Robin Hanson: evaluation

Transcript context

…If you had to name a few of the human activities that have the least amount to do with signaling, but nonetheless are voluntary, what would they be? I’d pick very simple things like scratching your butt. [laughter] Something that is not at all impressive or appeal to people around you . . . [laughter] . . . but you nevertheless do from time to time because you have some other need. I think the degree to which nobody would find it impressive or appealing to see you do it. Now, there are some things we do that bother some people that other people like, that they find it endearing. Sometimes we can do countersignaling or signaling to a particular group to show them that we are focused on them and trying to impress them, as opposed to everybody else. Which is fine, but some things we do, like scratching our butt, basically, [laughs] nobody’s impressed by and nobody’s very endeared by. That would be the kind of thing. Let’s say I’m an introvert, which by definition is someone who’s not so much out there. Why is that signaling? Isn’t that the opposite of signaling? If you’re enough of an introvert, it doesn’t even seem like countersignaling. There’s no one noticing you’re not there.…

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