062 Trust Both Ways
Hey Cleaner Fish, all day the big fish line up and hold their mouths open for you. Any one of them could close it, and you swim in anyway.
Who trusts like that, both ways at once?
Can trust run both ways at once?
On a coral reef, a big fish hangs still in the water, its mouth wide open.
A tiny striped fish swims right inside, picking at its teeth. The big fish waits.
What really happens
Cleaner wrasses run 'cleaning stations' on reefs. Bigger fish visit and let the cleaners eat parasites off their skin, gills and even inside their mouths.
The big fish could eat the cleaner, but usually does not. The cleaner could bite healthy flesh, but mostly does not. Trust runs both ways.
How we know: Cleaner wrasse behaviour has been studied for years, notably by Redouan Bshary and colleagues.
The turn
Most trust is one-sided: one person risks, the other holds the power.
On the reef, both sides are vulnerable, and both keep their word.
Three takeaways
- The best trust is two-way.
- Keep your side of the deal, every time.
- Being trustworthy is how you get trusted.
Open the mouth. Swim in. Keep faith.
Trust men and they will be true to you; treat them greatly and they will show themselves great.