Great observations. Sounds v similar in London - the Finance Bro is both actor and set dressing. A walking PowerPoint deck. Flesh made fungible. Begs the question: if the outer self is curated to the point of indistinction, what hope is there for the inner one?
Thanks Mark, their dress code sort of suggests a crude Venn diagram of needs - acceptance, compliance, safe hands, facts without imagination etc. Much like some of the Power Point presentations of old :)
I forget who said this, but there's the argument that sensitivity to social norms and status issues increases significantly among "elite" populations, as there is "more to lose", even though we'd think status, wealth, etc. would give people greater power to reject conformity.
At the same time, I am struggling to think of industries, institutions, or even communities where there is not tremendous pressure to conform in terms of dress and fashion...the style choices that seemed original not that long ago have now become their own versions of uniforms. Maybe it's a function of our era, maybe it's just a very powerful human thing.
Great observations. Sounds v similar in London - the Finance Bro is both actor and set dressing. A walking PowerPoint deck. Flesh made fungible. Begs the question: if the outer self is curated to the point of indistinction, what hope is there for the inner one?
I love the term “Walking Power Point Deck!”
Thanks Mark, their dress code sort of suggests a crude Venn diagram of needs - acceptance, compliance, safe hands, facts without imagination etc. Much like some of the Power Point presentations of old :)
Can’t send a pic here so here’s the note with the pic:
https://substack.com/@markjmcgrath/note/c-111562367?r=lje96&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
Beautiful! (Conscience not included)
AI promises hyper-personalization. Will it split the herd?
I forget who said this, but there's the argument that sensitivity to social norms and status issues increases significantly among "elite" populations, as there is "more to lose", even though we'd think status, wealth, etc. would give people greater power to reject conformity.
At the same time, I am struggling to think of industries, institutions, or even communities where there is not tremendous pressure to conform in terms of dress and fashion...the style choices that seemed original not that long ago have now become their own versions of uniforms. Maybe it's a function of our era, maybe it's just a very powerful human thing.