We're all sheep. It just depends on the flock.
That's Keith about 26 minutes into this week's episode — and it's the sentence that reframes the whole conversation. Part 1 of a two-part arc on judgment: how we do it, why we do it, what changed, and why our nervous systems weren't built for the scale we're doing it at now.
Gerren opens with a story about a friend's 50th birthday party — two baby mamas, three kids, all the grandkids around one cake. The kind of village most of us don't have anymore, and the level of acceptance it takes to hold it together. From there they get into the imagined audience concept from the 1960s, the infinite ladder we're all climbing without knowing where the top is, why judgment is culturally defined and not just "human," and why individualistic societies feel guilt and collectivist societies feel shame — and what that actually costs us at scale.
Also — the loss of the redemption arc. Why the interview process is one of the worst predictors of anything. Resting bitch face as an example of misplaced confidence in snap judgments. And why positive gossip might be a healthier sorting mechanism than the culture has given it credit for.
Part 2 next week, where we get personal about how this shows up in our own lives.
Key Topics:
The imagined audience concept and social media's expansion of it, Dunbar's number and the judgmentscape, the difference between guilt and shame across cultures, moral attribution and intent vs. outcome, sociometric status as a happiness driver, cancel culture and the loss of redemption, and positive gossip as a social sorting tool.
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Gerren Taylor:
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Thinking out loud about what gets in the way of connection.
Like what you heard? Leave us a comment in your podcast app. See you next week.
