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brendan_r's avatar

Robin's coalition politics explanation for sync makes sense.

In high school football it's common when both teams are lined up pre-game on their opposite sidelines and the coin toss is happening for one of the team's to rhythmically slap their pads and chant like some Bantu war party. It fires up that team for sure and can be somewhat intimidating especially since it's the naturally scary inner city schools that tend to do it.

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TJR's avatar

Ainslie's book "Breakdown of Will" explains that people seek sync because triggers for emotional rewards habituate less if the rewards are somewhat random, and social (empathy) rewards under others' control are inherently less predictable than finding pleasure by yourself.

Interestingly, Ainslie finds coalition politics again within the mind, as negotiations between the different competing interests of present and various future selves. So the signaling purpose of synching arises independently a second time.

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