Moving beyond "Reputation"--the Market View of Reality

[georgemw at speakeasy.net]

On 30 Nov 2001, at 22:05, Petro wrote:

> On Thursday, November 29, 2001, at 07:53 PM, georgemw at speakeasy.net 
> wrote:

> > Even this is not a scalar.  Since reputation cannot be bought
> > and sold, the idea that it is worth a specific well defined amount is
> > false.
> 
> 	What makes you think a reputation cannot be bought and sold?
> 
> 	Ever hear of Public Relations firms? Politicians?
> 
> 	Both are in the business of buying and selling reputations.
> 

Not exactly.  You can pay a PR firm to try and help improve
your reputation, but that's not the same thing a reputation
pre-assembled and gift wrapped.  Most likely they'll just tell you
to wear more earth tones, which won't actually help.

I'm surprised I've gotten so much disagreement over this,
particularly since my original statement was much weaker than it 
could have been.  For reputation to have a single well defined
value it is necessary but not sufficient that there be a market
in reputations; it must be a COMMODITIZED market. think
that can happen?

Reputation is essentially a kind of credential.  If I've got a piece of
paper that says I can speak Navajo (hypthetical, I can't really)
and I sell that piece of paper, I won't lose the ability to speak 
Navajo, nor will the purchaser gain it.  A market in such pieces of 
paper would be self-destructive, since knowledge that such papers
are commonly bought and sold would quickly make the papers 
themselves worthless.

George     

> --
> "Remember, half-measures can be very effective if all you deal with are
> half-wits."--Chris Klein