How To Play The Status Game - Will Storr | Modern Wisdom Podcast 374

Will Storr is an award winning author and journalist.
Status is the original human currency. Prestige, renown, respect and admiration are all sought after because it gave our ancestors better access to mates, safety and resources. Now the modern era has arrived, the lions are no longer chasing us but our desire for status is a strong as ever.
Expect to learn why growing a huge yam can make you the favourite in your tribe, why tall poppy syndrome exists, the reason for our conscience, the risks of radically gaining or losing status, the winning qualities to develop if you want to enhance your status, how the status game relates to cancel culture and much more...
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#status #money #power
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00:00 Intro
03:18 Why Status is So Important
07:25 How to Maintain Status
14:29 Imitating a Higher Status
20:31 Psychology of Titles
30:12 Continually Losing Status
38:09 Choosing Friends Carefully
45:35 Effects of Radical Status Gain
54:15 Status Games in Cancel Culture
1:05:58 Is There an Exit?
1:11:23 Steps to Becoming High Status
1:13:17 Where to Find Will
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Get in touch in the comments below or head to...
Instagram: / chriswillx
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Email: chriswillx.com/contact/

[@ChrisWillx]

I really really enjoyed this episode. Here's the timestamps: 00:00 Intro 03:18 Why Status is So Important 07:25 How to Maintain Status 14:29 Imitating a Higher Status 20:31 Psychology of Titles 30:12 Continually Losing Status 38:09 Choosing Friends Carefully 45:35 Effects of Radical Status Gain 54:15 Status Games in Cancel Culture 1:05:58 Is There an Exit? 1:11:23 Steps to Becoming High Status 1:13:17 Where to Find Will

[@sixpackmum5955]

Thanks Chris for bringing us this episode and Will for writing this book which I have yet to read. I think maybe as mankind we can all aspire to have higher status and power which come along with status and when we do then please don’t forget greater powers come greater responsibilities. If people with high status use their power wealth and influence to do good things to people and the world, I think it’d be awesome 👏 ❤

[@ndndndnnduwjqams]

5:50 Status is about admiration 9:40 3 Status games: -Dominance(boxing) , - Virtue(a religion, following rules). -Success(a corporation or a scientific endeavor) 25:00 THE BEAUTY OF STATUS 34:00 Grandiose, humillantes and male. The dangerous triad 39:00 Change your environment 42:00 Not necessarily 0 sum game (Status) 47:00 Unhappiness of exponential raises in status and plummeting 1:09:00 you want to have many different status games you play in (protects you from irrationallity) HAVING ONLY ONE STATUS GAME IS A CULT Have one main area of expertise but have other little hierarchies where you can also play 1:12:00 BE: WARM SINCERE AND COMPETENT (useful) To be successful at life

[@jesuslopezanson5329]

Hero

[@tnekkc]

I keep coming back to this interview.. It seems straight forward at first, until I think about it later. No matter what we are doing, it has a hierarchy.

[@pmberkeley]

No, as he pointed out, many societies maintain a flat structure. Hierarchy is the result of unrestrained status games, not status games themselves.

[@tnekkc]

@@pmberkeley I yam what I am - Popeye

[@pmberkeley]

@@tnekkc non sequitur

[@watchiingunow618]

I don't think so. You can just do your own thing if you want to.

[@useyournogos6845]

Many societies have a tight, prevailing culture yes but they all have hierarchies in which status plays a role in giving legitimacy to those with hierarchy. Entirely natural.

[@doronschacham4639]

This is enlightening. Learning about this topic makes me feel like Neo in The Matrix at the end where he can see the code. The world looks different now.

[@AaronMatthew]

so does a heavy dose :)

[@oldsoul3539]

That "would you prefer to get double your wages or 10x your wages when everyone else got 20x" is a question taking into account the way markets adjust for income. Choosing 10x your wages but everyone else gets 20x is essentially saying would you like to halve your wages, because if everyone else is getting 20x then the price of everything is going to go up 20x too, compared to your measly 10x. It's a question about inflation.

[@cthuwulhu9275]

Well, it depends in what context. If it's country-wide, sure, but if it's just company-wide inflation would not happen.

[@Goriaas]

@@cthuwulhu9275 Yes this would have to be clarified. Everyone else on the planet then you effectively half your buying power due to inflation. As you said if it's just in your company you'd get way ahead, but even if it's just everyone in your city or even (smaller) country you could still come out ahead except for things like property prices and certain services

[@stielimusterman3066]

What they should have asked instead is, would you prefer to double your wage or halve everyone‘s elses income.

[@estelao.b.1473]

I thought this had more to do with jealousy than inflation. "I want it but other people should not have the same". It s more narcissistic than anything.

[@witoldschwenke9492]

​@@stielimusterman3066 no because there's zero difference. If you halve everyone's income their buying power is identical to before. You improve your position with no negative effect on anyone else by doing that. The gain you get would accrue a cost to everyone else but because there are 8 billion people or something like that, the actual damage per person is so minimal you wouldn't even be able to see it

[@aprilpulak5209]

Women engage in status seeking amongst each other. I’d like to see this explored further.

[@MrDezokokotar]

Are you saying women are people too? Shocking.

[@pmberkeley]

Same here. A lot of this social psychology is fascinating but men are the main focus, and men and women play these games very differently.

[@sydneysmith707]

It was a great interview and enlightening. But nothing about how women do it. Like: Hey, will! what are the differences between men's status games and women's status games? I notice that it is near on universal that when two or more men do a podcast about social behaviour, they talk only about men. More to the point, they aren't even aware they're only talking about men. That must mean that women are almost devoid of status value for men, except when we have to be rescued.

[@pmberkeley]

@@sydneysmith707 I read Behave by Robert Sapolsky and it was the same thing. Almost all of it was implicitly about male status seeking behavior, even as he acknowledged that human males and females have distinct status games.

[@sydneysmith707]

@@pmberkeley did you listen to Chris's podcast with Zach somebody or other. I didn't listen to all if it. But they raised the point that women on Tinder go for high status men. They deplored it. Zach even said he didn't understand women. Well, guys, women gain status from the men they date and marry. Although another point is that dating apps are a fantasy world. Before I re dating apps came along, women went for what was out there. They would rather marry a man who increased their status, but since that was manifestly impossible, they went for the best they could manage.

[@CYBER_FunkER]

I've always hated the desire for status. My dad is absolutely obsessed with having the newest car, newest wife, newest TV, etc. Meanwhile I'm in a tiny condo on my own and he flips out any time I mention I dont have any desire to gain any more.

[@jasmineestafia]

It’s ok to be content with what you have ❤

[@vicahi8666]

So you're playing virtuosity game, I see

[@mattbrunson8141]

Bingo ​@@vicahi8666

[@andynixon2820]

Instagram is a great example of a status game. It can be a shop window to show how attractive , wealthy , virtuous , dangerous or cool you are . It will speak to a selected audience , advertising their status to the group . The group may applaud but also gang up and try to knock the person down as well - nothings changed in 100 000 years .

[@jasmineestafia]

THIS! One moment the group supports said person at the top of the hierarchy. One false move and the same group will work to try to tear the person down. Very interesting

[@jacobbiegger6692]

As a huge fan of Robert Greene it's cool to hear from another author that also goes in depth about the social games we play and opens up that curtain.

[@TheMemesofDestruction]

Legalize Dueling

[@ChrisWillx]

Swords or Revolvers?

[@fearthehoneybadger]

@@ChrisWillx Nerf guns.

[@Lakoda26]

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. Part of me really agrees.

[@TheMemesofDestruction]

@@ChrisWillx Up to the challengee.

[@TheMemesofDestruction]

@@wordupninja It get's a surprising amount of bipartisan support.

[@mustlearnmore4884]

14:03 - "Just tell me what to do and I'll do it. And I think that's appropriate in a time of threat." I'm sorry, Mr Storr, but I couldn't disagree more. In times of uncertainty, unity is important. But not at the expense of credulity, and certainly not when our government, industries and media have such a history of dangerous dishonesty and recklessness.

[@edbunkers4516]

He's trying to convey simple concepts and broad generalizations. The complexities of today I'm glad were skipped

[@jonathandewberry289]

@@edbunkers4516 No, that doesn't excuse the criticism.

[@uncleherb9617]

I was really thrown off when he said that, "just tell me what to do and I'll do it", what a gross thing to say. That mindset is why governments were able to lock-down entire cities for over a year which destroyed small businesses and led to a massive transfer of wealth from the lower-middle class to the super rich. That mindset is how dictators have historically been able to pull off horrible atrocities. That mindset is why we have police that arrest people for ingesting a plant, having a yard sale, building a shed in their own backyard, and thousands of other non-violent offenses. That mindset is repulsive.

[@mmeade9402]

For a temporary thing I dont mind that, but I want to hear some qualification of when he thinks its appropriate to no longer just do as he's told. When we didnt have anything more than social media images of chinese people seemingly dropping in the streets I was ok with masks and standing 6 feet apart and maybe temporarily locking down. But my "ok this isnt as bad as they led us to believe point" was within a couple weeks of it spreading widely in the US.

[@gregsandifer2398]

Well said

[@pmberkeley]

What a fantastic conversation. I wish more people knew these things about human interactions. Especially in the law and on social media.

[@nokwareknight6469]

I honestly feel so disconnected from this way of thinking. Not in bad way. Just never felt these kinds of internal responses in that way as I move through the world on a day to day. But it seems important to study under the assumption that’s the way most of the world works.

[@pmberkeley]

Same! I experience the loss of status or gain of status from a remove. I see other people trying to take me down or get mad at me or revere me, but it's all very strange for me, with very few exceptions. I'll feel the pang of a friend getting a job from a field I wanted to work in, but that's a lot less about status and a lot more about having my face rubbed in not getting something I wanted. And then I move on. I guess I've always had so many different options for status on my plate I just hop to the next one and go from there

[@nokwareknight6469]

​@@pmberkeley I hear you. And I think that's normal. But I think I mean something slightly different... Since way back as a pre-teen I started asking myself something along the lines of "If everyone/no one/half the people/ all the people/any particular person wants, does not want, pursues, or does not pursue this thing, does it change how much I want it? If so, did I really want it for myself in the first place?" So compared to what you are saying, more like, "if it was something everybody rubbed my face in for wanting, (or not wanting) would I still want it (or not care about it) just as much regardless?" If yes, then those are the things I might continue to pursue (or not pursue), within reason. And interests were really more about filtering out through discovery, trial, and error... As I've gotten older, I've tried to appreciate the kind of mentality they are talking about in this video. Because I think, in real adulthood, wanting to be better than the person in front of you and responding to the herd has some real practical advantages. You might have some blind spots otherwise (including some ignorance regarding how much of the world works). And it might give you a way to always be improving (which I like!) for yourself and relative to others. Just truly has never been in my heart, psyche, my response to others. So it really takes some deliberate practice for me to learn and understand.

[@pmberkeley]

@@nokwareknight6469 Oh, I'm very similar. I was just commenting on the parts that I did feel (and I think if you're honest with yourself, you'll have those moments too). But from a young age I removed myself from the concept of status, because I have older twin sisters, and there was just no access to status in that clique. So my brain went elsewhere - when status is permanently inaccessible to you, it becomes something you value a lot less. I wonder if this is where black sheep come from? Those raised outside the status games? (Or inherently with less of a status drive). That would make an interesting deep dive.

[@nokwareknight6469]

@@pmberkeley Hm, never saw myself as black sheep or limited from access to status. But I guess it's worth thinking about. And that's kind of what I mean. So this discussion right here potentially opens me up to some potentially pertinent things I wouldn't think about in my own bubble. Same thing that the video does for me. Kudos.

[@kathleenkaleookalanismith8724]

I am so fascinated by all these uncomfortable but very eye opening discussions. Thank you for these conversations. I can see that I will be more aware of myself and my surroundings because of it and ultimately this awareness always being forth the same thing each and every time. Freedom

[@tnekkc]

I keep coming back to this interview.

[@ndndndnnduwjqams]

Incredible episode, PLEASE MORE ABOUT STATUS

[@PlainsPup]

That was one of the best, most insightful podcasts I’ve ever listened to ever.

[@AaronMatthew]

More and more impressed with your interview skills with each episode, Chris!

[@ibrahimrenno81]

Thank you so much for this! Will’s book Science of Story Telling was a game changer for me. Can’t wait to read this one!

[@jjaxner]

Great podcast, as always! This one was very interesting! Thank you!

[@tallietallie7897]

Your video’s are so interesting! Thank you for this!

[@symmachus898]

This is a highly interesting guest. Enjoying this while cooking.

[@mikosapps2476]

I got his book on audible after seeing an interview elsewhere. I can highly recommend it. Open your eyes to the people who plays status games all around you everyday. The book also opens your eyes to those who try to manipulate your behaviour via appealing to status anxieties.

[@rhight]

Great stuff. Keep it up, Chris! As Popeye the Sailor noted, "I yam who I yam!"

[@cambodianriverpig7613]

This was a really important podcast!

[@mudpitperformance]

The man who stutters his way through an interview claims submission is the correct route during times of trouble. I learn more about myself and human collective behavior with every podcast.

[@JoeBlow95818]

He lost me at that point

[@cadeezra315]

And he says it's good for him to just sit down and do as he's told lmao. This guy writes about status because he lacks so much of it.

[@mvjboj101]

It’s true. You get married when you’re at the lowest point in your life/career. That act of marriage is being submissive and more agreeable because you can’t coexist with someone without it. If you lost your job you have to do things that are painfully humiliating or difficult to climb back up to where you were. That act alone is being submissive to the graduation program you’re enrolled in, either AA meetings, financial literacy classes, enrolling back into college etc. You have to live it to understand and trust yourself and your will to persevere through the struggle instead of offing yourself or getting comfortable at the bottom.

[@ELTarTree]

Most enjoyable, you both seemed to bounce off each other, a great flow of dancing respectful minds.

[@charlieweaver6322]

23:37 'Our conscience is basically an internal enforcement mechanism for things that we predict our culture would reward or punish in terms of status.' This statement, by Chris, and the following explanation by Will, is a great example of pseudoscience in its purest form, i.e. back rationalising a theory to create a causal relationship between one thing (the fact that we have a conscience) and another thing (the fact that we seek status), without having to falsify said theory, and then adding in the fail-safe clause that it's only what you predict your culture will reward and punish, not what your culture actually will reward and punish in reality, in case anyone easily debunks your theory with facts and evidence. For example, a whistle blower may, and most often does, stand to lose status for exposing corruption in their particular field - and some even lose their lives for it. Most whistle blowers understand they will lose status, but when asked will tell you their motivation was a case of conscience which made them speak out, even though they knew they would stand to lose status as a result. This clearly doesn't fit with your theory, but I'm sure the proponents of said theory would claim that even though the person lost status as a result of their actions their conscience only swayed them to take said action out of some kind of warped sense that their actions would actually gain them status, not lose it. I find this explanation implausible.

[@beyondaboundary6034]

This objection to Storr's argument doesn't make sense. A whistleblower could be seeking status in a different hierarchy outside of the organization (for instance, among activist groups seeking to expose government corruption and wrongdoing). Pointing this out isn't an insult to the whistleblower; it is just to observe that one organization's status hierarchy isn't usually the only game in town. Also, I don't think Will is suggesting that status-seeking is necessarily cynical or selfish. The point is that ultimately, even people who act in ways that undermine their prospects within a particular hierarchy (for instance, by disobeying commanding officers) are generally seeking to boost their prospects in a different hierarchy (think of the long history of defection in warfare, for example). This doesn't make the behavior necessarily wrong, and it also doesn't mean the whistleblower or defector won't suffer. It does mean they are seeking higher status in a different hierarchy (even if only a moral one in their mind, and that of those who agree with them, which may not pay off in their lifetime). It doesn't make religious or political ideologies (including those of whistleblowers) worthless to point out that they invariably establish hierarchies of moral status among humans. How could they not? I don't see the mystery here.

[@charlieweaver6322]

@@beyondaboundary6034 You seem to be missing the point I was making, which may be my fault, so I'll try to clarify. Firstly, let's put aside the whistleblower example for the moment, and simply look at the claim being made. The essential claim being made by Chris and Will is that the reason we have a conscience is because we seek status, and, more specifically, that our conscience exists to steer us towards behaviours that we predict our culture will reward and away from behaviours our culture will punish in terms of status. This is one hell of a bold claim. I don't see how you could falsify this claim in order to prove it, and I didn't hear any evidence that this theory had been tested. If you can think of a way to falsify this claim I'm happy to hear it, but I don't see how you could do so with this sort of claim. And yet, the claim was made as if it should simply be accepted as a proven and provable theory. As far as I can see, it has not been proven, and it requires a massive leap of faith to come to that conclusion. This is what I have a problem with. The fundamental claim being made is that we seek status, and we have a conscience, therefore the conscience must've evolved to help us gain/maintain status. This is a pseudoscientific claim, and until a causal link between the two things (status seeking leads to evolving a conscience) has been proven beyond reasonable doubt, we should not be treating this claim as anything other than speculation, and certainly not be treating it as gospel. In terms of the whistleblower claim, it was perhaps a bad example, but I would say that even your speculations as to the whistleblower's motivations, whilst feasible, are not provable. Remember, the onus is always on the person making the claim to prove the claim. If you suggest that the whistelblower's actions may have been motivated by the desire to seek status, I would not deny that claim, but if you claim that the actions were definitely motivated by the desire to seek status I would say that the onus is on you to prove the motivation was desire for status as opposed to altruism, or effectively, sacrificing potential worldly status for doing what they believe to be right. Perhaps a better example would be to simply point to the evidence that psychopaths, and Dark Triad personalities, often rise high in the status game, but show little sign of having a conscience, whereas often times altruistic people, those who genuinely seek to help others can often find themselves being exploited for their desire to help out their fellow man.

[@jasmineestafia]

Right there at 21:40 truly resonates with me. I’m just now realizing the positive impact of status as a business owner on social media. For the longest I desired more to acquire income than pursue status but I realize they kind of go hand in hand. Thus that realization has landed me here and this show and book is EXACTLY the material/information I was looking for. Very interesting stuff! ❤

[@payala4851]

An etiquette lesson, only more based on research..very insightful

[@ChrisWillx]

I adored this episode. Enjoy.

[@mary_puffin]

Interesting point made at around 31:58: "The most dangerous people are the ones [...] who feel entitled to a life up here, but what society is giving them is down here for years". High-status immigrants from developing countries to developed countries face a huge fall in social status in their new country. This is how I ended up here watching this video. Realizing I left my country as a top student to attend a top program on a full scholarship, but now I have to deal with racism, stereotypes, condensation, people assuming I don't speak English. It's amazing the amount of stress it can create. I don't feel dangerous, though.

[@imbra]

Woow! A great podcast! Social status is probably my favorite pet subject. I just wish you talked more about how different people seem to attribute different importance to status. It is important to all of us, but it seems to be more important to some of us. The same goes for the importance of status across different cultures: in more individualistic cultures status seems to be more important. Also, some people prefer to express their status with money, some with education and knowledge, some with ancestry. I just ordered the book. Thanks for this!

[@-aussie-]

Thoroughly enjoyable thank you for posting

[@bigdaddyfilmmaker]

8/10 so far. Half way through. 1 point removed for the interviewer interrupting too much. Started strong but now he can't resist. Another point removed for the guest seeing everything through the lens of status. Doing this with anything will lead to error.

[@mathieupe666]

I might be displaying low status by doing so, but I loved that one.

[@jpenaussie]

Nice one Chris! Great topic choice and guest speaker. Informative as usual and although i found myself disagreeing or finding moral fustration with certain suggestions, it allowed me to view things in a new way, cheers. Im sure glad that i subscribed, it's made me very happy indeed. Peace.

[@pmberkeley]

Would you like to clarify what you disagreed with? More interesting to find that out than the fact that you disagreed.

[@HenryPaulThe3rd]

“People prefer a dominant leader during a pandemic” yeah idk about that one....our observable results say the opposite

[@markwide]

Great podcast - thanks a lot. My 2 cent for improvement - how about giving the guest an intro? may be with or without them on the line, but it would make it easier for us listeners to accept their authority on what ever topic they are speaking.

[@Denmosocial]

38:30 lizard and iceberg analogy is fire

[@dh1474]

Great episode, lots to think about in this one.

[@economicasonline8677]

Great episode!

[@alexanderdeadmansche]

Good questions from chris

[@TheMemesofDestruction]

16:14 - This explains a lot.

[@Alihunayn]

This is a masterpiece

[@genevieved6743]

Hilarious that you mention the cover design at the end of the interview. I bought the book because of it! So funny. Good book, good interview too! Thanks.

[@robguz1007]

This is so good 👍

[@phoenix5054]

It still is the case that "status" symbols gives you better career opportunity and potentially better mates.

[@TaylorThoughts]

Amazing!

[@jovanrocksable]

This is good stuff

[@carlotapuig]

One of the very best episodes. We humans are so pathetic that it is funny:) I'm gonna buy his book, this is ridiculously interesting.

[@Miriam-pn7jy]

Really enjoyed that. Thanks

[@DylanZucker]

11:10 what an excellent question

[@dynamicpurpose]

I think that status influences people to want to do things to get your approval while having lots of resources influences them to do things for monetary compensation. Its the highest praise when people do things for you without your reciprocation.

[@brennanj7843]

Have you looked into the Dr. Calhoun’s Mouse Utopia, which does a study on mice and their social behavior when everything is taken care of. The mouse’s reaction mirrors a lot of what’s going on in the west today.

[@andryoshka]

Longshorepeople are! Status hungry. Status starved. Ego driven. Highly paid. Smh thanks for sharing this I needed to hear... . ❤

[@yinoveryang4246]

It’s not so much about being genuinely the best guy at growing yams. it’s APPEARING to be the best guy. The assumption meritocracy takes place at all in society is one of our key mistakes. One example - the Twitter Peacocks know how to construct a small sentence eloquently. That’s hardly a qualification for deciding who should lose their jobs.

[@syncsync5726]

That’s it

[@shaminoranger8588]

It's weird how the people I award the highest status/respect tend to be people who don't actually want status.

[@ndndndnnduwjqams]

They have high status in the "I don't even have to try to climb the status ladder" hierarchy. There is no escape from the status game, we are virtue signaling all the time.

[@ndndndnnduwjqams]

@@edanya agreed a 100%

[@handlemeifyoucan144]

This was good Very well can be seen in materialistic world, capital game

[@snappiegappie]

Fun conversation. Is there an exit? Ask that question to Eckhart Tolle.

[@watchiingunow618]

Yeah, I think this guy is a bit arrogant to think he has all the answers. Many Much wiser people than him don't think so called "status" is what life is about. Mind you he writes for the Guardian, so he would think he is totally right wouldn't he? :-D

[@kuhleteady4418]

I love his book dearly 💛 😅

[@panafrican.nation]

Given how central yams were to his example, and having written a whole book before the advent of ChatGPT, he should have been able to explain what yams are better. I heard about Will Storr's work from a guy who vlogs on AI, and it sounded compelling.

[@carbon1479]

1:08:45 - Yeah, for meditation if you're stalky, white, and European using the Pharaoh pose (back straight chair with hands down on your knees) is tenable, full lotus and a lot of those crazy asanas not as much.

[@Druids234]

Status is, of course, best understood as one approach to the third layer of worth of person: entitlement worth (deserving of attention, consideration, approval, and support). It comes after everyday worth (having the skills and resources to directly fulfill one's needs and those of one's family). We can be born to status (royalty), earn it (reputation status as a plumber or surgeon), make someone else indebted to us (creditor status), being well-known (celebrity), etc. Storr touches on many of these. Timothy Corwen (author, The Worth of a Person)

[@edbunkers4516]

I should've been a surgeon loanshark in a band. I knew I hadn't figured out what I wanted to be yet!

[@johnellison1635]

I can't comment for the rest of the World. But Australian society, most particularly the workplace, is replete with this kind of thinking. My personal observations over the years have shown that those individuals in any form of positional authority over another always seem to denigrate the views and opinions of those individuals below them. No matter if the opinion is workplace related or not.

[@ZatoichiBattousai]

Rule by Fear is only useful in the Extreme Short Term, Only through Love and Fear can you hold Power! The Prince

[@abalaster9085]

"Money is a yam." - Will Storr

[@pmberkeley]

Great quote, and very true

[@cuerex8580]

Status is the potential responsibility in taking 1 or more games serious. More seriously than others

[@jabbrewoki]

@25:14 - That is one superhuman finger wag you got there.

[@jabbrewoki]

BTW, I seek status by trying to be status blind. I'm stuck in a zen like Kafka trap. There is so much paradox in the universe.

[@jabbrewoki]

Oh, I see you touch on this around 1:02:00 Good stuff.

[@jasmineestafia]

There needs to be a part two to this. There can be a whole chapter (or book) on the pretty privilege sector of status alone. My question is, why are some beautiful women accepted by society more than others? There are some beautiful women with whom everyone is always a fan of and then there are some beautiful women who get some privilege but more often than not, they are resented. Why is this? I’m convinced this humanistic concept has even more layers to cover

[@daisyviluck7932]

I would guess it depends on how threatening she is perceived

[@VaultBoy1776]

This man...hmmm. status is imperative, but....hmmm. lovely interview. Attaboy Chris, I think he saw himself a bit more in this interview...

[@artifactingreality]

Hi from Thought Stream UK on Facebook

[@tholiunathi23]

16:10 - this is so true people do "COPY, FLATTER, and CONFORM" to those who are high on the social hierarchy.

[@Torgo1001]

"A strange game. The only winning move is not to play."

[@drefloresca95]

what's the yams??? 🤔🤔🤔 THE YAMS IS THE POWER THAT BE😳😳😳

[@peters8080]

1:11, if you are interested, for example take a look at your non verbal cues when you and Dairy of A CEO talked, early in. As humans today we so need to understand what cues of safety are. Somehow we seem to think that if we employ warmth we will be trodden upon) . Takes courage to go first. That's what we call vulnerability, authenticity, and trust. That's a new game, a new new goal. Cheers :)

[@ndndndnnduwjqams]

Should I try to exhibit more status than I'm capable of or should I accept my limitations and not try to climb?

[@phoenix5054]

How about accept your limitations but try to climb despite it?

[@mattrichards8090]

Love Island ? Not sure I heard that right.

[@tnekkc]

When I was in high school in 1968 there was a hierarchy in how fast your car was in a 1/4 mile drag race. I noticed this hierarchy did not translate to sex. By the time I got out of college I could see money or potential money WAS translating to sex.

[@gatherfeather3122]

Just here to watch Chris wearing his emotions on his face. He's so cute! Now with braces like a teenager (he sort of is in podcast world)

[@PhilHug1]

One of the more extreme status games in history was probably politics during the last 100 years of the Roman Republic. Victory meant being the dominant ruler of a Mediterranean empire. Losing meant death.

[@malcode9155]

That sounds even more like the 3rd century AD, really.

[@franciscomap75]

You are both right.

[@peters8080]

5ish minutes. Early status systems have perhaps three different presentations. The reptile version is about (pre social) territory, and that date backs to molluscs and crustaceans. eg Gorden Peterson's lobster tale at the start of 12 rules. When mammals arrived, this system was adapted to managing in-group pecking order. Our capacity to cooperate evolved along side this social hierarchy adaptation. More recently, as advanced primates/humans we adapted the system further by achieving stuff, per 9mins.

[@marcoslopez127]

But the Southern states have been the least conformist in the states, per his perspective. If anything, they have been the more open and least susceptible to falling in line.

[@NoticerOfficial]

How dare people not conform to an entity that cannot be held accountable, that has ultimate power.

[@marcoslopez127]

@@jn9283 There are some interesting insights in this conversation but I disagree with the application of most of it. For example, "dominance being the most fragile". Tell that to the thousands of years of human beings under the rule of kingdoms and aristocracy. Dominance seems the most resilient. An argument is to be had for sure, but if we analogize republics and democracies as non-dominant... they seem to be the opposite and exceedingly fragile.

[@jonathandewberry289]

@@jn9283 I'm not sure that the Southern US states are good examples of intra-group conformism. IF I had to pick a US region or city I might have picked Manhattan or even greater New York for that. Los Angeles is notorious for intra-group conformism with great superficial expressions of non-conformism. The thing is, I wouldn't pick out the Southern States as some special example, no more than a dozen other places and maybe less than some others.

[@caspar01]

@@jonathandewberry289 that’s a slightly facile point about anti-authority conformism that ignores the far stronger, longer-lasting identity of the southern states: ‘southern hospitality’, southern Baptist Christianity, ‘god, mom and apple pie’ etc etc.

[@lifestoryguy]

That's interesting. So, a fancy job title is worth more to people than a wage rise that gives them more money which they could use to increase their status over time. I mean, having more money gives you power in your daily life and helps you wield influence, so ultimately getting more money even as a filing clerk and using it wisely to grow your wealth would give you greater long-term status than just changing your job title because people don't seem to care about your job title but they do seem to care more about how you become wealthier than they are at present.

[@rockbarcellos]

"omg Pewdiepie from the future!"

[@6lack5ushi]

a yam by any other name would taste just as sweet

[@watchiingunow618]

Its about power not status. But you you can step out of the game if you want to. That's what, for example, Buddhism is all about.

[@SGH-rt6ci]

Did you read Torsten Veblen book on privilidged ?

[@bluesbunny121]

I truly feel sorry for the meditation guy guru. Imagine dedicating your life to the practice and missing the most basic thing about it and about your ego. Still, from personal experience I could say that while meditation doesn't stop your thoughts and emotions that get generated because of the status game, it helps you a lot to understand them and respond differently when they arise. Like Sam Harris said, meditating and starting to feel superior because of that, and creating some sort of spiritual persona for yourself (like that guru in robes did) is utter bullshit. And it is true, because you are just trading one ego for another.

[@md1trk]

I reckon we admire people that we think we can emulate and we resent people that we fear we cannot. What do you reckon?

[@realistic_delinquent]

We resent people that are what we could be with just a bit more effort, we admire people that are what we could be with an extraordinary amount of effort, and we resent, again, people who are what we could never aspire to with any amount of effort.

[@md1trk]

@@jn9283 That's a very good point. It's much harder to admire another person's success if you feel that you deserved that success but were denied it. This might explain the motivations behind a lot of music/film criticism that I read.

[@themasculinismmovement]

Lol Yam is another name for Sweet Potato

[@MartB-tx5lb]

Psychology of titles: JBP and Lobsters. Serotonin.

[@peters8080]

40 minutes; YES. Status is only status when we are above others. And it feels good, and no surprise there that its mediated by serotonin. Depression is low status, low serotonin. Here please take your SSRI, dont worry your pretty little mind with your subservience and oppression. 49 minutes how much status is the right amount. Wrong question. How much can i be witness to my status seeking-ness, and be more present, open and connected. 55 minutes: our organizational culture is of course evolving, see Laloux's work.

[@jacekbialek409]

MY QUESTION IS? HOW DOES HE KNOW ALL THIS ,

[@noleenole8254]

I learn about power to know when I’m being manipulated.

[@lifeisgood5619]

20:21 can anyone link that study please

[@trollop_7]

You'll all understand why you voted my comment up the page into the No.1 slot.

[@jaseman]

I the one that hides in my bedroom not taking part in this status war.

[@themasculinismmovement]

LOL the unibomber was not part of MK ultra

[@Grochstain]

“What’s the yams???”

[@TheLeon1032]

YAM the one and only!!