Microcommunications
How even short bursts of communication can be SSH-significant
As I pointed out yesterday in the post about the British Prime Minister’s nervous laughter in response to being asked an obvious question that exposed his failures as a leader, use of the various forms of the text “lol” tend to be indicative of low SSH status.
Note the words “tend to be indicative” in particular. As with most things SSH-related, indeed, as with most things related to the human condition, this is not a binary state. Ironically, it is most likely to be the Gammas who will attempt to transform this observation into an implacable and iron-clad rule: “you said ‘lol’ in a group chat, that PROVES you’re a Gamma!”
Of course, one datapoint proves nothing at all. In certain contexts, such as an Alpha CEO responding to the 37th meme sent to him that day by his beautiful wife while he’s in a meeting, a brief “lol” probably means nothing more than “for the love of all that is good and holy, woman, stop sending me pictures of cute animals doing funny things every fifteen minutes!” Especially if his entire set of responses consists of alternating “lol” and 👍.
Every aspect of the human condition, and all aspects of the Socio-Sexual Hierarchy, are subject to context and the probability gradient. The more you attempt to force observed pattern, context, and probability into binary rules that you apply to others, the more often you will get it wrong. In short, never be a sperg about these things, they are merely analytical tools, a starting point for a hypothesis that will either be falsified or confirmed through future observation.
The more you do it, the easier it is. One reason I can so quickly identify a Gamma posting a comment on the Internet or a Bravo playing situational Alpha in an office environment is because I have been observing these things for literal decades. I may not have articulated the terms for these things until 2011, but I’d been noticing and paying close attention to the behavioral patterns since college.
One tell means nothing in itself. But it immediately narrows down the field of probabilities. Take, for example, the humble “lol” and consider your automatic response to and interpretation of each of the following short responses in the context of a public group chat in which someone has posted something mildly amusing:
lol
haha
whatever
LMAO!
😏
ha very ha
🤣
ROTFLMAO!
I weep for humanity
Now imagine that the mildly amusing thing was posted by a woman. How does that contextual shift adjust your interpretation of the various responses? And how about if it was posted on a work chat by the boss, and all of the responses are from his subordinates?
The information conveyed even by microcommunications is just one of the reasons why it is futile to attempt to mask your behavioral patterns. In order to modify them, you must first know and understand what they are. It is possible, to a degree. But it is much harder than most men imagine, and even harder to do so successfully on a reliable basis.
Something I've noticed in chat exchanges is the use of LOL as an attempt to soften language. The people doing it are usually highly agreeable, nonconfrontational. Generally women. Often I'll see it along the lines of " I'm stating something mildly uncomfortable, lol." Or "I'm asserting myself lol but not too much". When trying to make plans it will read something like, "I'm down for whatever you want, lol just let me know" then insert a bunch of smiley faces. It seems the more fear prone the person the more likely they'll pepper texts with lols and emojis.
Gammas seem to rely on imaginary rules to bolster up their delusion bubble, even if it is not always explicit. This can lead to ridiculous scenarios where the Gamma ignores all context. "Vox told people to shut up. I did too, so now I am the Alpha. Oh, it did not work out, so then Vox can not be a Sigma."
It seems to also be the case that Gammas often intentionally speak with a non-serious, unauthoritative tone. Then they can claim the excuse that it was all nonintentional and nonconfrontational if someone calls them out, joke is on you! Unlike women who genuinely want to be unthreatening and subordinate, Gammas often are confrontational though.