241 - The Status Game - Will Storr

In this episode we welcome back author Will Storr whose new book, The Status Game, feels like required reading for anyone confused, curious, or worried about how politics, cults, conspiracy theories communities, social media, religious fundamentalism, polarization, and extremism are affecting us - everywhere, on and offline, across cultures, and across the world. What is The Status Game? It’s our primate propensity to perpetually pursue points that will provide a higher level of regard among the people who can (if we provoked such a response) take those points away. And deeper still, it’s the propensity to, once we find a group of people who regularly give us those points, care about what they think more than just about anything else. In the interview, we discuss our inescapable obsession with reputation and why we are deeply motivated to avoid losing this game through the fear of shame, ostracism, embarrassment, and humiliation while also deeply motivated to win this game by earning what will provide pride, fame, adoration, respect, and status. Live Event at Caveat: https://caveat.nyc/event/how-minds-change-9-20-2022  How Minds Change: www.davidmcraney.com/howmindschangehome Show Notes: www.youarenotsosmart.com  Newsletter: https://davidmcraney.substack.com Will Storr’s Website: https://willstorr.com  Patreon: http://patreon.com/youarenotsosmart

An episode of the You Are Not So Smart podcast, hosted by You Are Not So Smart, titled "241 - The Status Game - Will Storr" was published on September 4, 2022 and runs 77 minutes.

September 4, 2022 ·77m · You Are Not So Smart

Summary

In this episode we welcome back author Will Storr whose new book, The Status Game, feels like required reading for anyone confused, curious, or worried about how politics, cults, conspiracy theories communities, social media, religious fundamentalism, polarization, and extremism are affecting us - everywhere, on and offline, across cultures, and across the world. What is The Status Game? It’s our primate propensity to perpetually pursue points that will provide a higher level of regard among the people who can (if we provoked such a response) take those points away. And deeper still, it’s the propensity to, once we find a group of people who regularly give us those points, care about what they think more than just about anything else. In the interview, we discuss our inescapable obsession with reputation and why we are deeply motivated to avoid losing this game through the fear of shame, ostracism, embarrassment, and humiliation while also deeply motivated to win this game by earning what will provide pride, fame, adoration, respect, and status. Live Event at Caveat: https://caveat.nyc/event/how-minds-change-9-20-2022  How Minds Change: www.davidmcraney.com/howmindschangehome Show Notes: www.youarenotsosmart.com  Newsletter: https://davidmcraney.substack.com Will Storr’s Website: https://willstorr.com  Patreon: http://patreon.com/youarenotsosmart

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