This post doesn’t convince me away from the “tautological” objection mentioned at the end.
Caplan is presenting a contrarian position: “Standard signaling models are incorrect. The true cost of making friends is astronomically lower than what most people think it is.” It’s an intriguing take, but what are those actual and perceived costs?
To me, it’s borderline ridiculous to simplify the costs down to “impulse control.” Making friends is often difficult, complicated, and at times genuinely risky. It takes so much more effort and commitment than simply saying hello with a smile. Even for the “sincerely friendly” people who have good social intuitions, there’s clearly an opportunity cost to having friends.
I’d be interested in an analysis of the perceived vs actual costs of friendship, but I don’t see any of that explored in detail here. Even the core claim that “people are impulsive” doesn’t seem particularly well supported.
This post doesn’t convince me away from the “tautological” objection mentioned at the end.
Caplan is presenting a contrarian position: “Standard signaling models are incorrect. The true cost of making friends is astronomically lower than what most people think it is.” It’s an intriguing take, but what are those actual and perceived costs?
To me, it’s borderline ridiculous to simplify the costs down to “impulse control.” Making friends is often difficult, complicated, and at times genuinely risky. It takes so much more effort and commitment than simply saying hello with a smile. Even for the “sincerely friendly” people who have good social intuitions, there’s clearly an opportunity cost to having friends.
I’d be interested in an analysis of the perceived vs actual costs of friendship, but I don’t see any of that explored in detail here. Even the core claim that “people are impulsive” doesn’t seem particularly well supported.