“A 22-year-old woman who spends six months backpacking across Asia sends a powerful message about her curiosity, open-mindedness, and even courage. Similar (if weaker) signals can be bought for less time and money simply by eating strange foods, watching foreign… — Kevin Simler Copy Share Image
“But notice all the conspicuous effort in this story. If Charles’s physicians had simply prescribed soup and bed rest, everyone might have questioned whether… — Kevin Simler Copy Share Image
“In fact, one of the best predictors of dominance is the ratio of “eye contact while speaking” to “eye contact while listening.” Psychologists call… — Kevin Simler Copy Share Image
“Instead, by creating associations that exist out in the broader culture—not just in our own heads, but in the heads of third parties—ads turn… — Kevin Simler Copy Share Image
“Thus we use laughter to gauge and calibrate social boundaries—both behavioral boundaries (norms) and group membership boundaries (who deserves how much of our empathy).… — Kevin Simler Copy Share Image
“In the broadest sense, there are at least two ways to use the danger of norms for comedic effect. The first is to feint… — Kevin Simler Copy Share Image
“When we donate to a good cause, it “says” to our associates, “Look, I’m willing to spend my resources for the benefit of others.… — Kevin Simler Copy Share Image
“In light of all this, we’re now equipped to think about the relationship between laughter and humor. In any given comedic situation, humor precedes… — Kevin Simler Copy Share Image
“Note, however, that a community’s supply of social rewards is limited, so we’re often competing to show more loyalty than others—to engage in a… — Kevin Simler Copy Share Image
“do well to turn Matthew 7:1 on its head: “Judge freely, and accept that you too will be judged.” — Kevin Simler Copy Share Image
“So it’s a mixed bag. Schools help prepare us for the modern workplace and perhaps for society at large. But in order to do… — Kevin Simler Copy Share Image
“It is a wonderful quirk of our species that the incentives of social life don’t reward strictly ruthless behavior. Leaders who are too domineering… — Kevin Simler Copy Share Image
“80 percent of people chose to award a scholarship to a member of their favored political party, even when another applicant had better grades.… — Kevin Simler Copy Share Image
“But for most trees, height is all about getting more sun. A forest is an intensely competitive place, and sunlight is a scarce but… — Kevin Simler Copy Share Image
“As Bertrand Russell is often reported to have said, “The mark of a civilized man is the capacity to read a column of numbers… — Kevin Simler Copy Share Image
“Even infants seem to use laughter intentionally, to communicate their emotional state to their interaction partners. Provine describes the “duet” that takes place between… — Kevin Simler Copy Share Image
