Jonathan_Graehl comments on The many faces of status - Less Wrong

39 Post author: Morendil 15 April 2010 03:31PM

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Comment author: Jonathan_Graehl 17 April 2010 02:57:13AM *  0 points [-]

Agreed.

What do you make of the assertion that two strangers who've never met can assess each other's status?

The question seems ill-posed. After all, how much influence they have over each other is negotiable. What they'll be able to judge is only the observable status-bidding and status-associated signals.

Say they're simultaneously interacting with some group - then they'd start to see what each others' status is in that group only in the tautological sense that they'd see how much influence and deference they command.

Comment author: wedrifid 17 April 2010 03:11:25AM 0 points [-]

You can guess the status of someone (in their own little tribe(s)) in much the same sense that you can guess their occupation, and based off comparable indicators.

Comment author: Jonathan_Graehl 17 April 2010 06:14:48PM 0 points [-]

Yeah, I guess I can predict a large part of it from just their physical appearance and their "out in public" mannerisms. But it's only by seeing their actions+consequences in a context that I know their status there.