Post: #26

I just read it. I think the author is consumed with the fantasy that the ideal alpha is a mafioso or gangster figure like someone out of the Godfather, Reservoir Dogs, or something else. Maybe in undeveloped countries and the hood, but let's get real, that's just a small fragment of man, and an undeveloped violent one at that where the average lifespan is typically 30 years old or younger. And it's confusing to me that he's in awe of how the girl is attracted to a top capo in Costa Rica - nothing unusual there.

Most of us live in civilized society, and it's really not useful to fantasize about being a capo because of the sheer nonreality and impracticality of it. If you don't like being bourgeoisie then fine, but adapt and overcome what you were born into rather than daydream about being born into either a poor family or an aristocratic family.

Goes back to that expression, "be happy with what you got, not what you want but don't got." Tough - very tough - words to live by, but very important nonethelss.

Just my two cents.

Post: #27

So, a guy is alpha because he is with a hot girl?

What if she is the loser in that picture?

"OMFG, Im such an alphamaleleaderofthepack because I have the hottest girl." That is not an "alpha" tought.

"I am with the girl I like the most. I dont care what anyone else thinks" That is an alpha way of thinking.

Post: #28

Most of you guys hating on this article are idiots and don't seem to even know what an alpha is.

Post: #29

(02-07-2013 06:05 PM)dealer10 Wrote:  Most of you guys hating on this article are idiots and don't seem to even know what an alpha is.

alpha is the measure of performance of a stock or investment portfolio on a risk-adjusted basis. duh

Post: #30

(02-07-2013 06:35 PM)guerrilla Wrote:  

(02-07-2013 06:05 PM)dealer10 Wrote:  Most of you guys hating on this article are idiots and don't seem to even know what an alpha is.

alpha is the measure of performance of a stock or investment portfolio on a risk-adjusted basis. duh

Sorry Guerrilla, I have to respectfully disagree....

Alpha is also commonly used in mathematics in algebraic solutions representing quantities such as angles.

DUH

Post: #31

all you needed was a little tough love, now some of you guys are getting it

Post: #32

(02-07-2013 01:32 PM)guerrilla Wrote:  I just read it. I think the author is consumed with the fantasy that the ideal alpha is a mafioso or gangster figure like someone out of the Godfather, Reservoir Dogs, or something else. Maybe in undeveloped countries and the hood, but let's get real, that's just a small fragment of man, and an undeveloped violent one at that where the average lifespan is typically 30 years old or younger. And it's confusing to me that he's in awe of how the girl is attracted to a top capo in Costa Rica - nothing unusual there.

Most of us live in civilized society, and it's really not useful to fantasize about being a capo because of the sheer nonreality and impracticality of it. If you don't like being bourgeoisie then fine, but adapt and overcome what you were born into rather than daydream about being born into either a poor family or an aristocratic family.

Goes back to that expression, "be happy with what you got, not what you want but don't got." Tough - very tough - words to live by, but very important nonethelss.

Just my two cents.

It's hard to get from that one piece, but what you're complaining about is a major point of his writings. His point is that traditional alpha males will exist only on the very fringes of society (regular dudes will be destroyed attempting to copy their behavior), and suggests a middle path he calls "The Renaisance Man" that combines being a a good and honorable person that can thrive in civilized society...but is still dominant enough to get what he needs from women and the world.

Hene the title - The Myth of the Middle Class Alpha. You can't act like an outlaw or a Kennedy - your position in society is too precarious,, too much to lose, but not enough to buy you freedom from the consequences of unbridled alpha actions.

Post: #33

T is one of my favorite bloggers on psychology and sociology. He's much smarter and more insightful than the vast majority of people who write about game and social dynamics. I don't always agree with everything he writes, but I agree with most of it, and everything he writes is worth reading.

Post: #34

(09-08-2010 04:11 AM)thekiller Wrote:  As someone who works with criminals everyday I can tell you the average Inmate is NOT alpha. The whole concept of gangs is strength in numbers. A lot of the toughness and posturing is JUST that. 99.9% of the time any Inmate that talks any shit to me in the Pod, will do it to puff himself up in front of the homies. I pull him into the hallway and it's a whole different ballgame. "I'm sorry sir.", "I was being foolish, won't happen again.".

The hardcore problem young gang bangers, yes they get lots of letters, and they brag about all the women they have. But after seeing these women come to visit, and seeing the pictures that come in the mail for these guys (we have to search all mail but legal mail), 80% of them you'd not want to screw. The 20% that are hot probably have drug or other health issues. Along with being slutty, you'd be amazed how these guys will talk about the girls they're banging with each other and then find out they've been banging all the same girls.

I agree high testosterone is common, but I would also say a high degree of self-delusion about their intelligence, the ability to rationalize their actions to a high degree no matter how wrong, and a complete lack of personal responsibility are the norm.

But it is true, Alpha doesn't really mean a whole lot anymore.

EDIT-Read that guy's article on the Three Criminal tracks and it seems sound. The real Players in jail keep a low profile and rarely are in any trouble with COs. The good ones are very low key and you can barely tell they run things. The very good ones let Middle Management sit at the head of the table and look like they run shit.

I agree, but I'd like to add a caveat here: the fact that mostly frumpy or fucked up women write love letters to criminals simply means it's a difference of a degree, not of a kind. The high-earning, hot, powerful female lawyer probably won't be getting wet for a murderer, but she will be getting wet for that bad boy in a suit who treats her like a sexual object and "seems dangerous".

I think a good analogy for this is how most men living today would never rape a woman, but most probably would if they had been raised in a prehistoric age where violence was the norm and only survival of the fittest applied.