Hidden Variables
From Ladder Wiki
While the Ladder Theory can be applied in pretty much every inter-gender social dynamic instance, there are times when it seems that for one reason or another, a certain situation is disqualified. It's been decided that even these situations DO fit within the archetecture of LT, but that certain circumstances can change some rules or alter perceptions of the people involved. The following are the 4 key Hidden Variables of the LT.
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[edit] Religion
There are a number of people who, typically for religious reasons, save sex until after marriage. While many will break this pact before it can be accomplished, there is still a minority of people who will adhere to it. Sometimes a religious person's attraction to someone is actually driven by a physical desire and that person is in denial; or, a genuine want for a relationship is desired due to the target's personal traits and characteristics, such as the other person also being religious. For these people, the LT is still in full effect, simply replace instances of "wants to have sex with", with "wants a relationship with" or "would like to have sex with." The rest of the dynamics tend to work exactly the same in these situations.
It's important to note that a motivation such as this alters the way in which people rank other people on their ladders. A religious person may rank someone who isn't so physically attractive as very high on their (Good) Ladder if in fact their target is a religious person and shares many beliefs. And likewise, a religious woman will likely put a non-religious man on her Friends Ladder immediately without question, out of pure principle, since she may be limiting herself to only looking at other religious men as potential partners.
[edit] Drunkenness
Essentially all drunkenness affects in the LT is who one would not sleep with, and why they are slept with under this hidden variable. It basically bends the Pillars of Cross-Gender Friendship, or temporarily rearranges the Good Ladder. In a drunken state, the 3rd Pillar, "a man wouldn't fuck a woman if he has another woman much higher on his ladder" is often ignored. This can cause him to pursue women halfway down his ladder in his drunken state, or make unwilling ladder jumps.
[edit] Loyalty/Relationships
While many people first think that a person being in a relationship turns off or brings them out of the dynamics of LT, this is not true. While a person is in a committed relationship, they may not be willing to have sex with people outside of it, but ladder rankings are still taking place all the time. Their fidelity is more the result of the 3rd pillar which is in effect: The person in the relationship would not have sex with someone outside of it, since the one he or she is in a relationship with is probably higher on his or her ladder than anyone else. Of course, infidelities are commonplace, which is a direct result of someone outside the relationship beating the 3rd pillar threshold, and landing a position higher on the ladder than the partner of the one in the relationship.
Furthermore, if two people meet and one is in a relationship, it's entirely possible for the person who is in the relationship to place the other person on their (Good) Ladder, even high on it, but out of pure loyalty to the significant other, not act on it. This does not mean the LT was not in effect, it's simply a special case scenario where one is high on the Good Ladder and may not know it, or cannot do anything about it.
Also of note, being friends with a friend's significant other does not exclude LT either. It is entirely possible for one to be attracted to a friend's significant other, and when their relationship ends, the aftermath will accurately reflect the current LT ranking's status. If a man is friends with his friend's girlfriend, it still falls sway to the pillars in that the girl may rank this man high on her ladder, while her boyfriend simply ranks higher than he does. Once the boyfriend is out of the picture, you can be sure that LT will take effect as usual and a ladder jump is inevitable for this man to his friend's new ex. Likewise, the man may rank his friend's girlfriend lower on his own ladder, and thus really not be interested in her in the first place.
In all cases, relationships do not negate LT and its effects, just simply put some constraints on when and how actions are taken. It may put ladder jumps into stasis. A word of warning: A man being into a friend's girlfriend for too long is a sure-fire way to kill the sexual tension that may have been there when they first met and she was in the relationship, earning a one-way ticket to the Friends Ladder.
[edit] Desperation
To explain desperation, it is important to note that the structure of one's ladder is an elastic thing. One always knows exactly how high of quality a mate they can find and should be able to find, and will choose this ideal as the top of their ladder. (In regard to elasticity, religious people for example, tend to make the top of their ladder a person who is qualified to them in being religious as well, as opposed to being incredibly attractive.) This is commonly known as having "standards", and the common standard is to compare a new person to who the last person they slept with was.
After a drought of sex, a person will indeed lower their standards and may go for people lower on their ladder. This doesn't essentially change the LT or its dynamics however, they still apply. Afterall, if someone gives in to getting together with someone that would have been lower on their (Good) Ladder in desperation, and they later meet someone who fits the former high standards, the ladder will again jump to its former state, the newcomer will be placed high on it, and the formerly desperate one will be likely to leave that mate in order to pursue the new prospect higher on the ladder.
[edit] Conclusion
Many of these "extraneous cases" involve altered perceptions, often times temporary, but nevertheless LT holds true to describe any and all cross-gender dynamics of attraction and their consequences. Despite a variable, one can observe that LT generally holds true and is in effect, when stipulations to accomodate these cases is included. Ergo there is no reason to change the original Ladder Theory "canon" in order to compensate for these variables.
Also of note, there is a running gag among LT believers and non-believers alike, the cliche line:
- "The Ladder Theory is faulty. Too many variables."
This is essentially a reference to the hidden variables, and when taking them into account, LT is still a close approximation of male/female interaction. Even its believers agree that while LT doesn't exactly dictate how an interaction will go, it can be used to accurately describe the relationship in retrospect every time.
