The most reliable way I get traction for my ideas is by presenting personally as over the top fusty and conservative, whereas people come to me when they need

The most reliable way I get traction for my ideas is by presenting personally as over the top fusty and conservative, whereas people come to me when they need iconoclastic ideas. I would also say that "looking weird," used to signal you were so good at something you didn't have to conform, and it imposed the cost on rivals where they couldn't succeed if they imitated you (the actual definition of a counter-signal). Weirdness has changed into a survival strategy to avoid personal accountability. Either because they are so conscientious as to want to make other people feel comfortable by seeming harmless and incapable of coercion - or it means what bright colours and displays mean elsewhere in nature: poison, avoid. Great article, but also surprised how quickly something from 2014 could date. Today I would say, the smart money doesn't spend weirdness points, it leverages them.