Written by:
Ariane Resnick
When the average person thinks about math, s/he likely thinks of numbers, equations, or the ever-dreaded “pop quizzes” that grade school teachers hand out with sly, occasionally sadistic grins. The average person does not, however, think of math as a hierarchy. Harriet and Charlotte Childress do, though, and their incredibly unique viewpoints on hierarchy and its functions in modern society are gaining steadfast popularity. The twins authored Clueless at the Top, a book that claims our lives can be greatly improved when we think outside the hierarchical box, which is a concept that was pioneered by George Lakoff in his 2004 book, Don’t Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate. The sisters spent 13 years researching the functions of hierarchies, from how we are all unconsciously involved in them to how we can get out of them and lead peaceful, happy lives.
Speaking in a language full of phrases including “nonlimited perspective” and “a nudge from below feels like a steamroller,” the Childress sisters attempt to simplify the difficult concepts behind hierarchies through using everyday examples and anecdotes. They transform a host of personality characteristics and livelihoods into positions on the hierarchical scales. Still sound complicated? Think of it this way: A man with half a head of hair is higher on the appearance hierarchy than a man who is completely bald, but lower than a man with a full head of hair. A woman with a bachelor’s degree is higher on the education hierarchy than someone who never attended college, but lower on it than someone with a doctorate. By understanding how society puts in our metaphoric places, we can not only learn how to fight from within our roles, we can also learn how to step outside them for the sake of social change.
How does an abstract concept like math play into this line of reasoning? Math is often used a gage of intelligence — “smart” people are good at it, less intelligent people are not. But generally, men are better at math than women, and therefore using it as a method of gauging intelligence automatically situates women lower on the intelligence hierarchy. If we, instead, used something like communication abilities to measure genius, women would frequently come out on top. The Childress sisters encourage people to abandon their standard methods of thinking about everything in terms of better or worse, higher and lower, and to instead focus on positive social change that exists completely outside such binaries.
With ideas about hierarchy that span every facet of life from sexuality to race to politics, one main point always stands out from within the concepts that Clueless at the Top suggests that individuals follow to empower themselves and lead happier lives: Don’t directly fight the people on top, because that just keeps you on the bottom. Fight, instead, from the outside, in small but poignant ways, and let the people on top knock themselves down. According to the Childress sisters, those on top — be they in government or business or anywhere else — have such a limited perspective that they are unlikely to act outside of their role, and all it takes is a little guesswork to discern how to knock them off their pedestals and, subsequently, enable you to lead a richer, fuller and more spiritually positive life.
For more info, visit: http://www.cluelessatthetop.com
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