Monday, June 8, 2020
"Serious guys" often treat even casual interactions like a research meeting. I often imagine what an interaction about "politics" would be like. It'd probably go like this:
ME: I'd like to talk about politics. I have strong feelings about it.
THEM: {looks at me quizzically, like an oral comprehensive exam panelist staring down a grad student} Who is our local senator?
ME: Hmm... I don't know. I think it's that guy David...
THEM: Well, I think before you start acting like you take politics seriously, you better brush up "local" politics!
The starting assumption is that everyone is insincere and fake, and the burden of proof is on *them* ("me") to prove otherwise (unless they are talking to another serious guy, about whom they have a strong prior probability assessment as to their "seriousness"). There's no opportunity for small talk or explaining what you "feel", unless you have "done the research" *first* to prove that you've put seroius effort and thought into it.
The thing, though, about politics -- and many other topics of small talk used to form bonds and camaraderie -- is that it doesn't have to be about signalling "effort" or "expertise". Even children can talk about politics. It is rooted in *identity* -- our value judgments, ethnicity, emotions and feelings, and many other things besides.