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costly signalling

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    Narrative Structure Entry #0537

    The reason a story needs a cost to be believed

    A story in which nobody paid anything is read as advertising. A story in which someone lost something is read as testimony. The cost is the credential.

    Adept
    The hidden part #0537

    A cost in a story is a credential. It signals that the teller is willing to look bad, which is information a polished account cannot carry.

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    Market Signals Entry #0405

    Why a peacock’s tail explains a luxury watch

    A signal is believable in proportion to what it costs the sender. Waste is not a flaw in the display; it is the part that cannot be counterfeited.

    Master
    The hidden part #0405

    Cost is the guarantee. A signal that anyone could afford to send would carry no information at all.

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    Market Signals Entry #0415

    Why an office location communicates a strategy

    Rent is paid monthly, in public, and cannot be quietly withdrawn. That combination makes an address one of the few statements a firm cannot cheaply fake.

    Master
    The hidden part #0415

    A statement can be revised silently. A lease cannot, and that is precisely why an address carries information.

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