Post: #1

Great post today on social status.

http://www.ribbonfarm.com/2013/05/01/the...al-status/

In general, this blog has tons of high concept value - but it's never easy reading.

Seduction even gets a shot out!

WIA

Post: #2

Status is the elephant in the room that polite society wants to avoid.

Positive sum, utilitarian concerns take a backseat to zero-sum status games in practice. Humans are status creatures, not utilitarian ones.

This is why people get uppity if the rich get richer at a faster pace than the poor, even if the poor are getting richer too.

This is also why many white Americans welcome unskilled, illegal immigrants with open arms while wanting to make it difficult for Indian and East Asians of STEM backgrounds to come over.

I've only skimmed the first post on that blog, but thanks for the link. It'll be added to my reading list.

Post: #3

Good read. An interesting bit:

Quote:Let’s start with transactions, since they form the basis of an economy. Status is part of our system for competing over scarce resources, so it should be no surprise that it participates in so many of our daily transactions. Some examples:

We trade status for favors (and vice versa). This is so common you might not even realize it, but even the simple act of saying “please” and “thank you” accords a nominal amount of status to the person doing the favor. The fact that status is at stake in these transactions becomes clear when the pleasantries are withheld, which we often interpret as an insult (i.e., a threat to our status).
An apology is a ritual lowering of one’s status to compensate for a (real or perceived) affront. As with gratitude, withholding an apology is perceived as an insult.
We trade status for information (and vice versa). This is one component of “powertalk,” as illustrated in the Gervais Principle series.
We trade status for sex (and vice versa), which often goes by the name “seduction.” Sometimes even the institution of marriage functions as a sex-for-status transaction. Dowries illustrate this principle by working against it — they reinforce class/caste systems by making it harder for high-status men to marry low-status women.
We reward employees in the form of institutionalized status (titles, promotions, parking spots), which trade off against salary as a form of compensation.
We can turn money into status by means of conspicuous consumption, or status into money by means of endorsement (i.e., being paid to lend status to an endeavor).

Post: #4

Everyone should read The Gervais Principle series.

Post: #5

(05-01-2013 10:29 PM)Kabal Wrote:  Status is the elephant in the room that polite society wants to avoid.

Positive sum, utilitarian concerns take a backseat to zero-sum status games in practice. Humans are status creatures, not utilitarian ones.

This is why people get uppity if the rich get richer at a faster pace than the poor, even if the poor are getting richer too.

This is also why many white Americans welcome unskilled, illegal immigrants with open arms while wanting to make it difficult for Indian and East Asians of STEM backgrounds to come over.

I've only skimmed the first post on that blog, but thanks for the link. It'll be added to my reading list.

Interesting, I've always been much more favorable towards East Asians and Indians with STEM backgrounds than unskilled illegals. Have there been polls done on this topic?

Post: #6

(06-08-2014 07:23 PM)Icarus Wrote:  Everyone should read The Gervais Principle series.

It's so good that I'm re-reading it right now. Knowledge is power.