Hannah Aster, Author at Shortform Books

How Do Social Class Hierarchies Develop?

How do social class hierarchies—such as the caste systems seen in America, India, and Nazi Germany—come into being? Why are castes so hard to abolish once they are established? A caste is a social class hierarchy that is formed based on arbitrary characteristics of difference (e.g. race, religion). According to Isabel Wilkerson, the author of Caste, there are eight tenets that form a caste system: 1) laws of divinity, 2) ingrained superiority, 3) dehumanization at the group level, 4) laws of heritage, 5) laws of love, 6) the purity of the dominant caste, 7) division of labor, and 8) terror

Don’t Be a Jack of All Trades—Hire an Expert

Why should you hire an expert rather than trying to do everything yourself? In what three ways are you wasting time if you don’t hire an expert? Many business owners and managers struggle when it comes to giving up control—they strive to do everything on their own. However, rather than saving you time and money, doing everything yourself will often cost more money and waste your valuable time. Here is why you need to give up control and hire an expert.

How the Dominant Caste Maintains Its Superiority

How does the dominant caste in a hierarchical social system maintain its power over the “low-level” citizens? What methods do they use to ensure their continuing rule? In her book Caste, Isabel Wilkerson discusses how the dominating class in a caste system establishes and maintains its control over the lower classes. They do so in four ways: 1) dehumanization at the group level, 2) laws of heritage, 3) laws of love, and 4) purity of blood. Let’s explore each in detail.

How to Find the Right Person for the Right Job

Why is it better to hire an expert to do a difficult job for you rather than trying to do it yourself? How can you go about finding the right person for the right job? In their book Who Not How, Sullivan and Hardy say that you will always be better off hiring somebody to do a job for you than trying to figure it out yourself. Not only are you guaranteed to get a better result, but it may even end up cheaper than if you try to do it yourself and end up making the situation worse. Here’s

Isabel Wilkerson: The Subjugation of the Lowest Caste

In what ways are the lowest caste often mistreated in hierarchical social class systems? What are some examples of mistreatment from United States history? In order to maintain their power, the dominant caste will often mistreat the lower castes in order to keep them in their place and maintain power. Two major ways they go about doing this are by giving the lower caste members menial and subordinate tasks, and by terrorizing them physically and psychologically. Continue reading to understand how the lowest class in a caste is mistreated.

How to Foster Mutually Beneficial Relationships

How can hiring more personnel help you improve your personal relationships? What two things can you do to improve your mutually beneficial relationships? Mutually beneficial relationships aren’t always focused on romance—it’s important to deepen your connections with others, even at work. In their book Who Not How, Sullivan and Hardy explain that there are two ways of strengthening your personal relationships: by giving generously and by engaging wholeheartedly. Continue reading to learn how personal relationships benefit both parties and how to grow them.

The 3 Most Effective Learning Strategies

What are the three slow learning strategies from Daniel Epstein’s book Range? Why are these strategies more effective than the traditional learning methods? In his book Range, Epstein describes three effective learning strategies: the generation effect, the spacing effect, and interleaving. All three of these methods would be considered slow and difficult learning methods because they require time and analysis rather than memorization and cramming. Keep reading to learn about Epstein’s three most effective learning strategies.

The Importance of Transferrable Skills for Your Career

Why is it better to experiment with different skills and hobbies rather than mastering one specialty? What is the importance of transferable skills? The traditional way of thinking says that it’s best to choose one specialty and focus your efforts on mastering it. However, according to David Epstein, the author of Range, it’s actually better to have a broad range of transferrable skills than one specialist skill. Here is why broad experience is better than specializing.

What Are the Disadvantages of Job Specialization?

What are some of the disadvantages of job specialization? How does being an expert in one area narrow your perspective? David Epstein, the author of Range, says that one of the big downfalls of being a specialist in anything is that it can narrow your perspective. He says that the more details you know about something, the more confident you’ll be in your opinion of that matter, even if your opinion is extreme. This overconfidence can lead to a number of issues. Here is what Epstein has to say about job specialization.

The 3 Major Problems With the Caste System

What are the three biggest problems with the caste system? Where do these problems stem from? According to Isabel Wilkerson, the author of Caste, the dominant caste’s beliefs in an innate right to be in control give them a sense of entitlement and the authority to police the actions of the subordinate caste. This causes three general problems. First, upper-caste entitlement can lead to violence, second, people in the lower caste internalize and reproduce that violence, and third, society misses out on the lower class’s contributions. Here are the three problems, explained.