Reading the Tattoos on People’s Faces

http://reason.com/archives/2009/12/03/reading-peoples-faces

by rglovejoy • 17 years ago

64 18 17 years ago

reason.com

awt2• 17 years ago

Perhaps my beard is a sign of my commitment to geekdom?

rw140• 17 years ago

I don't know - is it painful to remove? :)

awt2• 17 years ago

Hmm. I find the process of shaving on a daily basis painful, so in a way, yes.

ars• 17 years ago

The article was better than the title would indicate.

tokenadult3• 17 years ago

"(Gambetta dryly notes that many of these strategies work in another environment with a stable population and forced attendance: school.)"

Indeed. I think economist David Friedman noted in one of his books that posting as a tough guy is a good social strategy in school just as it is in prison, but is often a poor social strategy in environments of free association.

jackfoxy• 17 years ago

"... posting as a tough guy is a good social strategy in school just as it is in prison"

So here's a connection to another recent post http://thenextweb.com/2009/11/28/chat-hacker-hacked-blog/

(17 year old hacker).

Is the public school system, pretty much universal around the globe now, a breeding ground for sociopathic behavior because of compulsory attendance?

tokenadult3• 17 years ago

Is the public school system, pretty much universal around the globe now, a breeding ground for sociopathic behavior because of compulsory attendance?

I have entertained that thought. It is difficult to sort out all the different aspects of causation of crime, but voluntary school attendance (once the worldwide norm) seems to be better for building cohesive societies than compulsory school attendance.

ericb2• 17 years ago

Anyone have good game theory book recommendations? This book was enjoyable, although it dragged here and there:

http://www.amazon.com/Prisoners-Dilemma-William-Poundstone/d...

gort• 17 years ago

Story mentions "The Strategy of Conflict" by Schelling, which is indeed worth a look.

ericb2• 17 years ago

One highlight in the Prisoner's Dilema was the concept of letting the opponent see you "throw the steering wheel out the window" during a game of chicken.

I wonder if you could create a company around this idea. Call it "Final Offer, Inc." The company would offer contracts that "throw the steering wheel out the window" when negotiating. How it works: I sign an agreement with Final Offer that obligates me to pay Final Offer 100% of the contract price if this is not the final offer. Or a software company's sales department takes out a Final Offer contract to certify that this pricing is the lowest it can offer for 8 months. The customer is then provided with Final Offer certification they can show when submitting the offer.

tokenadult3• 17 years ago

good game theory book recommendations?

Game Theory and Strategy by Philip D. Straffin

http://www.amazon.com/Strategy-Mathematical-Association-Amer...

is a classic introductory text that lights up interest in game theory in many readers.

Game Theory: A Very Short Introduction by Ken Binmore

http://www.amazon.com/Game-Theory-Short-Introduction-Introdu...

is a good follow-up to Straffin's book.

koevet• 17 years ago

Link to the Juzo Itami movie mentioned in the article (requires registration)

http://www.surrealmoviez.info/readarticle.php?article_id=169...

dnsworks• 17 years ago

The idea that facial tattoos mean "this person expects to spend his life in prison" is ridiculous. I know a dozen programmers with neck and facial tattoos, one of whom is also a VC-funded entrepreneur in Seattle. I bet the closest any of them have gotten to prison is in a video game.

ebneter2• 17 years ago

Which actually proves the article's point -- the criminal fraternity have to try even harder to distinguish themselves from the mainstream. I'll bet, however, that the programmers you know with facial tattoos look more like this: http://freshfunnypictures.com/funny-pictures/2113/facial-tat... than like this: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/graphics/art3/0130063tattoo1.jp...

bmalicoat• 17 years ago

I was sure you were gonna post this guy as your second example: http://www.splcenter.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/cur...

Seriously what type of life can you expect to have looking like that? It's not like it was a snap decision either, that much work would take a lot of time. This guy definitely went above and beyond to differentiate himself from ordinary people who have tattoos.

randallsquared• 17 years ago

Which actually proves the article's point

What would be evidence against?

michaelneale• 17 years ago

Getting tired of feeling obliged to make meta comments like this: Hacker News? please if you can flag it, flag it. This is getting worse lately.

Reading the Tattoos on People’s Faces

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