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Comment by johnsimer | Hacker News Reader

I (almost) met Patrick Collison at a conference a month ago where he gave a talk. He seemed extremely smart and interesting and I had no idea he was rich and famous. So after he gives his talk, I stand in line to get his phone number to see if we could meet up sometime so that I could pick his brain. While I was in line to talk to him, I mentioned to the guy next to me "Man that guy sure is interesting", and he said "Yeah, most billionaires are pretty smart".

I was floored that Patrick was a billionaire, and then got super nervous and exited the line.

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What is that makes people so intimidated about addressing someeone rich or famous? I see it all the time. Why put yourself beneath him, you’re a human being and so is he, he goes to the toilet and takes a dump and so do you. He will die and so will you. We’re all just people.

> he goes to the toilet and takes a dump and so do you

I say the same exact thing to my friends who are mesmerized by rich and famous people. Both money and fame are man-made and didn't exist in pre-historic reptile era of the earth.

Alpha males has been a part of animal (including human) psychology for millions of years.

The concept of "alpha" leaders, especially as derived from wolf pack behavior, has been largely debunked. It was based on faulty research.

There are still hierarchies. Both male and female hierarchies are present in primates. It's not alpha and the rest, it's the whole alphabet and each level dominates the next.

Whenever the hierarchies are unestable primates can behave very violently. Hierarchies preserve status quo and reduce violence.

Also, the studies done with Bonobos were flawed as well, because they were only studied in captivity. Bonobos when free are only a bit less aggressive than chimpanzees, and they don't avoid all violence by using sex.

tell me more. I wasn't really thinking of wolf-pack behavior, but rather most primates.

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