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There is this idea I see from jerks all the time, that being a jerk is about "the survival of the fittest", that their jerkiness is a strength that helps them s

by yareal 3y ago

There is this idea I see from jerks all the time, that being a jerk is about "the survival of the fittest", that their jerkiness is a strength that helps them succeed. But humans didn't evolve to be the fittest organism through strength or individualism. We're in our position through social cohesion and cooperation. The most successful people I've seen got there through cooperation, coalition building, and community development. Some jerks also succeed, and are used as examples of why being a jerk is necessary or easier, but it's fallacious to think every local jerk is following the footsteps of bezos or musk. So the next time you find yourself thinking, "the best engineers are jerks, because it's a social Darwinian landscape", remember that the strategy that seems to be winning today is "strength through social cohesion".

hasty_pudding 3y ago
Cohesion is an old pre-industrial strategy in my opinion. With the advent of industrial scale tech and no limit to the amount of currency one can have..I think things are somewhat social darwinistic now.
- yareal 3y ago
  I disagree. Or agree, perhaps. The Darwinism is there, but collective behavior and social bonds are still the winning strategy.
figassis 3y ago
Problem is we need that as a species, but success is individual, and the playbook is not the same.
- yareal 3y ago
  It's really not. The successful individual is an illusion, literally no one succeeds alone. The best strategy for individuals to get ahead is still social cohesion.
  - figassis 3y ago
    That's where you see people manipulating/using others to get ahead. You don't need to actually help others, you just need to let them believe that long enough to get ahead. Manipulation is easier, but social norms favor the other. So you see fewer people with the courage to go against the norm, and because it also works, you see disproportionate amount of success in those people.

by yareal 3y ago

hasty_pudding 3y ago

Cohesion is an old pre-industrial strategy in my opinion. With the advent of industrial scale tech and no limit to the amount of currency one can have..I think things are somewhat social darwinistic now.

yareal 3y ago
I disagree. Or agree, perhaps. The Darwinism is there, but collective behavior and social bonds are still the winning strategy.

figassis 3y ago

Problem is we need that as a species, but success is individual, and the playbook is not the same.

yareal 3y ago
It's really not. The successful individual is an illusion, literally no one succeeds alone. The best strategy for individuals to get ahead is still social cohesion.
- figassis 3y ago
  That's where you see people manipulating/using others to get ahead. You don't need to actually help others, you just need to let them believe that long enough to get ahead. Manipulation is easier, but social norms favor the other. So you see fewer people with the courage to go against the norm, and because it also works, you see disproportionate amount of success in those people.