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"Post Snap"

Applying Instinctive thinking to this Brave New World

Here are some surprising examples of how instincts can shape how material goods and services are handed out in this new world of plenty.

Gaming the system

One strong element of the Us versus Them instinct is to love gaming the system -- lots of people feel quite smug when they are exploiting some loophole in the world of business or government. In a world where the system is too complex for most people to figure out, one trick cybers can play is letting humans think they are gaming the system. This will buy a lot of social placidness. Who's going to rock the boat hard if they think it will cut off their "secret" teat?

This is a powerful tool so it must be used with expertise. On one side is the smugness of winning. On another is the outrage of being betrayed. As an example think of the strong emotions swirling around the stereotype of third-generation welfare moms... and those third generation welfare queens who are driving cadillacs. Gaming the system will fire the emotions of smugness and betrayal.

One way this could be manipulated by cybers is with "New Speak". The cybers allow a lot of system gaming but seem to be ignorant of it in the eyes of the humans doing it -- the humans are getting away with it. Periodically the cybers break news of system gamers being caught and punished. But those reports of gamers being brought to justice are mostly fabrications. By doing this in clever ways they are servicing both emotions.

Pay in money or pay in waiting

"It's free... but fill out forty pages of paperwork to get it."

Some people don't mind paying less and waiting more. One mechanism that is unlikely to change is the desire for some people to want to buy scarce goods by waiting for their turn, while others want to buy them with little waiting and more money. Deciding which of these pricing methods to use will be a chronic choice for goods and service suppliers.

For this reason various forms of line waiting, such as manually filling out forms, are likely to endure even though they don't have to. They will be giving warm fuzzies to some people, much as gaming the system does.

I want to level up

Humans wrapped up in playing computer games love to "level up" -- this name coming originally from Dungeons and Dragons. The root emotion is rite of passage, which has existed since prehistoric times. Another modern form is getting qualifications and certificates. Post-snap humans are going to feel comfortable when they can level up in various ways. These ways will be tied to gaming and craft-oriented education systems such as studying to gain certificates.

This is an easy instinct to cultivate so it is likely to be pervasive in the post-snap environment.

 

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