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... Sponsors: Get 5 Free Travel Packs, Free Liquid Vitamin D and Free Shipping from Athletic Greens at https://athleticgreens.com/modernwisdom (discount automatically applied) Get a Free Sample Pack of all LMNT Flavours at https://www.drinklmnt.com/modernwisdom (discount automatically applied) Extra Stuff: Buy The Status Game - https://amzn.to/3hzYnrD Follow Will on Twitter - https://twitter.com/wstorr Get my free Reading List of 100 books to read before you die → https://chriswillx.com/books/ To support me on Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/modernwisdom #status #money #power - 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 - Listen to all episodes online. Search "Modern Wisdom" on any Podcast App or click here: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2MNqIgw Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2LSimPn Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/modern-wisdom - Get in touch in the comments below or head to... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact/

Will StorrguestChris Williamsonhost

Sep 19, 20211h 15mWatch on YouTube ↗

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

Why Status Rules Human Behavior: Games, Hierarchies, and Humiliation

Chris Williamson and author Will Storr explore how virtually all human behavior can be understood as playing "status games"—seeking esteem, respect, and value within groups.
Storr breaks status down into three main routes—dominance, virtue, and success—and shows how these underpin everything from office politics and CrossFit boxes to cancel culture and global fame.
They discuss the evolutionary roots of status, its psychological necessity, and the severe damage caused by humiliation and status loss, including links to violence and extremism.
The conversation closes with practical ideas on how to play healthier status games: choosing better environments, diversifying one’s “portfolio” of games, and embodying warmth, sincerity, and competence.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Status is a basic psychological nutrient, not a superficial extra.

Our brains evolved to equate higher status with better food, safety, and mating opportunities, so we crave esteem and respect as intensely as we crave security and belonging.

Humans play three main status games: dominance, virtue, and success.

Dominance uses fear and punishment; virtue uses morality, conformity, and rule-enforcement; success uses competence and achievement—most real-world groups blend all three, with one usually dominant.

Status is intensely relative, which fuels envy and Schadenfreude.

People care more about their rank than absolute gains—often preferring higher relative position over more money—and brain studies show less empathy and even pleasure when higher-status people suffer.

Repeated humiliation is psychologically catastrophic and can be dangerous.

Humiliation—having status stripped with no hope of regaining it—sits behind many genocides, spree killings, and extremists; the most dangerous profile is grandiose, humiliated, aggressive males.

Cancel culture and online mobs are ancient status mechanisms in new form.

What looks like a novel "algorithm problem" is really the old "tyranny of the cousins": gossip, moral outrage, and consensus-building used to punish deviants, now supercharged by networked technology.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

We haven’t evolved to crave money. We’ve evolved to crave status; money is just a yam.

— Will Storr

Status is like an essential nutrient for the mind. If you don’t have it, you’re in big trouble psychologically.

— Will Storr

Humiliation is the nuclear bomb of the emotions.

— Will Storr

You are the games that you play.

— Will Storr

Connecting people into communities doesn’t create utopia; it creates status games.

— Will Storr

The concept of status as a fundamental human drive and "original currency"Three core status games: dominance, virtue, and successStatus relativity, envy, tall poppy syndrome, and rivalryHumiliation, status loss, and links to violence and extremismFame, sudden status spikes, and psychological instabilityCancel culture, online mobs, and the "tyranny of the cousins"Strategies for healthier status games and personal status management

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