What's a necktie for?

It’s interesting how by-the-book business professionals will readily tell you that you need to where a tie to work, yet neglect to even consider why (let alone the quality of the ribbon--or the knot--around their neck).

Apparently, it doesn’t matter if it’s polyester or machine-made from China as much as it matters that it’s visible. Because appearances—even superficial ones—ostensibly matter more than what’s plainly there.

A necktie, of course, doesn’t serve a purpose outside of appearances. Which is why you’d be hard pressed to find a person wearing one to bed. And while it can be a great way to impress your friends, your date, your boss, or your clients, it does little else than to do just that.

The point is: many things in life—neckties being one of them—aren’t honest signals of what we say they reveal, but rather souvenirs of a story long gone.

If you choose to adopt the story—that neckties mean anything but what they are (a ribbon around your neck), then of course, they mean something. But outside of that story of status and professionalism and good intentions, there's little reason to wear one.

This isn't to say you shouldn’t look the part. You should, because it’s a prerequisite for being treated a certain way by those who have adopted the story.

But acknowledging that it's a narrative can at least help you recognize that many of the reasons we have for doing the things we do are a byproduct of a fiction, not a fact.