The Draw of the Sorting Hat
There is a persistent observation we have had about humanity but lack the stomach to apply something so trite to our own House’s culture. Still, it may be useful to some readers.
Humans love sorting themselves into groups, then making generalizations about their own group and other groups. This can be seen in anything from horoscopes to blood types (in Asia), Myers Briggs personality matrices, and Alpha vs. Gamma, Beta, and Omega men. People love to have someone else tell them what they are and what it means to be that thing. This is, fundamentally, what is so appealing about the concept of the Sorting Hat from JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series—a magical thing that tells us the “type” of person we are and the sorts of people with whom we should mix.
Perhaps a culture could build something like this in a way that feels uniquely engaging to kids. Perhaps the House system will act like this. We are unsure.