In chapter 6 of Rock, Paper, Scissors, Len Fisher investigates why we do and don’t trust. In this day in age, I think our society struggles with the concept of trust. I feel that we lack trust in others even in they do have good intentions. We seem to look for the negatives and doubt that this person doing these particular things for anything but themselves. Fisher provides an example at the beginning of the chapter of an experiment he conducted to assess peoples trust. Following the footsteps of Sir Walter Raleigh, Fisher attempted to lay his coat over a puddle so a woman didn’t have to walk through it. After attempting this on multiple different women, they all seemed to walk around his coat. Which while I was initially reading Fisher’s perspective I thought how rude, this man is preventing them from wrecking their shoes and all their giving him in return is nasty looks. But then I imagined if I was that woman. If a random man laid his coat on the ground while I was trying to cross the street, the chances that I would walk over it would be very slim. I would be hesitant to trust what lies beneath the coat and if it wasn’t a face I recognize, what the man was attempting to do. So yes, I see where Fisher is coming from but I think the scams he mentions later in the chapter like a barred winner, hidden money on the internet, and others provide a reason for why people are so cautious on who they can and can’t trust. For example, when I check my email every day for important notifications from teachers, family, and my school I am continually deleting spams from people trying to take my money. Whether it’s buying a certain product, entering your information, or “donating to a cause”, the internet is not a place where you can trust people.

Another component of chapter 6 was Fisher addressing different aspects of trust. One element in particular that I liked was his piece on offering trust. I think the ideas in this segment were very compelling. I am a person who values trust. I seek to trust in all my close relationships whether its family, friends, or classmates, and I think it helps build a strong bond between people. Fisher’s perspective on offering trust first was very intriguing to me. At the moment I’ve never really considered when I am “offering trust” to someone else, but like Fisher mentioned it’s my innate urge to trust. Adding to that, I really enjoyed the experiment that Reader’s Digest conducted in cities all over the world. Sadly, because of my mistrust in people, I was shocked at the final results of getting 654/960 mid-priced cell phones returned. With thirty phones distributed within a city, I would’ve predicted maybe 5 or 6 are returned. But the indigent Brazilian woman explained her reasoning for returning the phone best, “ ‘I may not be rich, but my children will know the value of honesty’ ” (150). We need more people in our society like this, people we can trust.

Which brings me to chapter 7, the idea of the ethic of reciprocity. If more people were in the mindset of treating someone the way they wished to be treated, our world we be a much happier place. If people considered the notion that if they want to be loved they should demonstrate love themselves, the world would have a lot less hate. This belief applies to trust and cooperation as well. If your always the friend talking behind other backs, spreading secrets, and making up lies, no one is going to trust you. And if your the group member who is always argumentative and difficult, people are not going to cooperate with you. This sounds simple when you write it down but in reality, a lot of people seek qualities from others that they themselves don’t even display.