Teaching your son, "Don't be like this guy." doesn't require this book.
The important lesson that I think most well-adjusted young men can get from this is, "When you identify this guy, DO NOT try to help him. Be polite, be professional, but do not engage. You'll try to help him and when he fails he'll try to scratch your eyes out, stab your tires and try to get you in trouble with the IRS and the public library."
This Gamma does not think the book is a waste of time, it is an excellent read and a great resource for management. The Gamma section of the book nailed me to the wall. It was so spot on to my behavior I wondered if Vox went to high school and college with me. I do not see Vox as mean to Gammas - rather he hates lying, and delusion bubbles, and secret kings. So do I, so should we all... especially Gammas. It's a daily struggle to keep that delusion bubble deflated and king dethroned, some days are worse than others due to stress. On the contrary, Vox offers a chapter in the book to help Gammas mitigate their worst characteristics. He did not have to do this. I'm in the lead position at a mid-size organization, I appreciate all the help this book gives in both keeping my head on straight and organizing the folks under me.
I have a question. What do we do with gammas if they don't have jobs? Are there certain "superhuman" people that can hire them? Do we put them in a zoo? Being that they're intelligent and SMEs, I'd think that they could be put to some beneficial use if handled with the proper "hazmat suit." Don't worry, the only person I'm interested in hiring is an alpha/bravo to be my boss. This isn't about me, I'm just curious big picture wise how we're supposed to Golfafrinch them. I'm probably missing a generalization for an absolute or something.
I remember in the alphagame blog the introductory post started along the lines of "This is something we all instinctive know, but let me articulate it". I was like. Yep, thanks for the words. In fact as soon as we were 6th grade a bunch of schools in the area independently came up with slangs for alphas and gammas in particular. I always saw it a normal.
That didn't age well. We definitely don't all instinctively know it. In fact I think that has been the most important takeaway for me for these 10 years.
I'm too old and out of it to grok all the different categories of today's men. I believe as most men did fifty years ago, that there were good men and not so good men and of course, losers or criminally inclined men. The categories and hierarchies you work with remind me of Huxley's "Brave New World." (Maybe we're not only there, but have been there for decades.)
Anyway, I've heard about your work for quite a while and always assumed you were doing well. The other thing that interested me about your post is the fact of the review. As a fellow writer, I'd be thrilled if I had your numbers. Your latest book is selling well. And you only have one what I call, 'one-star drive by review'. Some of my work earned me ten or so 'drive bys' by triggered liberals or feminists.
Yeah, most of my stuff earns me a 3.9 rating. I like to tell myself that's because I aim for an honesty and realism that I believe is important.
Anyway, you go guy! You have a following and obvious talent. The sky's the limit.
The manner of attacking one’s character because of hatred and perceptions of wrong think is baked into codes of conduct. Gammas love such weaponised codes and then are shocked that the competent leave, and the project they made part of the progressive vanguard rots from within, and they are shunned not rewarded.
Regarding the book, I wonder if Jamsco is disappointed that 15 years later he didn't get his "Vox 11" post into it as a prologue or introduction like he wanted. Although, he did revise it into something more like Vox 22, so maybe it's his own fault
Jamsco is a very decent man who is both a) identity-complicated and b) invested in the morality of niceness.
This, ironically, causes him to be a shameless liar, the thought of which would genuinely horrify him if he understood the extent of the dishonesty required to hold his various contradictory positions. He's the epitome of the good Christian who has entirely abandoned truth for fear of making others uncomfortable.
We've known each other since we were children. He's a much better man and a far more decent individual than me. But he wholly lacks my dedication to the truth.
Gamma pattern recognition is quite helpful in real life. After following the ssh here, I can often recognize likely gammas from a single interaction. Whereas in the past I might be tempted to argue or second guess myself in the face of harsh criticism or contrarianism, now, if it has that Gamma flair, I just safely ignore it and save a lot of energy. Or, in the off chance there is some merit to their opinion, thank them curtly and move on.
Another useful application in tech is to state an opinion that is wrong or suboptimal when trying to solve something. This triggers the Gammas into a full contrarian download of their SME knowledge, and in these instances I know to stay detached from the berating and negativity because I was really just after the info. If you ask a question point blank, they don't answer as well and sometimes just insult you, but if you include an incorrect solution, they cannot help but give a detailed explanation of the correct answer.
Rules for Radicals #13: "Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it." by Saul Alinsky
"The target is always trying to shift responsibility to get out of being the target... the forces of change must keep this in mind and pin the target down securely." (Pg. 132)
The Gamma act of sheer maliciousness stems from putting this rule into action. It's no surprise that Saul lists Satan himself as an acknowledgement for his book.
There is something unfortunate about the SSH, and it's that people will tend to use it poorly.
I think it's unfair not to give Gammas a chance, just expect them to be Gamma about it.
I'm sure lots of people try to fight their shortcomings, and we should be charitable about it when reasonable. After all, presumably most people accessing it aren't Alphas or Bravos looking for a good angle on managing people.
Deltas are unlikely to get maligned for their traits, but it could happen, depending on the reach and absorption of terms in the mainstream, beyond Alpha, Beta and Sigma.
In context of this article your comment reads like, "It's a bit unfair that you are not being charitable to this Gamma being a Gamma about his business-damaging review of your work."
What next?!
"Delta, you're being a bit uncharitable with this Gamma being a Gamma with his sexually inappropriate communication with your wife and daughter?"
Is there nothing/no one in your life that you wish to protect?
Would you begrudge those who have people/projects to protect their desire, right, and duty to do so?
Bro, the objective is to get the task at hand done as effectively and efficiently as possible. These days, we simply don't have the luxury of time to be someone's psychiatrist. Cut them.
Why would it be fair to give Gammas a chance? Is it fair when Gammas bite the hand that feeds them? Is it fair when they respond to kindness with malice and self-seeking?
You cannot reconcile "fairness" with probabilistic thinking. That's a binary thinker's concept.
The purpose of having these people around matters, though.
I've had a few very good Gamma friends and nothing bad came of it.
Now, for Alphas and Sigmas, and probably Bravos, maybe it's not worth their time, but low status men won't necessarily suffer for the association, even if we assume the Gamma always melts down in a toxic way.
Aside from some fairly specific professional situations, I just don't see what a Gamma could do to a Delta or Omega.
So, why not give them a chance? There's little to lose for most people.
"I just don't see what a Gamma could do to a Delta or Omega."
Delta - Lie about him, spread rumors about him, spread rumors about his wife, and for Gammas who have wormed their way into any kind of position of authority, deny him advancement or promotions. Gamma know they can blow a lot of smoke and lie about where the fire is, and there will be enough people who won't question it. Deltas don't really have the mental wiring to be aggressive about confronting someone until it's too late.
Omegas - Entirely new level here. Omegas are the lowest on the ladder, and one of the reasons so many of them can't climb up is because there's a Gamma squatting there blocking the way. A Gamma can easily tear down an Omega socially, and the ones in authority positions will routinely make sure an Omega is never allowed any chance at improving his status at all, because that might endanger the Gamma's already-fragile standing. There's a sort of "Gamma Ceiling" or minefield that many Omegas have to navigate or punch through to get anywhere, and without help from a sympathetic Delta or higher, many can't do it.
"low status men won't necessarily suffer for the association, even if we assume the Gamma always melts down in a toxic way."
Low status men are exactly the ones whose bodies the police WON'T go looking for after the Gamma Rage explosion.
I'm glad your Gamma friends are pretty cool. They were probably punched in the face when they were younger. But most Gammas were not.
"So, why not give them a chance? There's little to lose for most people."
In college, Gamma friend wanted to borrow my code for reference. After turn in, I was called in by the professor for plagiarism.
I got cleared after Gamma friend 'fessed up to what happened, but he held a minor grudge I declined to partner with him in future classes. He dropped out of our major.
TLDR: It's hard to foresee what the lack of empathy and the delusion bubble will lead a Gamma to do.
Peregrine, your very comments prove the value of Vox's post, book, and the entire SSH taxonomy. That you cannot see that proves it twice. Almost all of us who come here to read his articles can spot you immediately, allowing us to provide mercy to women and strict boundaries to gamma males
Disliking the book is beyond retarded. The first chapter is completely on point about training AI on bad data leads to model collapse and it’s the same with humans. If you get bad data, you get bad outcomes which is why the book is so important.
For example, in the alpha section Vox talks about their weaknesses of intellectual laziness which felt like a big spotlight was put right in my face. “Damn, he caught me.”
How can you not be grateful that there is hands on advice on how to be better in your given position and even how to survive in a situational role that is not your natural SSH rank.
One more thing, I disagree with the information being free on the blog. The info here is like ore. The book is refined to 99.9999% purity.
Teaching your son, "Don't be like this guy." doesn't require this book.
The important lesson that I think most well-adjusted young men can get from this is, "When you identify this guy, DO NOT try to help him. Be polite, be professional, but do not engage. You'll try to help him and when he fails he'll try to scratch your eyes out, stab your tires and try to get you in trouble with the IRS and the public library."
This Gamma does not think the book is a waste of time, it is an excellent read and a great resource for management. The Gamma section of the book nailed me to the wall. It was so spot on to my behavior I wondered if Vox went to high school and college with me. I do not see Vox as mean to Gammas - rather he hates lying, and delusion bubbles, and secret kings. So do I, so should we all... especially Gammas. It's a daily struggle to keep that delusion bubble deflated and king dethroned, some days are worse than others due to stress. On the contrary, Vox offers a chapter in the book to help Gammas mitigate their worst characteristics. He did not have to do this. I'm in the lead position at a mid-size organization, I appreciate all the help this book gives in both keeping my head on straight and organizing the folks under me.
I have a question. What do we do with gammas if they don't have jobs? Are there certain "superhuman" people that can hire them? Do we put them in a zoo? Being that they're intelligent and SMEs, I'd think that they could be put to some beneficial use if handled with the proper "hazmat suit." Don't worry, the only person I'm interested in hiring is an alpha/bravo to be my boss. This isn't about me, I'm just curious big picture wise how we're supposed to Golfafrinch them. I'm probably missing a generalization for an absolute or something.
They'll have jobs. Very, very few people listen to me. This is not about society, this is about you having an advantage in your operations.
Understood. There's always some implied aspect to things you say which are obvious to you but largely invisible to us. I appreciate it.
I remember in the alphagame blog the introductory post started along the lines of "This is something we all instinctive know, but let me articulate it". I was like. Yep, thanks for the words. In fact as soon as we were 6th grade a bunch of schools in the area independently came up with slangs for alphas and gammas in particular. I always saw it a normal.
That didn't age well. We definitely don't all instinctively know it. In fact I think that has been the most important takeaway for me for these 10 years.
“He simply declared the whole thing to be a rigged game in which I always win…”
Gamma leading with projection. Who could have guessed.
Tldr version of post; the SSH is a sh*t test and the gamma fails it.
I'm too old and out of it to grok all the different categories of today's men. I believe as most men did fifty years ago, that there were good men and not so good men and of course, losers or criminally inclined men. The categories and hierarchies you work with remind me of Huxley's "Brave New World." (Maybe we're not only there, but have been there for decades.)
Anyway, I've heard about your work for quite a while and always assumed you were doing well. The other thing that interested me about your post is the fact of the review. As a fellow writer, I'd be thrilled if I had your numbers. Your latest book is selling well. And you only have one what I call, 'one-star drive by review'. Some of my work earned me ten or so 'drive bys' by triggered liberals or feminists.
Yeah, most of my stuff earns me a 3.9 rating. I like to tell myself that's because I aim for an honesty and realism that I believe is important.
Anyway, you go guy! You have a following and obvious talent. The sky's the limit.
The manner of attacking one’s character because of hatred and perceptions of wrong think is baked into codes of conduct. Gammas love such weaponised codes and then are shocked that the competent leave, and the project they made part of the progressive vanguard rots from within, and they are shunned not rewarded.
Remember the days when you used to comment on Amazon reviews? Fun times, fun times.
You only have a finite amount of time on earth. Imagine being so insecure and spiteful that you spend it leaving fake reviews online.
As obnoxious as they are to the rest of us, Gammas punish themselves too.
Regarding the book, I wonder if Jamsco is disappointed that 15 years later he didn't get his "Vox 11" post into it as a prologue or introduction like he wanted. Although, he did revise it into something more like Vox 22, so maybe it's his own fault
https://jamsco.wordpress.com/vox-11/
That's not... O.G., Roll Tide, Nate, surely?
Not even close.
Jamsco is a very decent man who is both a) identity-complicated and b) invested in the morality of niceness.
This, ironically, causes him to be a shameless liar, the thought of which would genuinely horrify him if he understood the extent of the dishonesty required to hold his various contradictory positions. He's the epitome of the good Christian who has entirely abandoned truth for fear of making others uncomfortable.
We've known each other since we were children. He's a much better man and a far more decent individual than me. But he wholly lacks my dedication to the truth.
Gamma pattern recognition is quite helpful in real life. After following the ssh here, I can often recognize likely gammas from a single interaction. Whereas in the past I might be tempted to argue or second guess myself in the face of harsh criticism or contrarianism, now, if it has that Gamma flair, I just safely ignore it and save a lot of energy. Or, in the off chance there is some merit to their opinion, thank them curtly and move on.
Another useful application in tech is to state an opinion that is wrong or suboptimal when trying to solve something. This triggers the Gammas into a full contrarian download of their SME knowledge, and in these instances I know to stay detached from the berating and negativity because I was really just after the info. If you ask a question point blank, they don't answer as well and sometimes just insult you, but if you include an incorrect solution, they cannot help but give a detailed explanation of the correct answer.
That's one of those internet rules, just post the wrong answer and wait for correction.
Work every time.
Rules for Radicals #13: "Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it." by Saul Alinsky
"The target is always trying to shift responsibility to get out of being the target... the forces of change must keep this in mind and pin the target down securely." (Pg. 132)
The Gamma act of sheer maliciousness stems from putting this rule into action. It's no surprise that Saul lists Satan himself as an acknowledgement for his book.
There is something unfortunate about the SSH, and it's that people will tend to use it poorly.
I think it's unfair not to give Gammas a chance, just expect them to be Gamma about it.
I'm sure lots of people try to fight their shortcomings, and we should be charitable about it when reasonable. After all, presumably most people accessing it aren't Alphas or Bravos looking for a good angle on managing people.
Deltas are unlikely to get maligned for their traits, but it could happen, depending on the reach and absorption of terms in the mainstream, beyond Alpha, Beta and Sigma.
"I think it's unfair not to give Gammas a chance, just expect them to be Gamma about it."
Expecting them to be Gamma about it is exactly the reason no one wants to give them a chance.
In context of this article your comment reads like, "It's a bit unfair that you are not being charitable to this Gamma being a Gamma about his business-damaging review of your work."
What next?!
"Delta, you're being a bit uncharitable with this Gamma being a Gamma with his sexually inappropriate communication with your wife and daughter?"
Is there nothing/no one in your life that you wish to protect?
Would you begrudge those who have people/projects to protect their desire, right, and duty to do so?
Bro, the objective is to get the task at hand done as effectively and efficiently as possible. These days, we simply don't have the luxury of time to be someone's psychiatrist. Cut them.
Why would it be fair to give Gammas a chance? Is it fair when Gammas bite the hand that feeds them? Is it fair when they respond to kindness with malice and self-seeking?
You cannot reconcile "fairness" with probabilistic thinking. That's a binary thinker's concept.
No, obviously it isn't fair when they do this.
The purpose of having these people around matters, though.
I've had a few very good Gamma friends and nothing bad came of it.
Now, for Alphas and Sigmas, and probably Bravos, maybe it's not worth their time, but low status men won't necessarily suffer for the association, even if we assume the Gamma always melts down in a toxic way.
Aside from some fairly specific professional situations, I just don't see what a Gamma could do to a Delta or Omega.
So, why not give them a chance? There's little to lose for most people.
"I just don't see what a Gamma could do to a Delta or Omega."
Delta - Lie about him, spread rumors about him, spread rumors about his wife, and for Gammas who have wormed their way into any kind of position of authority, deny him advancement or promotions. Gamma know they can blow a lot of smoke and lie about where the fire is, and there will be enough people who won't question it. Deltas don't really have the mental wiring to be aggressive about confronting someone until it's too late.
Omegas - Entirely new level here. Omegas are the lowest on the ladder, and one of the reasons so many of them can't climb up is because there's a Gamma squatting there blocking the way. A Gamma can easily tear down an Omega socially, and the ones in authority positions will routinely make sure an Omega is never allowed any chance at improving his status at all, because that might endanger the Gamma's already-fragile standing. There's a sort of "Gamma Ceiling" or minefield that many Omegas have to navigate or punch through to get anywhere, and without help from a sympathetic Delta or higher, many can't do it.
"low status men won't necessarily suffer for the association, even if we assume the Gamma always melts down in a toxic way."
Low status men are exactly the ones whose bodies the police WON'T go looking for after the Gamma Rage explosion.
I'm glad your Gamma friends are pretty cool. They were probably punched in the face when they were younger. But most Gammas were not.
Is it fair to take the golden retriever and leave the pitbull at the pound? Yes. One of those will bite your kids.
Take my word for it or do not. Gammas can make your life very difficult. No explanation will be supplied.
"So, why not give them a chance? There's little to lose for most people."
In college, Gamma friend wanted to borrow my code for reference. After turn in, I was called in by the professor for plagiarism.
I got cleared after Gamma friend 'fessed up to what happened, but he held a minor grudge I declined to partner with him in future classes. He dropped out of our major.
TLDR: It's hard to foresee what the lack of empathy and the delusion bubble will lead a Gamma to do.
Because that's not true. There is a lot to lose for most people, particularly women.
Try to see things from someone whose perspective is different than yours, and who has lot to lose.
Are you certain that you're not just concerned about being identified and rejected?
It's the deltas that benefit the most from the ssh.
Being able to spot traits isn't just to prevent a meltdown.
What exactly is the problem with that? This is a non issue except to a gamma who doesn't want to be spotted.
https://www.keenesentinel.com/news/local/monadnock-alumni-seriously-injured-in-arizona-stabbing-incident/article_bc387899-dfef-5f11-b6e2-92e48064e999.html
This is why.
Peregrine, your very comments prove the value of Vox's post, book, and the entire SSH taxonomy. That you cannot see that proves it twice. Almost all of us who come here to read his articles can spot you immediately, allowing us to provide mercy to women and strict boundaries to gamma males
This could be any of the Gammas who were excommunicated. They never forget and seldom learn.
Disliking the book is beyond retarded. The first chapter is completely on point about training AI on bad data leads to model collapse and it’s the same with humans. If you get bad data, you get bad outcomes which is why the book is so important.
For example, in the alpha section Vox talks about their weaknesses of intellectual laziness which felt like a big spotlight was put right in my face. “Damn, he caught me.”
How can you not be grateful that there is hands on advice on how to be better in your given position and even how to survive in a situational role that is not your natural SSH rank.
One more thing, I disagree with the information being free on the blog. The info here is like ore. The book is refined to 99.9999% purity.