Status signals only work when appraisers can decode them as intended.

Evidence

This is the problem of interpretability. Symbols may have many meanings, but for status purposes, appraisers must know a very specific meaning: the associations to a specific position on the status hierarchy. The problem is that no symbols ever have stable, permanent meanings, especially across different countries, cultures, and eras. … A key problem with time travel to the past, we learn, is that we can’t signal using style conventions that don’t yet exist. Another issue is that appraisers always have their own personal associations with our status symbols. — W. David Marx, Status and Culture, 225

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines interpretability as a core constraint on status signaling.
• XREF: connects to: Status appraisal works by triangulating a whole package of signals against hard-to-fake cues — W. David Marx, Status and Culture: How Our Desire for…, 236; Status signaling is only necessary under information asymmetry with strangers. — W. David Marx, Status and Culture: How Our Desire for…, 197

Broader Connections

• Status appraisal works by triangulating a whole package of signals against hard-to-fake cues #expands (0.85) — W. David Marx, Status and Culture, 236
• Status signaling is only necessary under information asymmetry with strangers. #qualifies (0.78) — W. David Marx, Status and Culture, 197