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I see the idea behind my post went over the heads of some of the "Alphas" here..
I see that all of the wimpy Betas continue to cry about being dominated by all of the meany Alphas.
In a nut shell, you know what the problem with you Betas is?
Betas spend their lives talking about how they think things SHOULD be, and crying about why it actually isn't that way.
Alphas spend their lives dealing with the way that things actually are, and acting accordingly.
That's why 90% of the time, it's the Betas working for the Alphas. You guys just can't handle things when the going gets tough. And the going ALWAYS eventually gets tough.
Just step aside, and let the real men handle things. If you can keep your mouths shut, and not whine too much, we'll let you ride our coat tails.
It really is inaccurate as in things like wolves actual combat is often used to determine pack standing. You do that as a human, and they put you in jail.
It really is inaccurate as in things like wolves actual combat is often used to determine pack standing. You do that as a human, and they put you in jail.
Except not- 'Alpha' and 'beta' categories don't exist in wolves like people imagine. Wolves don't fight to determine pack standing- the 'Alphas' are just the parents of the others and are 'dominant' by default, not because they fought their way to the top. This false belief came about from studies done on captive packs made up of unrelated individuals trapped together in enclosures. We now know that wolf packs are made up of related individuals- the parents and their offspring. True fighting is very, very rare within a wolf pack and wolves don't kill wolves within their pack to 'take their place' like out of White Fang. Unfortunately, the old false beliefs continue to be spread about and this has had a big effect on dog training- which is funny because dogs aren't wolves in the first place.
Off topic yes, but I find it endlessly amusing when people hold up wolves as some symbols of how HUMANS behave- and then get how wolves behave all wrong.
Can we stop with the "Alpha," and "Beta" male categories?
Every time I see someone saying it, I just think "God, what an idiot.."
Can we learn some other adjectives please?
Is the guy you're seeing into sports, drinking with his friends? Say he's a sports enthusiast, who likes to socialize with his friends. You don't need "Alpha" to describe him..
Does your guy like painting pictures, avoids confrontation, would rather read instead of watch sports? Says he's creative and cerebral..
Tall and muscular? You could say he's got a Northern European body type, athletic..or simply say "tall and muscular"
Does he like confrontation? You could use "over-compensates," "a bully," "has anger problems," depending on the severity.
Timid? "Timid," "Shy," "Quiet," "Avoids confrontation," should work.
Anyway, off the anonymity of my computer and onto the internet this goes.
Classification does exist in just about every aspect in life. I do not see a problem with that. The problem arises when people start to use labels in a negative way thus others start to take offense. It is the perception that people start to get with the labels. We do not generally complain about labels that are positive yet once that label is given a negative perception, it is time to complain about it. Take care.
The point is that "Alpha," "Beta," "Omega" are non-descriptive.
The terms are vague, and tell you absolutely nothing.
Some use it instead of "confidence," some instead of "arrogance." (Do some of you even understand the degrees of difference between these terms..?)
The point is rather than use some vague term for your application, use a more fitting adjective!
Think for yourselves what fits and apply it. I certainly didn't think people would copy/paste my off the cuff ideas (as in northern European body type..) and take it as a push to replace one vague term with another...
Ah, now I get what the issue may be -- you don't like it when people use jargon to sound hip and would prefer we avoid such cliches.
Unfortunately, the concepts captured in "Alpha" and "Beta" (which if memory serves me right came from the study of baboons), are in fact more precise and subtly more informative than the more traditional classificatory words. At least that is my reaction.
Ah, now I get what the issue may be -- you don't like it when people use jargon to sound hip and would prefer we avoid such cliches.
Unfortunately, the concepts captured in "Alpha" and "Beta" (which if memory serves me right came from the study of baboons), are in fact more precise and subtly more informative than the more traditional classificatory words. At least that is my reaction.
Let me try again -
Humans don't speak the language baboons or wolves do. We can't have direct conversations with them. We simply look at behavior, and assign a meaning to it - hence "Alpha" and "Beta."
Those terms originate from humans observing a different species, one he can't communicate with, where he is on the outside looking in.
Those are descriptions directed from Species A to Species B. Aka interspecies communication..
Now -
Human language allows Species A to accurately discuss Species A. Or intraspecies communication..
We can get more in depth, and zoom in to a finer level - one that makes a distinction between "arrogance" and "confidence."
So yes, if we were sitting in the jungle and watching a baboon thump his chest and scare off another baboon - I would agree the one thumping his chest was "Alpha." As a human, I have no better term to describe it.
On the flip side, since we're humans and experiencing human behavior - we should possess the ability to tell the difference between the man experiencing roid rage and yelling at everybody, vs the man being a leader and barking orders in a perceived crisis.
That's intra-species communication.
People resorting to interspecies terms to describe their own species, is just..sorry, but - stupid and misguided...
It's not about cliches - it's about people using their brain, realizing why it doesn't make sense, and putting an end to a huge pet peeve of mine..
I would personally feel much better not having to experience such (stupidity).
The thing is, we, too, are animals, and we profit when we apply what we observe in animals to our own situation.
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