5 ms·

The carbon is a proxy (which is missed in the article, among other things.) It's social signaling. Or to put it another way: How many $$ can your man throw a

The carbon is a proxy (which is missed in the article, among other things.) It's social signaling. Or to put it another way: How many $$ can your man throw away without incurring pauperhood?

stephengillie 14y ago
So this becomes a social competition to see who can waste the most resources? It sounds like it has barbaric roots -- who can provide the most food / kill the biggest animal / lift the heaviest rock / travel the fastest / find the rarest material / pay someone else the most money to do so. You'll never find an end to the people who are willing to provide the same product for a higher price.
- jpdoctor 14y ago
  > So this becomes a social competition to see who can waste the most resources? Slightly more subtle than that: Waste the resources without incurring financial hardship. That last part is important. > It sounds like it has barbaric roots Not unlike the mating ritual itself. > You'll never find an end to the people who are willing to provide the same product for a higher price. Again, it's more subtle: The social signal includes being able to discern and choose well among the competing alternatives.
- transitionality 14y ago
  De Beers enjoyed a monopoly on the market for a long time, so the prices were pretty much standardized across the entire marketplace. Yes, you could obviously find someone willing to sell you diamonds for more than what De Beers charged, but nobody would believe that you willingly paid more than "market rate". "Market rate" in this context refers to De Beers' monopolistic pricing, not actual market rate, which is actually peanuts because diamonds are in fact very common.
3pt14159 14y ago
Like coloured feathers on a bird. Could you imagine if the story was just slightly changed: "Let's admit that women buying sports cars for their fiancé-to-be is bullshit." Hmmmm... Now I want a Z4 Zagato. But in all seriousness this would have ended in the 70s when feminist protests started.
- thwest 14y ago
  70s? Don't forget the Suffragettes!
- jpdoctor 14y ago
  > But in all seriousness this would have ended in the 70s when feminist protests started. I started dating in the 70s: I thought it was a period of bizarre contrasts. But then as time went by, I realized dating has been bizarre since the time we were all living in caves.
  - Zimahl 14y ago
    Let's just all agree that we can send a man to the moon but there will never be an algorithm that can help you figure out even 1% of the female psyche.
    - jamesaguilar 14y ago
      > Let's just all agree that we can send a man to the moon but there will never be an algorithm that can help you figure out even 1% of the female psyche. This was the comment that convinced me that you are a sexist.
      - Karunamon 14y ago
        s/female/human/g Considering the readership of this site will be predominantly male anyways.. (And for the love of pascal would you please stop bandying about the "sexism" label? It is literally nothing more than a personal attack that adds nothing to any conversation)
        jamesaguilar 14y ago
        I meant it as a personal attack for the reprehensible views he has expressed in this thread.
        14y ago
ohsnapman 14y ago
Here's a link for the equivalent evolutionary theory: http://octavia.zoology.washington.edu/handicap_old/handicap_intro_2.html http://octavia.zoology.washington.edu/handicap_old/handicap_...
arbuge 14y ago
I agree with this. My wife wanted a ruby ring, not diamond, for our engagement. The expectation clearly was that it would still be expensive though! The marketing campaigns by jewelers have first and foremost been successful at setting an expectation of big spending. The stone type itself might be somewhat negotiable.
- jpdoctor 14y ago
  > My wife wanted a ruby ring, not diamond, for our engagement. I consider this an amazing social signal: She is verifying that you have a proper amount of resources to burn, but does not want her girlfriends to easily calibrate how many you have. Therefore, she leaves them a little bit in the dark about what a great catch you are (because most women can't calibrate ruby pricing by just looking.) My compliments to you sir. Simultaneously, my condolences to your bank balance.
  - arbuge 14y ago
    Good guess, but that's not the reason :-) She's from China and ruby is her birthstone.
    - jpdoctor 14y ago
      :) My wife (also a PhD) accuses me of being able to formulate a theory for any data.
    - Apocryphon 14y ago
      It was either that or you're a Rails developer.
    - prawn 14y ago
      Even the stone too is pushed by tradition and marketing - birthstones have been standardised and adjusted at points by industry associations. :|
gnaritas 14y ago
> How many $$ can your man throw away without incurring pauperhood? Which tells me the woman is stupid, and not a keeper.

The carbon is a proxy (which is missed in the article, among other things.) It's social signaling. Or to put it another way: How many $$ can your man throw away without incurring pauperhood?

stephengillie 14y ago

So this becomes a social competition to see who can waste the most resources? It sounds like it has barbaric roots -- who can provide the most food / kill the biggest animal / lift the heaviest rock / travel the fastest / find the rarest material / pay someone else the most money to do so. You'll never find an end to the people who are willing to provide the same product for a higher price.

jpdoctor 14y ago
> So this becomes a social competition to see who can waste the most resources? Slightly more subtle than that: Waste the resources without incurring financial hardship. That last part is important. > It sounds like it has barbaric roots Not unlike the mating ritual itself. > You'll never find an end to the people who are willing to provide the same product for a higher price. Again, it's more subtle: The social signal includes being able to discern and choose well among the competing alternatives.
transitionality 14y ago
De Beers enjoyed a monopoly on the market for a long time, so the prices were pretty much standardized across the entire marketplace. Yes, you could obviously find someone willing to sell you diamonds for more than what De Beers charged, but nobody would believe that you willingly paid more than "market rate". "Market rate" in this context refers to De Beers' monopolistic pricing, not actual market rate, which is actually peanuts because diamonds are in fact very common.

3pt14159 14y ago

Like coloured feathers on a bird. Could you imagine if the story was just slightly changed: "Let's admit that women buying sports cars for their fiancé-to-be is bullshit." Hmmmm... Now I want a Z4 Zagato. But in all seriousness this would have ended in the 70s when feminist protests started.

thwest 14y ago
70s? Don't forget the Suffragettes!
jpdoctor 14y ago
> But in all seriousness this would have ended in the 70s when feminist protests started. I started dating in the 70s: I thought it was a period of bizarre contrasts. But then as time went by, I realized dating has been bizarre since the time we were all living in caves.
- Zimahl 14y ago
  Let's just all agree that we can send a man to the moon but there will never be an algorithm that can help you figure out even 1% of the female psyche.
  - jamesaguilar 14y ago
    > Let's just all agree that we can send a man to the moon but there will never be an algorithm that can help you figure out even 1% of the female psyche. This was the comment that convinced me that you are a sexist.
    - Karunamon 14y ago
      s/female/human/g Considering the readership of this site will be predominantly male anyways.. (And for the love of pascal would you please stop bandying about the "sexism" label? It is literally nothing more than a personal attack that adds nothing to any conversation)
      - jamesaguilar 14y ago
        I meant it as a personal attack for the reprehensible views he has expressed in this thread.
        14y ago

ohsnapman 14y ago

Here's a link for the equivalent evolutionary theory: http://octavia.zoology.washington.edu/handicap_old/handicap_intro_2.html http://octavia.zoology.washington.edu/handicap_old/handicap_...

arbuge 14y ago

I agree with this. My wife wanted a ruby ring, not diamond, for our engagement. The expectation clearly was that it would still be expensive though! The marketing campaigns by jewelers have first and foremost been successful at setting an expectation of big spending. The stone type itself might be somewhat negotiable.

jpdoctor 14y ago
> My wife wanted a ruby ring, not diamond, for our engagement. I consider this an amazing social signal: She is verifying that you have a proper amount of resources to burn, but does not want her girlfriends to easily calibrate how many you have. Therefore, she leaves them a little bit in the dark about what a great catch you are (because most women can't calibrate ruby pricing by just looking.) My compliments to you sir. Simultaneously, my condolences to your bank balance.
- arbuge 14y ago
  Good guess, but that's not the reason :-) She's from China and ruby is her birthstone.
  - jpdoctor 14y ago
    :) My wife (also a PhD) accuses me of being able to formulate a theory for any data.
  - Apocryphon 14y ago
    It was either that or you're a Rails developer.
  - prawn 14y ago
    Even the stone too is pushed by tradition and marketing - birthstones have been standardised and adjusted at points by industry associations. :|

gnaritas 14y ago

> How many $$ can your man throw away without incurring pauperhood? Which tells me the woman is stupid, and not a keeper.