arguments drop. Strong ones rise. Everyone can see why.
© 2026 The Idea Stock Exchange · ~Myclob
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