Thursday, July 7, 2016

A letter to Gamma

Dear Gamma,

I don't want to despise you. I really don't. We actually have a fair amount in common, you and me. I mean, I'm probably one of the few high-status men with whom you can freely geek out and talk about Warhammer, or AD&D, or The Lord of the Rings; I'm a game designer and an SF/F author, after all.

I don't mind that you're overweight, intelligent, and less attractive to women than you'd like to be. What do I care about any of that? I'm not going to pretend to be interested in your life, nor do I expect you to be particularly interested in mine. I'm perfectly happy to take you as you are when I meet you on the battlefields of Advanced Squad Leader, in the online arenas of the computer gaming world, or at a technology convention.

What I'm trying to say is that I've got nothing against you.

But here is what you don't seem to understand. I have two eyes and I am perfectly capable of seeing what is in front of me. I also have a memory, which means that I am also perfectly capable of recalling what happened yesterday, and the day before that. And what that means is that all the poses you are striking, and all the posturing in which you so regularly engage, simply doesn't fool me at all.

In fact, it doesn't fool anyone. Do you seriously believe it does?

Look, it's okay to lose. Everybody loses from time to time. So, when you're turning red in the face and frantically telling everyone that you didn't really lose when we all saw you do it, well, to be honest, that makes you look a little crazy. It makes you look either weirdly insecure or totally delusional.

And when you insist that you could have totally had that hot blonde chick who was checking you out, but you just didn't feel like it at the moment, it doesn't make me think you've got high standards, or that you're too noble for this world, it makes me think that you're utterly terrified of rejection by women. That, or you're a closet case with a secret stash of International Male catalogs hidden under your bed.

You can't redefine reality. You can't explain away the past. Things are what they are. You have to learn to accept that.

I don't think you're a bad person at heart, but you've got some bad habits and some bad instincts, which combined with your insecurities and your psychological scars from the way people mistreated you when you were younger, causes you to engage in some despicable behaviors. You can't help what happened in the past, but you do control what happens next.

So, for the love of God, for the love of yourself, will you please stop lying to me, stop lying to yourself, and stop insulting both of our intelligences by acting as if you're the secret king who always triumphs, even if the victories are only in your head.

Love,
Sigma

28 comments:

MATT said...

Awwww

Jew613 said...

Such compassion from the Dark Lord, its heartwarming.

Harambe said...

And people said you didn't care.

Josh (the sexiest thing here) said...

THEY WUZ SECRET KANGZ

Anonymous said...

http://i.sli.mg/WuG4nP.png

Alleged FBI whistleblower on Clinton Foundation.

Even if you don't believe, it's still an entertaining read.

Sentient Spud said...

What a nice guy.

Anonymous said...

We tend to think of gammas as guys who live in their mom's basement, but in reality they are present in all walks of life, and in just about every career. If you know what to look for, you'll see them everywhere.

Here's an example of a gamma in action--one who fancies himself a Man of Science, beneath which all should bow to his superior intellect, reason and command of the issues. You'll notice that he petulantly argues with Joe Rogan over minutiae. He can't admit to being wrong, so by finding some minor sliver of contention he can proclaim himself victorious.

It's worth watching till the end just to see him actually physically squirm in his chair when Joe calls him out on his bullshit. You can see his mind desperately racing to try to find some way to regain the upper hand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcvVbAhQEz4

Human Animal said...

We tend to think of gammas as guys who live in their mom's basement, but in reality they are present in all walks of life, and in just about every career. If you know what to look for, you'll see them everywhere.

Gamma is into Lying like a Thug is into Violence. Stop doing it, stop being it, eventually.

Mark K. said...

Watching that Rogan vs Gamma vid is enough to convince me that we would be better off with at least a little more physicality being present in "polite" society. A quick bitch slap to the face in certain situations like this is exactly what the doctor ordered.

Daniel said...

Mom's basement is NOT where Gamma lives. She lives in his head, though.

Basement guy is usually omega. Gamma is social by definition, unfortunately for the rest of us.

Unknown said...

Cry "racism" and "diversity" so you can get the Chinese market:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/27/world/asia/china-doctor-strange-tibet.html?_r=0

Jed Mask said...

Hmmm... Good read. So... what's the Alpha, Beta, Delta or Lambda letter to Gamma's like?

I'd think Gammas and Omegas would get along "okay" despite their "eccentric" differences...?

Anonymous said...

what's the Alpha, Beta, Delta or Lambda letter to Gamma's like?

The Beta is the least explicated rank here. Tempting for some to see him as a greater Delta or a lesser Alpha. My off the cuff thought on the Beta:

Unlike a Delta, effective at leading men, but without the Alpha's ability to inspire devotion.

Unlike a Delta, ability to seduce first-tier women but without the Alpha's magnetism.

PA

Anonymous said...

I'd think Gammas and Omegas would get along "okay" despite their "eccentric" differences...?

More likely a Gamma would bully the Omega. Like Lumbergh humiliating Milton in Office Space. Gammas can't handle power and they abuse it when they have some.

PA

Jehu said...

Betas are the guys in the 80s and low 90s percentiles of the SMP/MMP. Their status is what you need if you want women who aren't overweight (that costs you 50 points in the US right there presently) and who have average or better features (pushing them into the 80th percentiles). Frankly the deal available for deltas (20th to 80th percentile roughly) really sucks right now in the US.

Unknown said...

What a burden superintelligence must be. One has to keep explaining how the lego fits together.

But then, a car made of lego is not a car. The eyes see what the imagination wants them to see. When the mind is narrow or linear in a non-linear world, or focused mainly on the products of its own imagination, it will see little and understand less. This post gives us a glimpse of how that works.

Anonymous said...

I'd think Gammas and Omegas would get along "okay" despite their "eccentric" differences...?

@Jed Mask
Ohhhh no. Most certainly not.

More likely a Gamma would bully the Omega. Like Lumbergh humiliating Milton in Office Space. Gammas can't handle power and they abuse it when they have some.

Exactly. Omegas catch the most grief from gammas and white-knighting deltas.

I wouldn't be surprised if a crucial nitro-boost to Gamergate was the anti-gamma sentiment on the part of omegas.

ScottC said...

Introducing yourself as "high-status" and ending with "a sigma" would only wind this person up. It's a very condescending letter.

Mooga Booga said...

I'm curious. What brought this on? Would I know if I followed Vox on Twitter?

MATT said...

I hate Joe Rogan.

the dude said...

You are a good egg, Mr. Beale I look forward to shaking your hand in this life or the next

Unknown said...

>I don't mind that you're ... intelligent

Why would you mind if someone is intelligent?

Anonymous said...

Off-topic, Scott C, are you the Scott with the Dalrock-inspired web site? Any info on why it went down?

Rob said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

@Jackie DeLister

Gammas have a lot of excuses for why people don't like them. An easy one for an intelligent person to use is "they don't like me because I'm smart" or "they don't like people smarter than them."

While it's possible that the gamma is in fact smarter than the other person, that isn't the reason they're disliked. It's one of many ways the gamma has to salve his wounded pride, but like the others it's dishonest.

Jew613 said...

Gnossos, when the Gamma is genuinely smarter they tend to do everything possible to rub it in the face of the less intelligent.

Public Enemy said...

Wow. This post really hit home. I am a recovering gamma and this nailed me to a "T." The parts about being mistreated when young and lying so much are true of myself every other gamma that I know. The school of hard knocks and swallowing the Red Pill were enough to improve most of my behavior. My life is far better than it was but I still have problems with lying. Game and building self-efficacy through accomplishment work wonders but I am still not "there" yet. The lies I tell are almost always out of a deep sense of shame about who I am and what I have been through but they are still stupid, counterproductive lies. I always feel awful and embarrassed immediately after I tell them.

Public Enemy said...

@Jew613 I used to be that way. Being hated by people cured me of it.

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