1019

Some of the many articles about it:

The notion that wolves fight amongst each other and the strongest becomes the "alpha" and the weakest is the "omega" and all that, is a misconception that has been debunked ages ago, and even the author of the study who called them "alphas" in the first place is pleading with his old publisher to stop printing the dang book already so this misconception can finally die out.

Wolf packs are more or less just families. One "breeding pair" and their pups, which often stay with their parents way into adulthood.

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] agitatedpotato@lemmy.dbzer0.com 209 points 1 year ago

Considering the original study only documented Wolves in captivity I explain it like this: Alpha, Beta, Sigma, whatever, is just the type of prison bitch you'd be, so congrats.

[-] justlookingfordragon@lemmy.world 114 points 1 year ago

Exactly this. Put any one species into a tiny depressing enclosure with way too many strangers and way too little food, and they will fight and establish a pecking order eventually. This has nothing to do with how the same species would behave in the wild and with enough resources to live comfortably, and the author realized that mistake years ago and is since trying to correct it.

But I guess the entire "alpha male" thing is just too popular with certain people ... ahem.

[-] Synnr@sopuli.xyz 24 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I chuckle inside and exit the room at the first chance when someone non-jokingly refers to themselves as an alpha male. And that's not because I'm afraid of them--the fact is that I'm the alpha male.

/s

Humans in packed cities could be described in a similar way though, if there's not a social reinforcement in place, by the community elders who are respected and followed, to keep them from it. I live in a medium sized city now because of work, but even still I can relate to the rats [I'm aware of the studies flaws].

Put any one species into a [packed] depressing [space] with way too many strangers and way too [varied amounts of resources per individual], and they will fight and establish a pecking order eventually. This has nothing to do with how the same species would behave in the wild and with enough resources to live comfortably.

I grew up in the country with tens of acres and my nearest neighbor was a mile away. Separated from the small town nearby by a river and surrounded by thick hedgerows going miles around in every direction, with a huge open space (fields) between our house and the hedgerows. I've never been happy in the city. No matter where I am, I feel like I'm in a cage. I'm not agoraphobic but there's a sense of being 'watched' when I leave my house that just isn't there when you live in a remote area. All the people, sights, sounds, smells can be incredibly overwhelming at times.

I am only capable of attaining a true level of peace when I'm in nature.

load more comments (2 replies)
[-] PixxlMan@lemmy.world 18 points 1 year ago

Whether or not it's a real concept doesn't matter to these people, all that matters is whether it appeals to their pre conceived notions or not.

[-] VikingHippie@lemmy.wtf 16 points 1 year ago

Also a great argument for the fact that caging humans doesn't change anything in a positive direction. Especially when you enslave them too like in countries with barbaric penal systems such as the US.

[-] justlookingfordragon@lemmy.world 14 points 1 year ago

The sad part is that a no small amount of prisons (especially "for profit" prisons) don't have the end goal of rehabiliting the inmates in the first place. It's all about cheap labor. They don't want to change anything into a positive direction.

load more comments (2 replies)
[-] mycatiskai@lemmy.one 13 points 1 year ago

Funny that pecking order is something you see in chickens. So these human alpha males are copying hen behavior.

[-] snooggums@kbin.social 9 points 1 year ago

We see it chickens that are in a prison like environment.

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[-] Preciseid@lemmy.world 95 points 1 year ago
[-] PorkTaco@sh.itjust.works 44 points 1 year ago

Alpha: Incomplete, generally unstable and full of errors.

[-] VikingHippie@lemmy.wtf 29 points 1 year ago

Also, not fit for public consumption

load more comments (2 replies)
[-] CatZoomies@lemmy.world 11 points 1 year ago

In other related news, the makers of these shirts watched their stock prices plummet today:

[-] dipshit@lemmy.world 21 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I’m not sure ‘alphas’ are the target market for this shirt.

Actually, I’d love to see this shirt on self-proclaimed alphas. Would be so.. badass…

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] lingh0e@lemmy.film 15 points 1 year ago

The magic of Three Wolf Moon exists on an entirely different plane than anything else wolf related. Those wolves are no longer a one-man wolfpack.

[-] snooggums@kbin.social 7 points 1 year ago

But that is a group photo, nothing alpha about it.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 74 points 1 year ago

Ironically its that they don't have "alphas" in the wild because they just separate and leave each other alone...

For humans in school, prisons, and even just work environments we're a lot more like captive wolves than wild

This terminology arose from research done on captive wolf packs in the mid-20th century—but captive packs are nothing like wild ones, Mech says. When keeping wolves in captivity, humans typically throw together adult animals with no shared kinship. In these cases, a dominance hierarchy arises, Mech adds, but it’s the animal equivalent of what might happen in a human prison, not the way wolves behave when they are left to their own devices.

That being said, any person describing themselves as an alpha is usually a big piece of shit.

[-] justlookingfordragon@lemmy.world 57 points 1 year ago

Personally, I like the "alpha as in new software" approach: Alpha version = unstable, missing important features, filled with flaws, prone to breakdown and not fit for the public.

load more comments (3 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[-] mean_bean279@lemmy.world 51 points 1 year ago

A lot of guys have started calling themselves sigma males, but i just approach them and tell them I'm a Smegma male which is over a sigma male. 😤 these are facts that cannot be disputed.

[-] MrTulip@lemmy.dbzer0.com 22 points 1 year ago
[-] LemmyNameMyself@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

Me? I'm more of a π-male myself

load more comments (3 replies)
load more comments (4 replies)
[-] ipkpjersi@lemmy.ml 49 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Just like the vaccines cause autism study, this won't ever die out. People only ever remember the original.

[-] sebinspace@lemmy.world 23 points 1 year ago

People only ever remember the original.

And only partially so. Conveniently, they forget the part where, IIRC, guy was just trying to promote his own vaccine

[-] PM_ME_FEET_PICS@sh.itjust.works 9 points 1 year ago

Ironic. It wasn't his own vaccine. It was two vaccines that he held stock in.

[-] Iron_Lynx@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

His name was on the patent. There was a second name on it as well, and that guy was someone whom the first cited. This second guy lost his license two years before publishing his paper, that the infamous one cited.

load more comments (3 replies)
[-] TrickDacy@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

Yeah, I tried explaining this to a "dog person" and they wanted no part of it. It was like telling a child Santa Claus wasn't real or something

load more comments (3 replies)
[-] meldroc@lemmy.world 35 points 1 year ago

These days, the only people still using this debunked wolf talk are douchebros, chuds, & incels.

load more comments (2 replies)
[-] Sabre363@sh.itjust.works 35 points 1 year ago

Try telling Andrew Taint this

[-] WarmSoda@lemm.ee 21 points 1 year ago

I tried, but I don't know the address to the prison he's in.

[-] justlookingfordragon@lemmy.world 21 points 1 year ago

...so he can have a total meltdown over an internet stranger again? =P

[-] pingveno@kbin.social 26 points 1 year ago

I just call them good doggos. Is that okay?

[-] sirico@feddit.uk 20 points 1 year ago
[-] okamiueru@lemmy.world 21 points 1 year ago

Indeed. There are many still who are making big bucks on this misconception. The worst offender in my opinion is "The dog whisperer", who is likely the worst well known dog trainer, and has done (and still does) a lot of damage. The whole basis for his school of thought is based on this alpha/beta/omega hierarchy.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago

I only watched his show once and it was so clear that he was abusive that I couldn't even watch the whole episode. Just disgusting.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] twelvefloatinghands@lemmy.world 19 points 1 year ago

Chimpanzees do, though (source). and they're closer to humans than wolves.

The whole alpha wolf thing kind of sounds like projection.

[-] DragonTypeWyvern@literature.cafe 11 points 1 year ago

I don't mind calling the posers prime chimps.

[-] twelvefloatinghands@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Honestly, that feels like giving them too much credit. Chimps are fucking terrifying. The more I learn about them, the more I wonder "jesus fucking christ, how badass/insane was Jane Goodall?!". Those things are the closest things to real demons I've ever heard about.

Edit: well, aside from particularly unhinged humans

[-] orichalcum00@lemm.ee 7 points 1 year ago

Yeah but bonobos are close to chimpanzees and humans too yet they have totally different culture than chimpanzees.

In fact, bonobos used to be a subspecies of chimpanzees but because that nonviolent culture, they've become their own species.

load more comments (5 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[-] Classy@sh.itjust.works 18 points 1 year ago

Alpha hyenas, however, those are definitely real. But they're boss babes so the PUAs can't work with that

[-] ICastFist@programming.dev 12 points 1 year ago

Alpha dommy mommies

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] Ozymati@lemmy.nz 14 points 1 year ago

I'm pretty sure Moon Moon is an alpha version wolf.

[-] aliser@lemmy.world 11 points 1 year ago

LIES, EVERYONE KNOWS I'M THE ALPHA AWOOOOOO 🐺🐺🐺

[-] squib@kbin.social 10 points 1 year ago

People who say alpha wolves don't exist obviously never seen me crankin my hog. ARRRROOOOOOOO

[-] 567PrimeMover@kbin.social 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

HE'LL YEAH BROTHER NOTHING LIKE CRANKING A COLD ONE AFTER CRACKING YOURE HOG AROOOOOOO

[-] Blackmist@feddit.uk 10 points 1 year ago

They're called High Value Wolves these days.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] Mr_Blott@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago

I mean if you believed that shit in the first place you're probably not going to believe this post eh

[-] SocialMediaRefugee@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

At least it helps point out the awful people who use the terms "Alpha" and "Beta" unironically to describe people.

[-] Scrof@sopuli.xyz 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Wolves are also scavengers and would gladly eat rotten corpses, trash and literal shit (just like dogs).

load more comments
view more: next ›
this post was submitted on 10 Oct 2023
1019 points (97.4% liked)

You Should Know

33195 readers
38 users here now

YSK - for all the things that can make your life easier!

The rules for posting and commenting, besides the rules defined here for lemmy.world, are as follows:

Rules (interactive)


Rule 1- All posts must begin with YSK.

All posts must begin with YSK. If you're a Mastodon user, then include YSK after @youshouldknow. This is a community to share tips and tricks that will help you improve your life.



Rule 2- Your post body text must include the reason "Why" YSK:

**In your post's text body, you must include the reason "Why" YSK: It’s helpful for readability, and informs readers about the importance of the content. **



Rule 3- Do not seek mental, medical and professional help here.

Do not seek mental, medical and professional help here. Breaking this rule will not get you or your post removed, but it will put you at risk, and possibly in danger.



Rule 4- No self promotion or upvote-farming of any kind.

That's it.



Rule 5- No baiting or sealioning or promoting an agenda.

Posts and comments which, instead of being of an innocuous nature, are specifically intended (based on reports and in the opinion of our crack moderation team) to bait users into ideological wars on charged political topics will be removed and the authors warned - or banned - depending on severity.



Rule 6- Regarding non-YSK posts.

Provided it is about the community itself, you may post non-YSK posts using the [META] tag on your post title.



Rule 7- You can't harass or disturb other members.

If you harass or discriminate against any individual member, you will be removed.

If you are a member, sympathizer or a resemblant of a movement that is known to largely hate, mock, discriminate against, and/or want to take lives of a group of people and you were provably vocal about your hate, then you will be banned on sight.

For further explanation, clarification and feedback about this rule, you may follow this link.



Rule 8- All comments should try to stay relevant to their parent content.



Rule 9- Reposts from other platforms are not allowed.

Let everyone have their own content.



Rule 10- The majority of bots aren't allowed to participate here.

Unless included in our Whitelist for Bots, your bot will not be allowed to participate in this community. To have your bot whitelisted, please contact the moderators for a short review.



Partnered Communities:

You can view our partnered communities list by following this link. To partner with our community and be included, you are free to message the moderators or comment on a pinned post.

Community Moderation

For inquiry on becoming a moderator of this community, you may comment on the pinned post of the time, or simply shoot a message to the current moderators.

Credits

Our icon(masterpiece) was made by @clen15!

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS