[baxtr]

Reminds me of [1]:

3. Rich man in the car paradox.

When you see someone driving a nice car, you rarely think, “Wow, the guy driving that car is cool.” Instead, you think, “Wow, if I had that car people would think I’m cool.” Subconscious or not, this is how people think.

The paradox of wealth is that people tend to want it to signal to others that they should be liked and admired. But in reality those other people bypass admiring you, not because they don’t think wealth is admirable, but because they use your wealth solely as a benchmark for their own desire to be liked and admired.

[1] http://www.collaborativefund.com/blog/the-psychology-of-mone...

[vinceguidry]

It depends a lot on where you are. Driving a riced out car in the suburbs carries a subtly different status message than driving a Maserati in the center of town.

You absolutely can signal status with a car in a way that will convey what you want. Look at me, I'm interesting, I'm worthy of getting to know. Admire me.

It's just a lot more expensive than the attention is worth. That's the only real problem with cars. A watch and a pair of nice shoes sends that message for way way cheaper.

And even then, it's only one brick in the wall. You also need personal style, and interpersonal style as well. Somebody who is really status conscious will weave all those things together in a way that is so compelling to look at, it's really like you're looking at a movie star that just stepped out of a screen. You can't look away, it's enthralling. Magic happens around them.

Yes, the car you drive matters when you're playing at that level.

[nicoburns]

> Yes, the car you drive matters when you're playing at that level.

Do you really think that status conscious people are playing at a higher level than others? Personally I go out of my way to avoid people who poster for attention in these ways. And people who only seem interested in me because my way of life signals status to them for that matter.

[vinceguidry]

That's where your location comes into play. Different parts of a city have different vibes. The status signals still exist, but are different in your part.

Yesterday at lunch a guy walked past with an extremely 'regal' air. Literally the whole team turned and watched him walk, then we had a conversation about what he was representing, the consensus being that of a plantation gentleman. Seersucker suit, short tweed hat. And it was clean. He didn't look like a homeless person, he looked like he stepped out of a 1800s storybook.

That's status. Paying that much attention to the message you're sending through your actions and bearing. It's non-verbal communication that you absolutely can learn and master, you can even take classes in it, they're called acting classes.

It's what separates Emperor Norton from a random homeless guy.

[lsc]

>It's what separates Emperor Norton from a random homeless guy.

This, I think, is the key to the whole thing, and the disconnect between you and many of the others here.

I mean, yes, if you are the sort of person who values appearances, then yes, status is very important. that's kind of the point.

If you are the sort of person who doesn't value appearances over abilities, the story of emperor Norton is just the story of people making fun of a mentally ill homeless guy.

Of course, most of us in real life are between those two extremes; but I'm more in the latter camp than the former, and it sounds like you are probably more in the former than the latter. It's two different ways of looking at the world and two different ways of choosing leaders.

[wavefunction]

There were no plantation gentlemen, just slave owners

[amelius]

Not sure if all people think that way. Some people might be jealous?