Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Are you smarter than the company you keep? More attractive?

Jinn · 11-05-2010, 07:34 AM

We're social creatures, there's no way of getting around that. We emulate other people from the moment of birth until death, really. What we believe, how we act, even the mannerisms we have are likely picked up from our society and our close group of friends of acquaintances, rather than inborn. Sociology of the last thirty years has confirmed this, and how we view everything from sex to violence to relationships is informed by society and media, as well as person-to-person interaction.

Likewise, many studies have confirmed that your BMI is generally correlated with the BMI of your closest cohorts, and your intelligence and wealth are similarly correlated. If your friends are all poor, it's unlikely you'll be richer than they are, on average. If all your friends are fat, it's a pretty good chance you will be too. There are certainly outliers, but I've seen this to be true in my own life.

It's become rather evident to me since I recently moved across country, and I moved to a city with political and religious beliefs very similar to my own. At home, I always felt like a black sheep in a sea of bigots, but now I'm constantly caught off guard by the fact that I can call out a homophobe and everyone agrees with me. Likewise I work in a richer area, and I find myself wanting to get a nicer car and nicer clothes, even subconsciously.

So I wonder - do you consider yourself the 'smartest' among your peer group? How about the fittest? Most attractive? Or are you the mean average of your group? And have you ever changed peer groups (moving across country, starting a new job) and noticed you were suddenly more or less motivated to make more money, go to the gym, or buy that new fashion accessory?

11-05-2010, 07:34 AM	#1 (permalink)
Jinn Lover - Protector - Teacher Location: Seattle, WA	Are you smarter than the company you keep? More attractive? We're social creatures, there's no way of getting around that. We emulate other people from the moment of birth until death, really. What we believe, how we act, even the mannerisms we have are likely picked up from our society and our close group of friends of acquaintances, rather than inborn. Sociology of the last thirty years has confirmed this, and how we view everything from sex to violence to relationships is informed by society and media, as well as person-to-person interaction. Likewise, many studies have confirmed that your BMI is generally correlated with the BMI of your closest cohorts, and your intelligence and wealth are similarly correlated. If your friends are all poor, it's unlikely you'll be richer than they are, on average. If all your friends are fat, it's a pretty good chance you will be too. There are certainly outliers, but I've seen this to be true in my own life. It's become rather evident to me since I recently moved across country, and I moved to a city with political and religious beliefs very similar to my own. At home, I always felt like a black sheep in a sea of bigots, but now I'm constantly caught off guard by the fact that I can call out a homophobe and everyone agrees with me. Likewise I work in a richer area, and I find myself wanting to get a nicer car and nicer clothes, even subconsciously. So I wonder - do you consider yourself the 'smartest' among your peer group? How about the fittest? Most attractive? Or are you the mean average of your group? And have you ever changed peer groups (moving across country, starting a new job) and noticed you were suddenly more or less motivated to make more money, go to the gym, or buy that new fashion accessory? __________________ "I'm typing on a computer of science, which is being sent by science wires to a little science server where you can access it. I'm not typing on a computer of philosophy or religion or whatever other thing you think can be used to understand the universe because they're a poor substitute in the role of understanding the universe which exists independent from ourselves." - Willravel