ikrase comments on You can't signal to rubes - Less Wrong
You are viewing a comment permalink. View the original post to see all comments and the full post content.
You are viewing a comment permalink. View the original post to see all comments and the full post content.
Comments (115)
Alternatively, I can think of two other variations. 1. Talk is cheap, but not free in some cases. As a subset of this, you can signal for the benefit of one audience (possibly a minority of the overall population, or your own ingroup, by saying things that will meet with moderate or minor social disapproval from the rest of the population 2. People sometimes expect costs to exist even when they don't.
I was thinking more of people who make boasts that 99% of the audience would consider ridiculous. If they are already low status, the cost is low and they can still get an RoI on the 1%.