Yep. I’ll try to make a short summary of some arguments in the article and comments:
Why people want to be mean:
it signals strength (in the ancient environment it shows you are not afraid of being hit in return);
it signals intellectual superiority e.g. in the form of sarcasm;
if you already have a reputation, you can win debates quickly;
it helps you put distance towards people you want to avoid.
What are the negative impacts of meanness:
you may be wrong, but you have already proposed a solution (“the other person is stupid”);
if there is a misunderstanding, hostile reaction lowers the chance of explaining or increases the time needed, compared with a polite request for clarification;
people will different experience will seem especially wrong to you, so this effect will be even stronger there;
you spread bad mood, which harms curiosity and exploration;
you signal that you are bad at cooperation, bad at managing your emotions, not caring about other people;
people stop listening to you and start avoiding you;
A Suite of Pragmatic Considerations in Favor of Niceness
Yep. I’ll try to make a short summary of some arguments in the article and comments:
Why people want to be mean:
it signals strength (in the ancient environment it shows you are not afraid of being hit in return);
it signals intellectual superiority e.g. in the form of sarcasm;
if you already have a reputation, you can win debates quickly;
it helps you put distance towards people you want to avoid.
What are the negative impacts of meanness:
you may be wrong, but you have already proposed a solution (“the other person is stupid”);
if there is a misunderstanding, hostile reaction lowers the chance of explaining or increases the time needed, compared with a polite request for clarification;
people will different experience will seem especially wrong to you, so this effect will be even stronger there;
you spread bad mood, which harms curiosity and exploration;
you signal that you are bad at cooperation, bad at managing your emotions, not caring about other people;
people stop listening to you and start avoiding you;
you lose possible allies.