7 ms·

I believe this, my wife replaced my raggedy coat and I can see the first impressions of people changed.

enriquto 7y ago
This is a great way to steer you towards are the most interesting of your acquitances: those whose impressions didn't change.
- mc32 7y ago
  There are other sectors of the economy which steer people away from dressing up and if you dress “too nicely” people are suspicious of you and wonder what you’re all about.
  - shantly 7y ago
    In Fussell's Class he writes hopefully about his "Class X" (IIRC) that rejects class markers, but it's clear even just from his text that they actually don't, and from our decades-later perspective they've obviously just become another category of the class conscious public, for the most part.
- AnthonBerg 7y ago
  No-one is immune to beauty or respect, nor to feeling safe. It bears rewards to respect people's senses and perception of the world, and to carry beauty with you. Beauty does not have to be grand or inflated, and there's no universal judgement; It doesn't have to be a pretty face in an expensive suit. Any form of expression or presence we carry with us can carry beauty and show respect, whether it is clothing or hygiene or handwriting or choice of words or depth of thought - anything. Anything can hold symmetry and consistency, can be suitably asymmetric and interesting - can hold beauty - and can show respect for other's continuous perception of the world and connection to it. And it make people feel safe. This can be a question of you being literally easy on the eyes, in other words your presentation in the world is energy-efficient to read and parse. But we must be careful to have this opt-in only, to be aware of our own bias, and practice non-judgement based on external appearance. A raggedy coat can make some people subconsciously worry if you're OK. They have a slightly easier time in your presence if they don't have to filter out those worries. Especially if there's a dissonance with them knowing that you're perfectly fine. And truly, for some the most beauty is found in people who present themselves as not caring about raggedy coats and for those their impressions probably won't change.
blablabla123 7y ago
I can only confirm, since I started buying more expensive clothes (and hardware), people seem to have a better impression of me. (Both in professional and private life) It's kind of a waste though...
- dxemy 7y ago
  Is it a waste to make people have a better impression of you? Depends on your job I guess?
- hoseja 7y ago
  It's waste by definition. It's social signalling. It's sort of like blockchain proof of work, you show your commitment by displaying hard to fake wasted resources.
  - criddell 7y ago
    Social signalling isn't necessarily a waste, especially if you have a very high profile. When Justin Theroux shows up at an animal shelter and posts a photo of some dogs on Instagram, those dogs get adopted and it raises the profile of those animal shelters.
  - pete762 7y ago
    No, more like hard to fake abundance of resources. Whether they're wasted or not is in the eye of the beholder.
- akhilcacharya 7y ago
  Interesting you bring up "hardware". What do you mean by that?
  - swat535 7y ago
    Presumably a Mac instead of Thinkpad ?
    - akhilcacharya 7y ago
simonsarris 7y ago
If you ever want this feeling on steroids, get a German shepherd puppy and walk it around.
- shantly 7y ago
  We got a puppy a while ago and holy crap, no kidding. If I were single, after that experience, I'd make sure never to walk anywhere without a puppy. Never had so many strangers strike up friendly, longish conversations out of nowhere.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]

This is a great way to steer you towards are the most interesting of your acquitances: those whose impressions didn't change.

mc32 7y ago
There are other sectors of the economy which steer people away from dressing up and if you dress “too nicely” people are suspicious of you and wonder what you’re all about.
- shantly 7y ago
  In Fussell's Class he writes hopefully about his "Class X" (IIRC) that rejects class markers, but it's clear even just from his text that they actually don't, and from our decades-later perspective they've obviously just become another category of the class conscious public, for the most part.
AnthonBerg 7y ago
No-one is immune to beauty or respect, nor to feeling safe. It bears rewards to respect people's senses and perception of the world, and to carry beauty with you. Beauty does not have to be grand or inflated, and there's no universal judgement; It doesn't have to be a pretty face in an expensive suit. Any form of expression or presence we carry with us can carry beauty and show respect, whether it is clothing or hygiene or handwriting or choice of words or depth of thought - anything. Anything can hold symmetry and consistency, can be suitably asymmetric and interesting - can hold beauty - and can show respect for other's continuous perception of the world and connection to it. And it make people feel safe. This can be a question of you being literally easy on the eyes, in other words your presentation in the world is energy-efficient to read and parse. But we must be careful to have this opt-in only, to be aware of our own bias, and practice non-judgement based on external appearance. A raggedy coat can make some people subconsciously worry if you're OK. They have a slightly easier time in your presence if they don't have to filter out those worries. Especially if there's a dissonance with them knowing that you're perfectly fine. And truly, for some the most beauty is found in people who present themselves as not caring about raggedy coats and for those their impressions probably won't change.

blablabla123 7y ago

I can only confirm, since I started buying more expensive clothes (and hardware), people seem to have a better impression of me. (Both in professional and private life) It's kind of a waste though...

dxemy 7y ago
Is it a waste to make people have a better impression of you? Depends on your job I guess?
hoseja 7y ago
It's waste by definition. It's social signalling. It's sort of like blockchain proof of work, you show your commitment by displaying hard to fake wasted resources.
- criddell 7y ago
  Social signalling isn't necessarily a waste, especially if you have a very high profile. When Justin Theroux shows up at an animal shelter and posts a photo of some dogs on Instagram, those dogs get adopted and it raises the profile of those animal shelters.
- pete762 7y ago
  No, more like hard to fake abundance of resources. Whether they're wasted or not is in the eye of the beholder.
akhilcacharya 7y ago
Interesting you bring up "hardware". What do you mean by that?
- swat535 7y ago
  Presumably a Mac instead of Thinkpad ?
  - akhilcacharya 7y ago

simonsarris 7y ago

If you ever want this feeling on steroids, get a German shepherd puppy and walk it around.

shantly 7y ago
We got a puppy a while ago and holy crap, no kidding. If I were single, after that experience, I'd make sure never to walk anywhere without a puppy. Never had so many strangers strike up friendly, longish conversations out of nowhere.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]