this post was submitted on 11 Mar 2024
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Science Memes

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[–] [email protected] 164 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Any time someone uses the terms “alpha”, “beta”, or “sigma” unironically when referring to a person, I immediately write them off as a braindead waste of oxygen.

I’m not even religious, and I’m praying tiktok finally gets banned.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Feel the same way but why did you mention religious in particular? Do they have something against tiktok or something? I hate it for a bunch of reasons but I don't see anything that could be particularly religious.

[–] [email protected] 63 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Probably the "praying" part

[–] [email protected] 37 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Ah ofc I would miss the super obvious one...

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 8 months ago (2 children)
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[–] [email protected] 114 points 8 months ago (3 children)

If you have to tell people you're an alpha, you're not.

[–] [email protected] 137 points 8 months ago (4 children)

There are no human alphas. Without each other we're all weak ass bitches. Just look at the series "Alone". Even the most rugged outdoorsmen absolutely get fucked hard when they are alone.

We're a social species. Our strength is our cooperation. Anyone who thinks he's above the rest kicking ass all alone is just a moron.

[–] [email protected] 121 points 8 months ago (3 children)

There's no wolf alphas in nature neither. It's an old and debunked theory based on studying captive wolves.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-the-alpha-wolf-idea-a-myth/

[–] Voroxpete 101 points 8 months ago (5 children)

To be absolutely clear to anyone who hasn't read about this; it was debunked by the same guy who came up with it in the first place!

The dude studied wolves in captivity, drew conclusions about their behaviour, then applied those studies to wolves in the wild and discovered that he'd got it all wrong. The behaviours that he observed in captive wolves were all stress responses.

[–] [email protected] 49 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Because he’s a good scientist. He followed the evidence, ran a different experiment to test his findings, and followed the evidence again.

[–] Voroxpete 12 points 8 months ago

Absolutely. He had the courage to question his own assumptions when they were challenged by new evidence. Everyone could stand to learn from him.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 8 months ago (1 children)

So, what I'm hearing is that there are human alpha males... but only in prisons. That checks out.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 8 months ago

No no you've got it backwards. Those are just stress responses. Human alphas do exist but you have to put them in the wild with a hungry pack of wolves.

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I found this too be quite interesting:

Toxoplasmosis and Wolves

To me, this makes all the "I'm an alpha, like a wolf" bumble even funnier. Nah, you're just a cat person with poop on the brain.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

Not joining the whole alpha thing but where does alpha get described as lone?

Meme Alphas are purported to be top dog but they still run with a pack

[–] [email protected] 11 points 8 months ago

True. Though I’ll add, none of these people actually are leaders in their friend group or community. They think that being an aggressive ahole makes them a leader when real leadership tends to be about gently convincing people that they want to do what you want done or that they should do it anyways

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[–] [email protected] 57 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Alpha software: broken and incomplete software

Alpha radiation: very little penetration power

[–] [email protected] 16 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

Alpha Centauri: less than a tenth of the mass of Beta Centauri.

[–] maccentric 5 points 8 months ago

Did you just call me fat?

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[–] [email protected] 53 points 8 months ago (1 children)
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[–] [email protected] 48 points 8 months ago (2 children)

i once ended a date by telling her alpha doesn't make sense in humans and she wasn't "alphaing" the conversation by talking more than me...
she abruptly beta-ed the fuck out of there.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Missed opportunity for her to delta outta there instead

[–] [email protected] 5 points 8 months ago

I tried that once but my flight got delayed twice so I flew frontier instead.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Perfect opportunity to howl as she walks away from the table. AR-AR-AROOOOO!!!!

[–] [email protected] 39 points 8 months ago (3 children)

Every time I see people call themselves an alpha I immediately think they’re a/b/o role playing on main. Mind you that kink also involves misunderstanding wolves, but kink is rarely based on reality

[–] [email protected] 15 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Please god please don't bring a/b/o here, Lemmy was my safe space 😭

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

It's alpha as in alpha-stage software. Unfit for production.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago (8 children)

What's a/b/o role playing?

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[–] [email protected] 37 points 8 months ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 48 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Pretty sure that's time line

[–] [email protected] 11 points 8 months ago

Thank you! I legitimately had no idea what that could stand for.

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[–] [email protected] 33 points 8 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 101 points 8 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago
[–] [email protected] 23 points 8 months ago

Just asked ChatGPT what the social structure of a Wolf pack is and it trotted out all the alpha, beta crap, because that’s now what most people believe.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 8 months ago (5 children)
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[–] [email protected] 19 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (2 children)
[–] Tar_alcaran 98 points 8 months ago

I think that's exactly what the meme is about

[–] [email protected] 13 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Lol you get the joke! 7 points for gryffindor

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 8 months ago (1 children)

The only thing I know about wolf socialization is from a documentary I saw where 2 wolves were fucking and the girl wolf's dad came back with the rest of her pack and caught them and when the boy wolf tried to run away he dragged her down like 3/4 of the giant hill they were on by his dick before it popped out. It was one of the funniest things I've ever seen in my life.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 8 months ago

Isn't this the plot of one of those twilight movies

[–] [email protected] 9 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

FoXeS aRe JuSt CaT sOfTwArE rUnNiNg On DoG hArDwArE.

Also rabbits eat carrots, mice eat cheese, and turtles eat pizza

[–] [email protected] 7 points 8 months ago

sigma balls

[–] [email protected] 7 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I think Sigma is more often used to describe misogyny than anything positive, so I'm definitely not that either.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 8 months ago

I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be a mockery of misogyny (or the more general toxic masculity). The Sigma male term was supposedly describing a social outcast who doesn't play the social game but still somehow wins the social game, and thus gets respect and women. Obviously the internet ran with it because it hits the sweetspot of stupidity where it becomes funny

Of course some people actually believe it and use it unironically, but it's mostly about mocking the supposed Greek lettered male classification. Then again memes change in time and maybe it is returning to its original toxic meaning.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 8 months ago

Yes, Xitter is also my platform of choice to consume non-dumb-ass content...

[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Do people just say "type A" personality now? Or describe someone as more "passive" as opposed to "assertive"? The alpha/beta/etc terms are scientifically unreal but it's not like people generally don't know what is being referred to when discussing people's general personality vibes

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