
Reading the Tattoos on People’s Faces - rglovejoy
http://reason.com/archives/2009/12/03/reading-peoples-faces
======
tokenadult
"(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
"... 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?

~~~
tokenadult
_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.

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

~~~
rw140
I don't know - is it painful to remove? :)

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

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ars
The article was better than the title would indicate.

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ericb
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...](http://www.amazon.com/Prisoners-Dilemma-William-
Poundstone/dp/038541580X)

~~~
ericb
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.

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

[http://www.surrealmoviez.info/readarticle.php?article_id=169...](http://www.surrealmoviez.info/readarticle.php?article_id=16927)

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michaelneale
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.

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dnsworks
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.

~~~
ebneter
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...](http://freshfunnypictures.com/funny-pictures/2113/facial-tattoo.jpg)
than like this:
[http://www.thesmokinggun.com/graphics/art3/0130063tattoo1.jp...](http://www.thesmokinggun.com/graphics/art3/0130063tattoo1.jpg)

~~~
bmalicoat
I was sure you were gonna post this guy as your second example:
[http://www.splcenter.org/blog/wp-
content/uploads/2007/08/cur...](http://www.splcenter.org/blog/wp-
content/uploads/2007/08/curtis-1.jpg)

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.

~~~
ebneter
Heh ... I looked for that one but couldn't find it in a brief search. A
classic example, for sure.

