When you watch Arnold Schwarzenegger in "True Lies" or "The Terminator," you can see a model of masculinity with little or no emotion. (In contrast, watch him in "Junior" to see him when he is pregnant and under the influence of pregnancy hormones.) Because warriors are often called on to do scary things, the basic fear reaction is frowned upon. I am reading "The Goodness Paradox" by the excellent writer, Harvard anthropologist Richard Wrangham. He makes clear that we can all feel what is socially acceptable and to varying degrees, abide by social forces.
So, it can be a surprise that what matters (relevance) and what is valued (importance, value) are deeply related to personal feelings. Your dad may have his old varsity sweater and treasure it while your mom, who definitely loves the man, thinks the old sweater is a blot on his wardrobe and should be burned. He values it highly and she values the same thing lowly. Its value depends on the assessor.
I got into a discussion today with a friend interested in economics. He has been reading Taleb's books. He described a probability question to my wife and a friend. "A man has tossed a coin 99 times and it has come up heads every time. A mathematician is asked what will turn up on the next toss. Streetwise Fat Tony is asked the same question. The mathematician says there is a 50-50 chance that head will come up. Fat Tony says it will be heads and he is very confident." What do you think?
Taleb is a commodities and stock and financial trader, now retired. When thinking or discussing money and finances, one can move from budgets and spending to morality, the future, and who and what is a "real" or "admirable" man. One can move from objective areas to personal ones quite swiftly.
