My New Lecture Series, Heretics, The Warren Buffet Test

My new lecture series is now available

You can now watch or listen to my recent conversation with Andrew Gold on the Heretics podcast.

Links for Spotify and Apple Podcast.

---

The Psychology of Social Status

My new lecture series “The Psychology of Social Status” is now available exclusively at Peterson Academy.

I delivered six lectures in front of a live studio audience, exploring the psychology of social status, examining its evolutionary roots, developmental origins, and the fundamental role it plays in shaping human behavior. We examine individual differences in status-seeking, the evolutionary reasons behind status pursuit, and the complex relationships between status, envy, emotions, and intrasexual competition for romantic partners. We also investigate the dynamics of social status in relation to stories, plot lines, and arenas of competition, and concludes by discussing the concept of luxury beliefs and their impact on society.

Enroll here for immediate access.

Here’s the trailer:

---

From the archives

Parental Selection in Human Evolution and the hidden reason why babies cry

Parental Selection in Human Evolution

---

Links and recommendations

• We’re Making Troubled: The Movie! by

  Ted Balaker

• John Rawls and the death of Western Marxism by

  Joseph Heath

• Loopholes! by

  Paul Bloom

• notes on aging, by me (aging woman) by

  father_karine

• Normophobia by

  Mary Harrington

• The Ideal Literary Editor by

  Alex Perez

• The Most And Least Attractive Male Hobbies by Alexander & Caitlin

• Follow me on Instagram here. The platform is less volatile and more chill than Twitter/X, so I post some spicier excerpts from my readings on my IG stories

• You can follow me on TikTok here

---

Three interesting findings

1. 4 out of 10 Gen Z'ers believe that the founders of the United States are better described as villains than as heroes. Somewhere along the line, a significant portion of young adults developed the idea that America's founders were more evil than good. (source: Generations by Jean Twenge)

2. In 1955, during the age of McCarthy and anti-communist fear, 9% of social scientists said they toned down their writing for fear of causing controversy. Today, 25% say they're very or extremely likely to self-censor their writing in academic publications. Forty percent of liberal professors say they are afraid they’ll lose their jobs over a misunderstanding. (source).

3. The Warren Buffet test to determine whether you live a blessed life (source):