There's also:
- No signalling: I dress more formally than everyone else because that's been my style since forever and I'm not going to change for a role that doesn't require it.
There's also:
- No signalling: I dress more formally than everyone else because that's been my style since forever and I'm not going to change for a role that doesn't require it.
Still signalling.
People don't get to decide if they're signalling or not.
They only get to decide if they'll consciously signal or subconsciously signal. They (or their clothes as per the example) sends signals in either case.
I feel like this is actually that people don't get to decide if others will perceive signals.
This is a distinction without a difference; a signal was received, whether you meant to send it or not.
It’s quite a difference…
The expected or assumed signal can differ radically from the perceived signal, often in surprising ways.
People spend so much energy doing things based on untrue assumptions about what others are thinking.
And this is before we even get into how much one should adjust their behavior based on someone else’s perception.
Yeah similarly we can make a few distinctions here: 1) Intended signal, true 2) Unintended signal, but true 3) Unintended signal, but false (Sure, 1' intended but false; though not really important here)
When (1) obtains we can describe this situation as one where sender and received coordinate on a message.
When (2) obtains we can say the sender acted in a way that indicative of some fact or other and the received is recognizes this; (2) can obtain when one obtains as a separate signal or when the sender hasn't intended to send a signal.
(3) obtains when the receiver attributes to the sender some expressive behavior or information that is inaccurate, say, because an interpretive schema has characterized the sender and the coding system incorrectly producing an interpretation that is false.
Also remember that each recipient of the signal will have their own reaction to it. What signals professional competence to one person can signal lickspittle corporate toadying to another.
> They (or their clothes as per the example) sends signals in either case.
Unless you're Sherlock Holmes, or know the person and their wardrobe intimately, you literally cannot discern anything of value from a one-time viewing of them.
Reddit and quora are littered with stories about car salesmen misreading what they thought were signals, and missing out on big sales. The whole Julia Roberts trope resonates exactly because it happens in real life.
Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, and sometimes, as George Carlin pointed out, it's a big fat brown dick.
>Unless you're Sherlock Holmes, or know the person and their wardrobe intimately, you literally cannot discern anything of value from a one-time viewing of them.
You'd be surprised. People discern things of value from a one-time viewing of another person constantly. It's evolutionary wiring. From a glance, people can tell whether they others are rich or poor or middle class, their power status within a situation (e.g. a social gathering), their sexual orientation (studies show the gaydar exists), whether they're a threat or crazy or rapey or neurodiverse or meek and many other things, whether they're lazy or dilligent, and lots of other things.
>Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, and sometimes, as George Carlin pointed out, it's a big fat brown dick.
What black and white thinkers miss is this doesn't have to be accurate all the time to exist and be usable. Just a lot more often than random chance.
And it has nothing to do with the comical Holmes "he had a scratch mark on his phone, so he must be alcoholic" level inferences: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKQOk5UlQSc
> you literally cannot discern anything of value from a one-time viewing of them.
You're conflating actual value with perceived value. It's well established that perceptions matter and people make decisions based on this all the time.
> The whole Julia Roberts trope resonates exactly because it happens in real life.
No, it resonates because it's a feel good story. I'm sure it happens, but most of the time signaling is perfectly accurate. If you don't believe me, exchange clothes with a homeless person and try to go shopping on Rodeo Drive.
I remember wandering into Cartier's in NYC dressed in my shaggy jeans and t-shirt. They didn't throw me out, but a security guard followed me around, definitely edging into my personal space to make me uncomfortable. I laughed, said I get it, looked a bit more, and left.
I remember the days when you were expected to wear a suit on a jet, even the kids. These days, even the first class travelers wear track shorts. I kinda wish the airlines would have a dress code.
> I kinda wish the airlines would have a dress code
I'd take a code of conduct before the dress code. Though, appropriately enough, I suppose the latter signals the former
Decent people don't need a code of conduct.
There's been pressure on the D Language Foundation to have a CoC. I've consistently refused one. The only thing I demand is "professional conduct". Sometimes people ask me what professional conduct is. I reply with:
1. ask your mother
2. failing that, I recommend Emily Post's book on Business Etiquette.
And an amazing thing happened. Everyone in the D forums behaves professionally. Every once in a while someone new will test this, their posts get deleted, and then they leave or behave professionally.
I meant for flights (edited accordingly). In both cases I think "don't be a dick" probably would go most of the way
You'll get treated better by the staff if you dress better.
> I kinda wish the airlines would have a dress code
What? Why? Are you really that bothered by other people wearing stuff that you wouldn't personally want to wear? I can't even imagine going through life with strong feelings about how other people should dress; it legitimately sounds exhausting.
Would you go to a wedding dressed like a slob? Would you go to an elegant restaurant in sweats? If you go to pick up your date, and she opens the door wearing track shorts and a worn t-shirt, how would you feel?
When I'd pick up my date, and she had obviously spent a lot of time on her appearance, it'd make me feel like a million bucks.
P.S. If you're a real estate agent, and you drive to a customer in a shoddy car, you aren't going to make a sale.
> you literally cannot discern anything of value from a one-time viewing of them.
The goal is not to discern anything about a particular person from a one-time viewing of them, the goal is to discern something about a person a sufficiently high percentage of the time. Hence the evolutionary utility of using prior probabilities.
As history, and probably many people’s personal experiences, have shown, this trait also has drawbacks.
Honest signalling is still a thing. In fact it's rather common, it's one of the reasons most poisonous animals actually look poisonous.
I find this kind of funny, since you say your not signalling anything, and then in the second half of the sentence describe for us a very signal you claim you aren't sending:
> I'm not going to change for a role that doesn't require it.
Whether you like it or not, whether you meant to or not, you are communicating something here. You don't get to opt out.
"No signaling" would be: "I dress like I always do since forever." Any reference to opinions of others would mean that the person cares for them, even in the form of "I don't care", and thus the dress is also a signal to them.
At least for me, the signal I'm sending is "I care more about how comfortable I am in my clothes than I do about what other people are inferring about them". The point isn't that people aren't receiving some sort of signal about me based on that, it's that the signal that they might receive is entirely irrelevant to my motivations. That itself might be a signal, but it's incidental to the actual choice I'm making, which is entirely personal.