Certainty is the cage that keeps us safe from curiosity. I've been released from the cage. I am the songbird and I am flying for the window. I know it's closed but I plan on breaking through. – Charlie Coté, Jr. (1987-2005)

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Who or What Can You Trust?

People who feel powerful feel less risk when pulling strings, or slot machine levers, provided the one or thing being pulled looks human. Not so for meeker souls who don't like their odds and believe they'll come up short either way.  A recent New York Times article, "Feeling Powerful and Taking Risks," by Alex Mindlin, reports on "a study to be published in the Journal of Consumer Research, conducted by Sara Kim and Professor Ann L. McGill of the University of Chicago that pursues this inquiry into the murky crossroads of risk and societal status."

So the implication is clear, if you don't want to be manipulated by people who feel powerful, start looking like a copier, a voting machine, or maybe a car salesman. Maybe you can think of better ideas.

Just kidding about car salesmen.




2 comments:

Unknown said...

....or the handle to the guillitine

Charles Coté said...

That would definitely work!