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Parallels between the ants and ourselves [...] Some ants get forced into low-status jobs and are prevented from becoming upwardly mobile by other members of the

Parallels between the ants and ourselves [...] Some ants get forced into low-status jobs and are prevented from becoming upwardly mobile by other members of the colony. Is that what U.S. society is like?

kurtosis 18y ago
well there are certainly traits like low IQ which can become imprinted on a person by working in a "low-status" job or having "low-status" ancestors. These traits are discriminated against by admissions officers and hiring managers. This is our version of the ant's scent of garbage. But I suppose it is also possible that if we could ask them the ants would claim that their society was completely meritocratic and that the individuals in their society who were confined to sanitation work were inferior in talent to the higher status ants.
- gravitycop 18y ago
  traits like low IQ [...] can become imprinted on a person by working in a "low-status" job Could you be more explicit? Do you mean that holding a low-status job causes a reduction in IQ?
  - kurtosis 18y ago
    After high school, I got a job doing construction work - I was treated badly and I felt a lot stupider afterwards :) Seriously, there have been a lot of studies which have shown a modest (temporary?) increase of IQ for people living in an "enriched" environment. ask google. Presumably, an "enriched" environment is one that is similar to the environments of high-status people. A job is an important part of one's environment, but so is living in a "low-status" home, or going to a "low-status" school which I think would have a similar effect. (I'm using quotation marks for low-status because I feel that these terms imply moral judgements that I don't share) Note that I also mentioned the importance of having low-status ancestors - and IQ has been shown to be heritable.
d0mine 18y ago
I see nothing specific to U.S. The parallels are even more apparent inside prison walls.

kurtosis 18y ago

well there are certainly traits like low IQ which can become imprinted on a person by working in a "low-status" job or having "low-status" ancestors. These traits are discriminated against by admissions officers and hiring managers. This is our version of the ant's scent of garbage. But I suppose it is also possible that if we could ask them the ants would claim that their society was completely meritocratic and that the individuals in their society who were confined to sanitation work were inferior in talent to the higher status ants.

gravitycop 18y ago
traits like low IQ [...] can become imprinted on a person by working in a "low-status" job Could you be more explicit? Do you mean that holding a low-status job causes a reduction in IQ?
- kurtosis 18y ago
  After high school, I got a job doing construction work - I was treated badly and I felt a lot stupider afterwards :) Seriously, there have been a lot of studies which have shown a modest (temporary?) increase of IQ for people living in an "enriched" environment. ask google. Presumably, an "enriched" environment is one that is similar to the environments of high-status people. A job is an important part of one's environment, but so is living in a "low-status" home, or going to a "low-status" school which I think would have a similar effect. (I'm using quotation marks for low-status because I feel that these terms imply moral judgements that I don't share) Note that I also mentioned the importance of having low-status ancestors - and IQ has been shown to be heritable.

d0mine 18y ago

I see nothing specific to U.S. The parallels are even more apparent inside prison walls.