Break those laws, and there are consequences. These are the rules or laws that are set out for us. As the name suggests, we engage in certain behaviours because of the impact it can have on our reputation. This is all about how people perceive our actions. It feels “bad” to steal, and “good” to return someone’s wallet. Considering all four will indicate how resources might be most effectively spent.' - Liars and Outliers, page 240Īs Schneier defines, there are, at any given time, four sets of societal pressures influencing our decisions on whether to cooperate or defect with a given norm. And, as we’ll explore in insight #2, we often belong to many, many “societies” at once… often with conflicting values or other motivations.īut, before we get to that, let’s look at the four main societal pressures that exist in all circumstances… Insight #1Ĭonnect Four 'ffective societal pressure usually involves all four categories, though not necessarily in equal measure. As Schneier beautifully illustrates towards the back of the book, it is near impossible to look at the reasons for someone’s cooperation or defection through a simple lens of “good” or “bad” because it all depends on the context of the “society” we’re defining. And this is where things start to get interesting. Nazi soldiers were defectors from the global community, but cooperators to the society that was Nazi Germany. Those who pushed for the abolishment of slavery were defectors. The second most interesting point in the book (in my humble opinion) was the reminder that defection is not, by default, bad. It is statistically impossible to remove all defection from any group of individuals. Most interesting in Schneier’s text was the irrefutable proof that in any society (society defined as “any group of people with a loose common interest” page 10), you will encounter some level of defection those who refuse to follow the rules set by society. We trust the people we know, and trust that those we don’t know will (for the most part) follow the systems we have in place. That’s really the crux of any society, argues Schneier. And yet we trust that – despite it actually being extremely easy to steal a car – our cars are relatively safe. Stealing your neighbor’s car, for example, is faster and easier than earning the money to buy your own. As individuals, it’s often in our short-term self-interest to “defect”. As a society, we’re better off when we follow the rules. Most people will follow those rules (cooperators) and some won’t (defectors). The simplified gist of Liars and Outliers is that within society, there are rules. Rebels with a Cause 'No matter how much societal pressure you deploy, there will be defectors.' - Liars and Outliers, page 245

Sparknotes outliers