Counter-signalling

Counter-signalling: Those who have the highest amount or level of something invest less than those with small to medium amounts of it.

Sometimes, the counter-signallers deliberately send a bad signal as some sort of weird flex, because you’re so confident of your abilities, standing or the level you had reached, you don’t care or even wish to challenge the norm.

For example, billionaire startup founder in hoodies. Or how the old rich don’t flaunt their wealth compared to the new rich, or even, appear thrifty. Or the rude doctor in the TV series House MD (counter-signalling on bedside manners).

It’s interesting to learn about counter-signalling because it’s harder than it looks. We’re all social creatures hardwired to mimic others. So you must be really be at the top to feel like you can run counter to 99% of social norms or whatever indicator of quality your industry holds.

Like James Clear said,

If you want to be in the top 1% of a particular domain, then you can’t take your cues from and follow the social norms of 99% of people. This is harder than it sounds. We are wired to imitate. The further you want to climb, the more carefully you need to construct your tribe.

And what happens is this weird social dynamic where we commoners end up following those who signal a lot, who are really less qualified than the top 1% who counter-signals.

It’s counterintuitive. Almost deceiving.

Most of the time, the ones you follow are shite, while the ones you don’t—or even despise because they run counter to what you perceive as the popular benchmark of quality—are the top dogs who you really should follow instead.

That’s mindblowing. Like, wow, it makes me wonder, who am I missing?

Like, I know for sure, in the indie hacker, entrepreneurship space, the ones who are doing really well are the ones who are making the least noise. You might not have even heard of them or their business! Many are running sweaty startups in unsexy industries not serving tech bros, quietly earning millions.

I like the part about being quiet. It suits my personality.

Perhaps then, I should read less Indie Hackers and Hacker News, and keep an eye out for these quiet solo businesses to learn from.