The Haircut Index

December 7, 2011 by
Filed under: Social Brain 

Following from my previous post on the Grandparent index, an attempt to add some fresh perspective on the key indicators of wellbeing, I would now like to add another: The haircut index.

A key indicator of wellbeing, I believe, is the temporal gap between deciding you need/want a haircut and actually getting round to having one. The longer this gap, the less perceived control you have over your own circumstances, which is key predictor of wellbeing.

I’m having a haircut on Friday, and I feel well because of that fact- it is some sort of breakthrough after a month of putting it off due to perpetually imminent deadlines at home and work.

You might think this is a trivial matter of personal tidiness, but I suspect it goes much deeper. Haircuts are a modern ritual in which we suspend our role as productive agents, and surrender ourselves to the tender care of a skilled stranger – a kind of secular shaman – who treats us as much with their benign attention as their manual dexterity.

And if that doesn’t convince you, here is the ‘blind them with science’ bit from our new secular oracle, Wikipedia:

“Hair is a filamentous biomaterial, that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Found exclusively inmammals, hair is one of the defining characteristics of the mammalian class. The human body, apart from its glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and finevellus hair. Most common interest in hair is focused on hair growth, hair types and hair care, but hair is also an important biomaterial primarily composed of protein, notably keratin.”

So if that’s what hair is(I particularly like the ‘notably’) surely cutting it off must be some sort of symbolic act?

So I propose the ONS should ask people about their capacity to follow through on their desire to have a haircut as a proxy for their wellbeing, and I am beginning to wonder if we could establish a whole new wellbeing index based on similar factors.

Proximity of grandparents, capacity to achieve haircut…what next?

Share

Related posts:

  1. The Grandparent Index

Tags: , , ,

Comments

  • Louise Thomas

    Frequency of bringing lunch to work, as a symbol of a self-reliant, economical and sustainable means of providing sustenance requiring a stable and stocked domestic sphere, as opposed to the instant gratification/salve of the purchased sandwich plus snacks, the ingredients and and price of which we have little knowledge and no control over.

    • Jonathanrowson

      Thanks- yes- I recognise that one: The packed lunch index.

  • Flo Dambricourt

    hum… what happens then to people that cut their hair themselves, or the ones that believe long hair untouched is the best?

    • Jonathanrowson

      They would be measured by the grandparent index, the packed lunch index and any others we can think of.

  • Smoutenbol

    Personally, I never get a haircut. Sometimes, i shave it all off. But mostly, i just let it grow. And i feel fine. Now what? Am i not well?
    Not everyone’s the same, mind you…
    Yes, wanting a haircut can be
    symbolic. It’s like saying: “i defy nature.” Which, to me, is surely
    NOT a sign of well-being. I’m not saying people shouldn’t get their
    haircut, and indeed, some haircuts can look quite beautiful, but to
    different people, different cultures, the symbolic meaning of “getting a
    haircut” can be something very different. Clearly NOT a universal sign
    of well-being. I might have to cut my long hair someday, because it will
    become impractical @ work or something. But to me, that would feel like
    a loss.

    • Jonathanrowson

      Funny that people took me so seriously. Of course there are some reglions- perhaps Sikhism- where hair is considered in some ways sacred, and others- perhaps aspects of buddhism, where it seems to be thought of as some sort of distraction. But I repeat- the blog was only partly serious- about the importance of feeling in control- mostly I was joking.

  • Penny

    not interesting for a superficial person if there are no illustrations

    • Jonathanrowson

      Sorry Penny, I thought of taking a photo of myself and posting it…but lacked the will and technical wherewithall.

  • Smoutenbol

    The search for some quantifiable index  of “well-being” will always fail a this point. Everyone has diffrent values/goals/perspectives etc. on their life…. What if some person’s dream, for which that person works very hard, is to be able to BUY lunch, prepared by someone?
    Not everything is statistically testable, in simple quantifiable packets. That’s utopia. In reality, one will have to talk to people personally, learn about their backgrounds and natural surroundings to gain insight into that person’s well-being.

    • Jonathanrowson

      Yes, I think that is broadly correct. However, there is something to be said for creating a societal touchstone- some sort of proxy for how we are getting on.

  • Bunnies_hops

    I guess people can read into anything. I have gotten into Bollywood films recently and thought of an Indian kid who never had his hair cut. I think that he believed that hair was some sort of extension to the body and that by not cutting it off, he was showing respect for creation by Him. I guess people who decide they don’t want/need a haircut wouldn’t be in the study.

    • Jonathanrowson

      Not sure we need a study….I am being somewhat flippant of course, but if we can collect enough of such issues we might begin to see some sort of pattern emerge.

  • http://twitter.com/DJWESG Wes G

    Could just be an act of unconformity?  i know it is in my case, i tend to leave my hair and chin until i look like a tramp, i wear a hoody because i get looks and because of the politics, i have baggy jeans because the fashion dictates skinnies…

    Personally i think more people should do it. Zizek for instance couldn’t care less what people think, and that is a healthy attitude imo.

    • Jonathanrowson

      Zizek gets his social esteem in other ways…
      Rightly or wrongly, many people do form impressions based on appearances.