Another clarification example: If a community used what you know as a status symbol, would it be signaling or countersignaling to ask for an answer you didn’t have?
Guessing in advance of Alicorn’s reply (edit: ninja’d!): that reads to me as countersignaling unless there is a norm in favor of asking for information. Asking for an answer you didn’t have here (for example) would not be read as a status signal unless the question were particularly wrongheaded.
Edit: An example I have read of but not seen firsthand is the classroom in Brazil where Feynman taught—in which none of his students were willing to show ignorance by asking questions in class.
Guessing in advance of Alicorn’s reply (edit: ninja’d!): that reads to me as countersignaling unless there is a norm in favor of asking for information. Asking for an answer you didn’t have here (for example) would not be read as a status signal unless the question were particularly wrongheaded.
Edit: An example I have read of but not seen firsthand is the classroom in Brazil where Feynman taught—in which none of his students were willing to show ignorance by asking questions in class.