Honestly I think you miss the point. The author tries to tie the body of the article to their conclusions at the end, but they largely fail: Marine corps use h

Honestly I think you miss the point. The author tries to tie the body of the article to their conclusions at the end, but they largely fail: Marine corps use hellish group training regimes to create unity, street gangs employ death-defying initiations to ensure the loyalty, et cetera only appear at the bottom in quick summary. The thing you seem to miss is that these rituals were not forced on the participants by some manipulative manager trying to observe some group psychological response. The fire-walkers have to choose freely to walk on the coals: it's not like they all get in a line and crack whips at each other, goading one another reluctantly across the coals. It's not forced social cohesion at play here, it's personal determinations of sacrifice. When you decide which sacrifices I make, it's completely different. Do you not see that? When I notice you intentionally schedule our meetings in the freezing rain, what do you think that will make me think? Understand that the military background you come from really, really blurs the line of voluntary. I do not wish to 'enlist' just to work on your software team, buddy. I didn't sign my body away, just my 9-5.