The Science behind alpha males

[Verifyveritas76]

 

[rockfox]

Some good info in there, esp. the comparisons between chimp and politician behavior, but this...

I think the term alpha male if you look it up on the internet you will find all these business books that tell you how to be an alpha male and what they mean is how to beat up others and beat them over the head and let them know that your boss and and don't mess with me and so on and and basically alpha male for them is a bully and and I really don't like that kind of description

is a dandy of a straw man. That was his intro and he also brings it up in his conclusion; basically its the whole reason for his talk even though he contradicts himself in the conclusion.

This guy strikes me as yet another example of the common occurrence of someone who finds the human conception of alpha male offensive (mostly because he's not one) and seeks to dismiss it based on alpha in other species (as if all species interact the exact same way). This particular person just happens to study chimps.

 

[PeteR]

I found the 'empathy' and 'giving' aspects very interesting as mixed with the strong leadership. Also, team/concensus building was interesting... Lotta brains with the brawn.

 

[MrB]

I read this a while ago and thought some might find it interesting.

https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/the_myth_of_the_alpha_male

If it hasn’t already been posted somewhere on the site before
I liked the statements
“Dominance is a short-term strategy for success; prestige is a long-term one. Dominance is a quality that can help you conquer, but it lacks the ability to govern what you’ve won.”

 

[MeganC]

Real men don't need to bully and intimidate anyone. The cowards know a real man when they see one.

 

[steve]

Real men don't need to bully and intimidate anyone. The cowards know a real man when they see one.

Good thing the script-writer decided that they weren’t going to carry......

 

[rockfox]

“Dominance is a short-term strategy for success; prestige is a long-term one. Dominance is a quality that can help you conquer, but it lacks the ability to govern what you’ve won.”

Color me dubious. Prestige is the result, dominance is a method to get it. Prestige doesn't spring from no where. Full context...

Here’s another way of looking at the difference between the two routes to status: Dominance is a short-term strategy for success; prestige is a long-term one. Dominance is a quality that can help you conquer, but it lacks the ability to govern what you’ve won. Amongst chimps, once a male has fought his way to the top, and becomes the alpha, his enjoyment of that status is short-lived; another dominant male will soon come along to challenge him and knock him off his throne. On a cultural level, peoples like the Mongols or Vikings dominated others and were the alphas in their time, but were unable to adapt, and died off. Prestigious men — like the Founding Fathers — were able to create a legacy that continues on today.

Such ahistorical claims call into question their entire thesis. The Mongol empire was physically larger than ours and lasted longer. And Genghis is still honored to this day some 800 years later. Will Washington be so honored in 2576? At the rate things are going it looks doubtful. You and I know who Genghis is. Do they even know the name of George Washington in Mongolia today?