

Immediate social bonding between strangers is highly dependent on mimicry - theoneill
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/12/health/12mimic.html?em&ex=1203051600&en=6977e1190efad0c8&ei=5070

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whacked_new
I would like to see two highly seasoned salespeople introduced to each other,
each told beforehand that the person they are about to meet represents the
biggest client of their life.

Some kind of droste effect in live action... amazing!

How would this work? Suppose A and B were meeting and each was supposed to
mimic the other within a finite duration T. Since there must be a deal,
somebody needs to initiate the action, triggering all subsequent mimicry. I
suppose the starter could be arbitrary. Assume very perfect mimicry... what
would result?

Perhaps it would be some kind of "purified," or "meta" form of
salespersonhood; then, both would notice the intense recursion in each other,
yet try to keep a straight face. The deal goes through as planned; everything
seems pretty, but both are exhausted beyond belief.

Just an interpretation out of my own amusement.

~~~
xirium
I've seen the effect of two people mimicking each other at a motivational
meeting. From this, I presume that the situation would devolve into fits of
laughter.

Both people would be inclined to be cheerful. If this was mimicked then both
people would be increasingly jovial until both would be laughing
uncontrollably.

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patrickg-zill
Having grown up in a family business that was retail sales, I find myself
doing this quite often, without realizing it.

I suppose part of it is just having social graces and putting someone at ease,
but I feel like a bit of conman if meeting people who are very different from
each other in quick succession and changing my behavior with each one.

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nostrademons
Works on social websites as well, even though there's no body language
involved. There's sorta a subtle culture to each website, a combinations of
norms and in-jokes and tone and wording, and if you observe for a while you
can catch the "pulse" of a site and fit right in once you de-lurk. That's why
people tell you to "lurk before you leap".

~~~
foonamefoo
You post was generally palatable, but did not have the correct percentage of
Ron Paul.

~~~
benmathes
I think you have your reddit suit on.

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alaskamiller
Andy: Hello.

Michael: Ah, you must be Andy Bernard. Aloha and welcome!

Andy: And you must be Michael Scott. Aloha and … hello.

Michael (laughing): Ah ha! Very good! Welcome to our little kingdom. We have a
bag of nifty gifties for you.

Andy: Michael, thank you for welcoming me to your little kingdom … Mike.
Nifty!

Michael: They are nifty! They’re nifty gifties.

\---

Michael: You know who I really like? Is this guy Andy Bernard. He has got this
very likeable way about him.

~~~
ALee
It is the highest form of flattery.

~~~
aston
Maybe not. Dwight and Jim...

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj3SBwS8Mds&feature=relat...](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj3SBwS8Mds&feature=related)

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lanceusa
Yes...I saw this article a few days ago and immediately thought of my project.
The psychologica reasons people do the things they do is fascinating...and I
think if you want to have a successful website/startup/etc you need to
understand the human spirit and what makes it tick. I know I've thought a lot
about incentives and what gets people hooked on a process...what rewards are
available if a user follows a particular behavior. If you look at successful
social networking sites you can see how these factors contribute to its
success.

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bfioca
Speaking of mimicry, joeh and I were just talking about that on the way back
from lunch just now. Maybe Hacker News is trying to mimic us.

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redorb
applied to web work:

The site should mimic the user. Perhaps why yahoo is failing is because it is
trying to be everyone's page .. google is winning cause it is just trying to
be everyones search, (and casually everyone's everything with , reader and
gmail)

Google mimics better. When im looking - Im looking for fast, streamlined
experience.

~~~
alaskamiller
yahoo is a content company

google is a search company

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gojomo
Don't go using any of your NLP voodoo juju on me!

