Aretae

The virtue of excellence

Sunday, October 30, 2011

PoTD

Jehu asks:
Why is such a high fraction of what we teach culturally about the minds of others far more true of non-neurotypicals than of neurotypicals?
RTWT
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3 comments:

rightsaidfred said...

So...if we are nice to foreigners, let them immigrate, give them our infrastructure...they will come to despise us. Got it.

October 30, 2011 at 5:15 PM
Jehu said...

Mild societal 'hazing' seems to be the optimum for promoting loyalty and assimilation among immigrants. Witness the considerably higher levels of loyalty to the US in the 30s-50s among immigrant and minority groups versus today. This of course makes no sense using the cultural default theory of mind, but great sense if you use the heuristic, if you want someone to like you, get THEM to do YOU a favor. The 'Game' community could easily phrase this in their particular vocabulary as well (society needs to DHV newcomers and always maintain 'hand').

October 30, 2011 at 6:03 PM
drpat said...

How about: Person A teaches person B in such a way as to encourage person B to act in ways that Person A would like.

If Person A teaches Persons B through M to give more in order to be liked. Then persons B though M will give more, including to person A. Person A benefits.

This might fall down through a "tragedy of the commons" effect. You would like your personal ring of friends and family to be giving to you, but if the whole society is unable to socialize effectively, then you are worse off in the long run.

It may also fall down through secondary effects. Your friends and family are giving to you, but they are also socially inept and so are poorer and lower status, which affects you.

It may also fall down because you don't actually know what you like. Woman A teaches men B through M to be gentle, giving and non-assertive to women, because Woman A thinks she will like this. But if game theory is to be believed, she actually doesn't.

October 31, 2011 at 6:44 PM

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