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Könings's avatar

The strategy of concealing the signals given to predators (camouflage?) could be one explanation, but I think an interesting alternative explanation is that in a commercial society community relations are not as necessary as in a traditional society. I currently live in Brazil and it is curious that people in rural communities take an almost instinctive pleasure in being opinionated and sociable with other people; sometimes even inviting strangers into their homes to show off their personal possessions. My theory is that this is necessary in a small community like theirs to create bonds of trust and information sharing among its members (politics in the Aristotelian sense). In modern commercial societies, as Constant well noted, we are no longer subject to the "tyranny of the majority" of the Polis and it turns out that our obligation to have passionate bonds with others is no longer necessary to guarantee our freedom and well-being.

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Overcoming Bias Commenter's avatar

Depressing. Going forward, I will try to be a bit less boring.

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