This book review was written by Eugene Kernes
“We don’t feel like players of games. We feel like heroes in stories. This is the illusion the brain spins for us. It makes us feel as if we are the hero at the centre of the universe, orbited by a cast of supporting characters. The goals of our lives are the plots that consume us, as we overcome obstacles and strive nobly towards happy endings. This brain-generated story is self-serving, motivating and convincing in its tiniest details. It feels real because it’s the only reality we know. But it’s a lie.” – Will Storr, Chapter 3: An Imagined World of Symbols, Page 32
“Much of the rest of human life is comprised of three varieties of status-striving and three varieties of game: dominance, virtue and success. In dominance games, status is coerced by force or fear. In virtue games, status is awarded to players who are conspicuously dutiful, obedient and moralistic. In success games, status is awarded for the achievement of closely specified outcomes, beyond simply winning, that require skill, talent or knowledge.” – Will Storr, Chapter 5: The Three Games, Page 51
“There’s no happy ending.
That’s the bad news. But this is
not how life feels. To be alive, and to
be psychologically healthy, is to be vulnerable to the story of consciousness
that tells us that with one particular victory, with that peak finally
climbed, we’ll be satisfied. Peace,
happiness and delicious stillness will be ours.
This, sadly, is a delusion. We’ll
never get there because partly what we’re doing is playing a game for
status. And the problem with status is,
no matter how much we win, we’re never satisfied. We always want more. This is the flaw in the human condition that
keeps us playing.” – Will Storr, Chapter 11: The Flaw, Page 101
Is This An Overview?
Status is a social resource.
People seek to obtain status, and fear the loss of status. Status is made through social interaction, by
being superior to others. Status is a
source of meaning, and can be found in any system that has people interacting
with each other. Gaining status brings
joy, while losing status feels dreadful.
Status can inspire people to attain skills, and knowledge, and develop
inventions and create wealth that improves society. Status can cause people to lie, cheat, and
commit atrocious acts. For status, each
individual becomes the protagonist of the story, that they are a better person,
no matter their behavior. The flaw with
status is that status is insatiable. The
expected happiness after an achievement, is transient. Causing people to keep playing the status
games. The want for sustained happiness
cannot be earned by playing the status game.
The way to earn status depends on the game being
played. There are three types of
games. A single type might be prominent
in an interaction, but status games are usually a mix of the types. The three types of games are dominance games,
virtue games, and success games.
Dominance games are about coercion and fear. Virtue games are about being conspicuously
dutiful, obedient, and moralistic.
Success games are about achievement of outcomes. Different cultures have different ways to
attain status or lose it. Status in one
game, does not necessarily transfer to having status in another game.
Humans are social animals, and have a desire to belong. While belonging in a group can be mentally
and physically rewarding, isolation can make people unhealthy. Being part of a group changes how people
think, deferring to the group and accepting the groups’ values as their
own. People will even believe very wrong
ideas to be part of the group. To be
part of a status game, the brain filters and distorts information received,
interprets information in a self-serving way.
Simplifying reality to make the individual and their group appear better
than others.
Caveats?
Diverse examples on the effects of
status are provided, but they are explained in a similar manner. There is a systematic analysis of status, but
the information can become repetitive.
