An odd thing I've noticed as flexwork/remote work has grown (both for employees and via gigwork) is that people "left behind" working out of actual offices are on average more attractive than ones who've vanished "behind the curtain" so to speak. Turchin sensate/ideational split?
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I'm of course one of the exceptions, one of the good-looking types among those who have retreated behind the curtain of the workforce.
Also, this behind the curtain/in front of the curtain is a nice orthogonality to above/below the API. 2x2 incoming.
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And here we go. Don't @ me.
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why do I do these things
arguably Scruffy the janitor belongs in the top left along with the recycling planet people
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Edit, I meant Pitrim Sorokin, not Peter Turchin. Ideational, Sensate, Idealistic is his 3-way distinction and doesn't really map to this appearances/substance divide, but it rhymes in my head. The US is a highly appearances based sensate culture. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitirim_S
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Also recall reading some research somewhere that indicated that in times of high inequality, women tend to dress more attractively or something. Presumably some men too, trading on looks.
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I think we're at the extreme pendulum swing on this and it will rapidly reverse in the next decade. Signaling with beauty will become an "indoor" thing and leave more public contexts. All public appearances will go bland/grey/functional.
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More attractive, or dedicating more time/attention to their looks? I usually put on some makeup when going to a coworking office, never when working from home or a café.
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I think a bit of both... the more attractive you are, the more you have an incentive to leverage that in careers through modes that require visibility (in-person meetings, customer interactions, high-bandwidth conversations etc).
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I've noticed that a lot of the people who seek remote work are uncomfortable wearing a collar and leash.
Literally, wearing a white-collar and tie.
Figuratively, a collar-collar and leash-leash.
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Yeah, definitely. I never liked that, but it was required like once a year where I last worked, so it was not a consideration for me. I think I dress worse on average days than when I worked in an office, but better when I visit clients or go to events.
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Yeah, but with the power ratio flipped. The Eloi have the visibility/spotlight AND most of the power as well. Out of sight = out of power in some ways, though that may change.
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