Wired for Status

Our yearning to be larger than ourselves

Humans yearn for the most efficient path to high status. This is why status games weigh more than physical games to us. Daredevil body-bruising stunts to gain the adulation of strangers? A worthwhile tradeoff for many. We revel more in the expansion of being and spirit over mere physical satisfaction.

We are creatures wired for status.

This is why pure behaviorism presents unsatisfying explanations to what drives humanity. This is why Adam Smith’s utility-maximizing homo economicus faces hard limits. Status-seeking is likely an evolutionary quirk, an appendage brought about by social cohesion as a means to gain reproductive advantage.

We tend to prioritize the show-off option over the happiness-maximizing option. We willingly break the sense of presence in a concert to raise our phones and take Instagram videos no one will bother to watch. We chase more Os in our bank accounts not for future pleasure or freedom, but simply as a path to showing off.

Pride is indeed our original sin, along with its twins — vanity and prestige. All the world’s troubles stem from man’s desire to feel superior over another.

Our happiness is never a function of absolute well-being, but rather of relative advantage. The hedonic treadmill exists on top of this premise. We don’t seek to be happy, not really — just happier than our neighbors. Comparison is the thief, yes, but also the unfortunate source of joy.

Status-seeking spares no one — geniuses, midwits, and fools all fall victim to it. We can only learn to be vigilant because it is so deeply entrenched in human nature. The moments of glory are just so hard to resist. Deep down, we all yearn to be larger than ourselves.