Hacker News with Generative AI: Sociology

What interesting things low spending people do, that others know nothing about? (ycombinator.com)
A question on the home page is concerned with a similar question but for wealthy people. I’m interested in things low income and low spending folk do that others engaged in ordinary commerce maybe barely do or better yet never think to do of know anything about.
Lifestyle, Consumerism, Financial Behavior, Sociology
16 points by evolve2k 4 days ago | 43 comments
Why Every Generation Thinks It Was the Last to Touch Real Life (clickworlddaily.com)
Memory plays tricks, but maybe the truth is deeper than that.
Generations, Culture, Nostalgia, Sociology, Psychology
8 points by versiqcontent 5 days ago | 6 comments
What do wealthy people buy, that ordinary people know nothing about? (2015) (reddit.com)
What do insanely wealthy people buy, that ordinary people know nothing about?
Wealth, Consumerism, Class, Sociology, Luxury
325 points by Tomte 5 days ago | 785 comments
Charles Butler's the Feminine Monarchie, or the History of Bees (1634 Edition) (publicdomainreview.org)
Since at least the time of Ancient Greece and Rome, beehives have served as foils for the polis — as their workers, drones, and queens can seem to reflect classical ideals of governance, such as Plato’s tripartite division of city-states into the worker, soldier, and guardian class.
History, Literature, Beekeeping, Sociology
8 points by diodorus 8 days ago | 0 comments
In the Network of the Conclave (unibocconi.it)
How network science can help us understand who will be the next Pope. The study by Soda, Iorio, and Rizzo reveals how status, information and alliances influence the papal election.
Network Science, Sociology, Elections, Vatican, Leadership
103 points by taubek 14 days ago | 74 comments
Examining problematic speech and behavior in World of Warcraft (2022) (tcjournal.org)
Building on Rubin and Camm’s (2013) heuristic regarding online griefing and trolling, this paper considers how anonymity, avatar creation, and online identity play into, and characterize, perceived-negative behavior in World of Warcraft.
Gaming, Online Behavior, Sociology, Psychology
18 points by felineflock 16 days ago | 30 comments
Experts and Elites Play Fundamentally Different Games (robkhenderson.com)
Experts and elites play fundamentally different games. Misunderstanding this distinction warps how we judge institutions—and who we choose to trust.
Social Science, Philosophy, Political Science, Sociology
27 points by Bostonian 19 days ago | 6 comments
Behavioral Sink (wikipedia.org)
"Behavioral sink" is a term invented by ethologist John B. Calhoun to describe a collapse in behavior that can result from overpopulation.
Overpopulation, Animal Behavior, Sociology, Psychology, Science
9 points by theogravity 23 days ago | 0 comments
The Friendship Recession: The lost art of connecting (hks.harvard.edu)
The so-called “Friendship Recession” is making its way into the vernacular—a profound shift in how Americans experience and sustain friendships.
Social Trends, Sociology, Relationships, Human Behavior
535 points by 47thpresident 27 days ago | 446 comments
"Fragile, impermanent things": Joseph Tainter on what makes civilizations fall (thebulletin.org)
In the introduction to his seminal 1988 book, The Collapse of Complex Societies, anthropologist and historian Joseph Tainter explained that lost civilizations have a vise-like hold on the human imagination because of the implications their histories hold for our own, modern civilization.
History, Civilization, Anthropology, Sociology
17 points by pseudolus 29 days ago | 0 comments
Lefty preppers are taking a different approach to doomsday (theguardian.com)
Liberals in the US make up about 15% of the prepping scene and their numbers are growing. Their fears differ from their better-known rightwing counterparts – as do their methods
Politics, Preppers, Sociology
12 points by mathgenius 36 days ago | 2 comments
The Society of the Spectacle (wikipedia.org)
The Society of the Spectacle (French: La société du spectacle) is a 1967 work of philosophy and Marxist critical theory by Guy Debord where he develops and presents the concept of the Spectacle.
Philosophy, Marxist Theory, Sociology, Critical Theory
31 points by midzer 44 days ago | 2 comments
Quaker Parents Were Ahead of Their Time (theatlantic.com)
The nearly 375-year-old religion’s principles line up surprisingly well with modern parenting research.
Parenting, Religion, History, Sociology
19 points by ggm 48 days ago | 2 comments
Around the World, Many People Are Leaving Their Childhood Religions (pewresearch.org)
In many countries around the world, a fifth or more of all adults have left the religious group in which they were raised. Christianity and Buddhism have experienced especially large losses from this “religious switching,” while rising numbers of adults have no religious affiliation, according to Pew Research Center surveys of nearly 80,000 people in 36 countries.
Religion, Sociology, Demographics, Global Trends
45 points by vially 55 days ago | 110 comments
That Hit Song You Love Was a Total Fluke (hbr.org)
When Princeton sociology professor Matthew Salganik was a doctoral student at Columbia, he got interested in blockbusters — specifically, he got curious about the role of social influence in determining the success of music, art, and books.
Music, Social Influence, Sociology, Research
16 points by gradus_ad 56 days ago | 4 comments
The Prehistoric Psychopath (worksinprogress.co)
Life in the state of nature was less violent than you might think. Most of our ancestors avoided conflict. But this made them vulnerable to a few psychopaths.
Prehistoric History, Psychology, Sociology
52 points by Petiver 65 days ago | 39 comments
Ownership of High-Risk ("Vicious") Dogs as a Marker for Deviant Behaviors (researchgate.net)
Animal Behavior, Psychology, Sociology, Criminology
25 points by jnord 66 days ago | 49 comments
The "Memory Cartography" of Azerbaijani Emigrants (jam-news.net)
Emigration from Azerbaijan is a subtle phenomenon, yet far from uninteresting, given both its scale and particularities.
Emigration, Azerbaijan, Sociology, Culture, History
39 points by bryanrasmussen 66 days ago | 2 comments
Anomie (wikipedia.org)
In sociology, anomie or anomy (/ˈænəmi/) is a social condition defined by an uprooting or breakdown of any moral values, standards or guidance for individuals to follow.
Sociology, Social Conditions, Morality
7 points by yamrzou 72 days ago | 1 comments
Marrying Up and Marrying Down (medium.com)
The most important decision we make is who we partner with, who we marry. However, for many, marriage isn’t an essential life choice … it’s a luxury item. I asked my friend, the social scientist Richard Reeves, to pen a post on the subject.
Marriage, Relationships, Sociology, Social Science, Personal Finance
9 points by hacsky 81 days ago | 4 comments
US friendship is in freefall – shredding bonds and cutting lives short (nypost.com)
Friendship in America is in steep decline: We’re more disconnected from each other than ever, and the gulf between us is only growing. Does it matter?
Social Issues, Relationships, United States, Sociology, Culture
68 points by Cedarwolf 88 days ago | 55 comments
The 'masculinity crisis' is a crisis of self-esteem (psyche.co)
The early 21st century is described as a time of crises. Liberal democracy, the US (or global) economy, the environment, masculinity, ageing populations, migration, misinformation and social media use are all supposedly in crisis – amounting to what some have called a global ‘polycrisis’. The reader will be forgiven for being sceptical, then, as I draw on the philosophical literature on recognition theory to introduce one more to the stage.
Masculinity, Psychology, Sociology
10 points by herbertl 88 days ago | 8 comments
Why Do Young Men Migrate? (thewire.in)
Migration, Sociology, Demographics, Gender Studies, Youth
12 points by akbarnama 88 days ago | 2 comments
Tell HN: Generational Gap (ycombinator.com)
Generational Gap, Social Commentary, Technology, Sociology
17 points by yonisto 90 days ago | 29 comments
The Euro-American Split (I): Dread Possibility (scholars-stage.org)
THERE ARE DECADES WHEN possibility is constrained in a narrow frame. The terrain has been surveyed, boundaries have been laid, and rules have been established. In such an age there is still room for high drama: The decisive round of a boxing match draws the eye despite the fact—or perhaps because—the boxers play an antique game. In such times and climes, victory means mastery of existing modes, not the invention of new ones.
Politics, History, Europe, America, Sociology
28 points by Khaine 91 days ago | 75 comments
René Girard and the Mimetic Trap (onepercentrule.substack.com)
This is part 1 of a 2 part series. Part 2: The Mimetic Intelligence Trap is here
Philosophy, Sociology, Culture, Psychology
8 points by drcwpl 105 days ago | 0 comments
Why Civilizations Collapse (palladiummag.com)
Why do civilizations collapse? This question bears not only on safeguarding our society’s future but also makes sense of our present. The answer relies on some of the same technē that humanity needed to build civilization in the first place: we have to evaluate the perceptions that mint facts and theory, not merely peruse the body of theories handed down to us.
History, Civilization, Sociology, Future, Society
11 points by MindGods 106 days ago | 2 comments
The 3-ladder system of social class in the U.S. (archive.org)
Typical depictions of social class in the United States posit a linear, ordered hierarchy. I’ve actually come to the conclusion that there are 3 distinct ladders, with approximately four social classes on each. Additionally, there is an underclass of people not connected to any of the ladders, creating an unlucky 13th social class. I’ll attempt to explain how this three-ladder system works, what it means, and also why it is a source of conflict.
Social Class, Sociology, United States, Hierarchy, Inequality
6 points by oidar 107 days ago | 1 comments
The Michael Scott Theory of Social Class (danco.substack.com)
I’m happy to finally share a thesis I’ve been chewing on for a little while. I call it The Michael Scott Theory of Social Class, which states: The higher you ascend the ladder of the Educated Gentry class, the more you become Michael Scott.
Social Class, Humor, Sociology, Pop Culture
48 points by sulami 107 days ago | 3 comments
They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933-45 (1955) (press.uchicago.edu)
"What no one seemed to notice," said a colleague of mine, a philologist, "was the ever widening gap, after 1933, between the government and the people. Just think how very wide this gap was to begin with, here in Germany. And it became always wider. You know, it doesn’t make people close to their government to be told that this is a people’s government, a true democracy, or to be enrolled in civilian defense, or even to vote.
History, Germany, Politics, Sociology
557 points by thunderbong 107 days ago | 473 comments