Sunday, March 6, 2016

Sigma vs Alpha

So far, the socio-sexual interpretation of the Republican nomination contest remains a reliable predictive model. We've seen the Gamma candidate underperform, wilt under the pressure of Alpha contempt, and disappear from the race. We've seen the Delta, Christie, submit to the Alpha. Now the Beta (assuming the Lambda rumors are untrue) Rubio is on the verge of being chased from the race.

Ted Cruz may be more of a Sigma than I'd thought. His ruthlessness is more indicative of Sigma than Beta, as is the public perception of his weirdness and his increasingly obvious iconoclasm.

So, who wins between Sigma and Alpha? It depends. If the contest comes down to general popularity and enthusiasm, the Alpha will win. If it goes down to game-playing, intrigue, and thinking outside the box, the Sigma will win.


58 comments:

Jew613 said...

VD, were any past presidents sigmas? Or any other national leaders from around the world you can think of?

Beefy Levinson said...

Cruz shot down the idea of a brokered convention. He's more ruthless than the average beta, and he clearly doesn't care that he's the most despised man in Washington. Sigmas aren't really joiners, and it's hard to imagine one actively seeking out any leadership role, let alone one that requires courting voters.

Arthur Isaac said...

The irony of all this has been that Boehner, Tubio, Christie, Romney, Ryan, Romney and the rest of "them" could not bring themselves to attack Pelosi, Obama, or Hillary nearly half as much as Trump.

Who knew that Romney could get this animated?

Arthur Isaac said...

The irony of all this has been that Boehner, Tubio, Christie, Romney, Ryan, Romney and the rest of "them" could not bring themselves to attack Pelosi, Obama, or Hillary nearly half as much as Trump.

Who knew that Romney could get this animated?

Arthur Isaac said...

If I had to stab at a Sigma President it would be Coolidge. Consider the statement attributed to him in the "Coolidge effect".

Anonymous said...

Heidi Cruz ... more like beta.

Sokrates said...

I agree, I was sure Ted Cruz was a Beta but his recent behaviour talks another language. He seems to be more of a Sigma.

From http://freedompowerandwealth.com

Harris said...

Cruz is methodical. It is one of the main reasons I like him. I have a hard time understanding why anyone would ever have classified him as Beta.

Cruz appeals to our reason, not our emotions. I want a President who is a man of reason.

Harris said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Matamoros said...

With Cruz we get another Obama. He is lying, devious and not an American. What more can the globalists want?

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Jehu said...

Cruz is best used as a Supreme Court justice. That's what I'd offer him from Trump's position. All his negatives are positives in a Supreme Court role.

Anonymous said...

"Ted Cruz may be more of a Sigma than I'd thought. His ruthlessness is more indicative of Sigma than Beta, as is the public perception of his weirdness and his increasingly obvious iconoclasm."

C'mon Vox. We all know Sigma's don't eat boogers.

"So, who wins between Sigma and Alpha? It depends. If the contest comes down to general popularity and enthusiasm, the Alpha will win. If it goes down to game-playing, intrigue, and thinking outside the box, the Sigma will win"

Excellent on the breakdown.

Unknown said...

Vox, you must be kidding. I'm Sigma and Cruzer loser is not even close. He may be sleazy, but you gotta be to be on your knees at Sheldon Adelson's Vegas pad. Trump is definitely Alpha material, but Cruzer the loser is just a Gamma dressed up in a monkey suit who learned to play the rigged game at the Pool House of his Masters while he was their favorite Pool Boy.

Brenden said...

There really needs to be a spectrum of the Sigma side. There are plenty of Sigma socio-sexual types that aren't on the level of Alphas. Cruz is basically a Sigma-Gamma.

Brenden said...

There really needs to be a spectrum of the Sigma side. There are plenty of Sigma socio-sexual types that aren't on the level of Alphas. Cruz is basically a Sigma-Gamma.

VD said...

There really needs to be a spectrum of the Sigma side. There are plenty of Sigma socio-sexual types that aren't on the level of Alphas. Cruz is basically a Sigma-Gamma.

Then they aren't Sigma. They're Gamma. Cruz is not a Sigma-Gamma, he's a US freaking Senator with a high-status wife.

VD said...

I'm Sigma and Cruzer loser is not even close.

I very much doubt you understand what Sigma is on the basis of that ludicrous comment.

Student in Blue said...

There are plenty of Sigma socio-sexual types that aren't on the level of Alphas.

So, because there just happens to be so many of these super rare types, there needs to be more classification categories?

Or... you're misclassifying several people as Sigma.

Anonymous said...

"If Cruz is a true Sigma, he'll tell his supporters to vote for Kasich in Ohio and Rubio in Florida. But I'll be shocked if he does that."

Vox you stated this over at Popoli.

If Cruz doesn't follow thru with this. Where would you categorize his socio-sexual rank? Does this just make him a lower ranked Sigma in your view? Or does he drop into a different category all together?

S1AL said...


"So, because there just happens to be so many of these super rare types, there needs to be more classification categories?"

It's more that the Delta and Beta categories don't work well for successful introverts, Beta especially.

Anonymous said...

Gammas can't be sigma by definition because they care about their place in the social game. The whole secret king fantasy and all. One could say there could be sigma-betas and sigma-deltas based on these parts of Vox's definition below. Just change to "sometimes win at it" and "they aren't at the bottom".

"The outsider who doesn't play the social game and manage to win at it anyhow. The sigma is hated by alphas because sigmas are the only men who don't accept or at least acknowledge, however grudgingly, their social dominance."

"they are at the top of the social hierarchy despite their refusal to play by its rules."

Ezekiel said...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMeGxoyDC5o

If Cruz' filibusters look like this, would he still be a Sigma?

Sensei said...

Gammas are gammas and deltas are deltas, but I agree with those who from the beginning have said Sigma needs a "beta" slot. "Tau" would do, and yes half the readership will immediately claim they are Taus and not attempt to improve themselves in any way, but that's only irritating, it doesn't mean it's wrong. The hierarchy really does need a slot on the way from Omega to Sigma.

Unknown said...

Vox, old boy, you've been in Europe too long. Being a Senator means nothing nowadays. Al Gore was a Senator, and Bob Dole was one too, Mr. Nobody in the White House was there and didn't do anything. They never do anything.

Timmy3 said...

I suppose Alphas have scandals that no one cares about. Then Trump and Hillary will just coast along and no one cares. The fight will be who cares less.

It can be argued the liar and Canadian charge against Cruz haven't made much impact for there's nothing new from that front. He's still winning. So Rubio's adultery change will be small potatoes in the scheme of things as he's almost out.

These are new times.

S1AL said...

How is it that everyone sees "senator" and ignores "high-status wife"? The combination of the two is what's important.

Double E said...

How does Psychopathy fit into the socio-sexual hierarchy? I have always got the sociopath vibe very strongly from Cruz. Everything he does seems calculated, even him being "emotional". He is not a very genuine person at all. I agree with Bill Still that he is Clinton 2.0, just with a republican flavor.

tz said...

If a Goldman Geisha constitutes a "high status wife" for a sigma, I prefer Gammas.
Of course if Cruz stabs Beck to death with George Washington's compass given to him by Beck I might reconsider.

Cruz is smarter than Trump but not wiser. Cruz has become a technocrat with his "narwhal" database.

Again, the key question is after the Alpha is mathematically guaranteed to be the only candidate to win, will siggy go for brokered?

tz said...

@EE
1. google "dark triad"
2. see the commentary on Glenn Beck.

Aeoli Pera said...

VD, were any past presidents sigmas? Or any other national leaders from around the world you can think of?

Maybe Madison.

SirHamster said...

@ Aeoli:
Maybe Madison.

What key events/actions put him in that bin?

Aeoli Pera said...

Good question, that's just the vibe I was getting off him. I'll see if I can come up with anything by tomorrow.

Brenden said...

@VD

And ¡Jeb! is the governor of Florida but he's hardly alpha. Cruz' wife is a 7 at the very best career woman who is obviously uncomfortable with him.

Student in Blue said...

@Sensei
Gammas are gammas and deltas are deltas, but I agree with those who from the beginning have said Sigma needs a "beta" slot.

That's only useful if you're trying to misapply the socio-sexual hierarchy as a personality test. The only point of Sigmas is to categorize how loner men outside the hierarchy can still somehow, 'mystifyingly', get high quality women.

In real life however, people aren't perfectly Alpha, Delta, or Gamma. They have traits or aspects of them which pull from different ranks for whatever reason. The only good way to judge how a man ranks overall is by the women he's with. Who and what would a "Tau" be grabbing that's not any different than a low Delta?

Desiderius said...

"VD, were any past presidents sigmas?"

Reagan, Nixon, Coolidge, TR, Grant, Hamilton (not president per se, but had that level of influence, likewise Franklin).

Desiderius said...

"Or any other national leaders from around the world you can think of?"

Churchill and Tallyrand. The original Churchill (Marlborough) was the archetypical sigma.

Double E said...

@TZ

Yeah I understand that "dark triad" men are attractive to women, but most psychopaths don't necessarily have all three of the characteristics.

Sociopathy can appear as a trait across the socio-sexual spectrum and it's not true that every guy with 'anti-social personality disorder', as its called these days, presents as high SMV.

I'm wondering if certain psycopathic behavioral tendencies (such as being coldly calculating) might occasionally allow the person to mimic sigma behavior when really they aren't.

S1AL said...

'Who and what would a "Tau" be grabbing that's not any different than a low Delta?'

Low Delta? I mean... Have you seen the women who marry low deltas? No thank you. High Delta/Beta types who exist outside or on the very fringe of the hierarchy are the point in contention - the ones who don't really give a damn about the hierarchy, but don't pull HB10's. I think Vox lumped them into the high Delta category last time someone asked, but a lot of the determining characteristics (pedestalization, social habits) just don't fit.

Of course, it's mostly just a bunch of navel-gazing at the end of the day.

Audacity17 said...

Ben Carson was asked to sum up the candidates with one word and for Cruz he chose 'relentless'. If true, what does that word signify?

Aeoli Pera said...

@ Aeoli:
Maybe Madison.

What key events/actions put him in that bin?


Okay, I came up with a number of reasons to disqualify him instead. Too popular, too smooth, etc. High-functioning Alpha or Beta if not.

Now I'm thinking probably Andrew Jackson. Didn't know this before, but he had a prolonged Omega phase (including homelessness) that translated into ruthlessness when he was in power. The established powers absolutely hated him. He crusaded against the central bank and cleaned house as president (nowadays dubbed the "spoils system", I think this is just revisionism).

Brenden said...

@Student in Blue

VD classified Cruz as a Sigma, which based on his own definition is absurd. He has a plain wife and was probably mocked by cheerleaders instead of getting a blowjob from the QB's head-cheerleader girlfriend under the bleachers. Vox's definition of Sigma necessitates that Cruz is, or could be, getting the high quality level of women that Trump gets (And no, some corporate striver plain jane is not high quality).

It's certainly not a common socio-sexual type, but those outside the standard hierarchy do exist along a broad range. Vox's Sigma is on par with Alphas. I agree that Cruz is in many ways outside the hierarchy, but put him and Trump in a social setting and Trump will dominate socially, without question. If someone wants to put Cruz in the Alpha-Gamma hierarchy fine, but to suggest that he's a Sigma by Vox's definition is about the stupidest thing I've heard.

Stg58/Animal Mother said...

Just please stop trying to classify presidents. Just. Stop. Reagan a Sigma? Y'all are high on crack.

Sinistar, you're a Sigma just like the 500 other Sigmas that hang out here.

Nate said...

"Vox, you must be kidding. I'm Sigma and Cruzer loser is not even close."

hey dipshit... Are you a US senator? do you have millions of people... and several billionaires... trying to see that you get to be President?

yeah... curious definition of loser you have there.

Anchorman said...

Heidi Cruz is "plain?" At 43, she's put together pretty well.

I've never been a fan of the classifications, though I see their general value as broad categories.

Cruz is ruthless. And his wife follows his lead (changing religious affiliation, cashing all-in for his Sanate bid, etc).

Trump has tumultuous relationships and a carousel of women because he has a different personality. Saying Cruz should have a stable like Trump necessarily misunderstands the difference between how alphas and sigmas approach relationships.

SirHamster said...

Now I'm thinking probably Andrew Jackson.

That one rings true to my weak publicly educated historical knowledge of US presidents. Did many controversial things, DGAF.

This story from wiki strikes me:
The controversy surrounding their marriage remained a sore point for Jackson, who deeply resented attacks on his wife's honor. By May 1806, Charles Dickinson had published an attack on Jackson in the local newspaper, and it resulted in a written challenge from Jackson to a duel. Since Dickinson was considered an expert shot, Jackson determined it would be best to let Dickinson turn and fire first, hoping that his aim might be spoiled in his quickness; Jackson would wait and take careful aim at Dickinson. Dickinson did fire first, hitting Jackson in the chest. The bullet that struck Jackson was so close to his heart that it was never safely removed. Under the rules of dueling, Dickinson had to remain still as Jackson took aim and shot and killed him. Jackson's behavior in the duel outraged men of honor in Tennessee, who called it a brutal, cold-blooded killing and saddled Jackson with a reputation as a violent, vengeful man. As a result, he became a social outcast.

David The Good said...

Polk.

Noah B. said...

Interesting. I would have said that I'm naturally inclined to root for the sigma, but that's certainly not the case here.

Daniel said...

Cruz would be the first Sigma President. I have a sense that his mind is on a bigger prize, however, such as the Supreme Court, where he can be left alone to exert his will.

Dreaming of World Domination since 1989...

Arnold Sigmanegger said...

This post is spot on. Reagan was definitely a sigma, but sometimes a beta.

Carter was definitely alpha.

Matthew said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Matthew said...

And don't forget that Carter has been being a Carpenter with his Houses for Humanity project.

Patrikbc said...

Does it get any more alpha than getting a blowjob in the Oval Office?

Arnold Sigmanegger said...

Sigma too

Harambe said...

Does it get any more alpha than getting a blowjob in the Oval Office?

OMG IKR!?

Aeoli Pera said...

I'm going to have a lot of fun around here in the next week or so.

Unknown said...

Oh gee Senator. Like Bob Dole? John McCain? How about Granny Hillary? Yeah that sure is an exclusive club. What the fuck do these old farts do? It was supposed to be a senior house like the House of Lords, but now its just a bunch of low energy do nothings. Ever watch C-Span live floor debates in the Senate. Wow, almost as entertaining as watching grass grow.
If you're gonna make Senators into the Big Boy Sigmas, then Ted Kennedy, Al Gore, and Ketchup boy John Kerry must be Sigmas too huh? You guys amuse me. Its not what you know, its who you know, or maybe blow.
I can see Cruz on his knees fellating donors for cash. Maybe he was giving backrubs to Sheldon Adelson in his hot tub in Vegas? He may be ambitious, but he looks as soft as the pillsbury doughboy.

Arnold Sigmanegger said...

Oh yeah Joshua Sinistupid, I'm sure Cruz is handing out blowjobs for cash like a Vegas whore. Please tell me you're not really this stupid.

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