How to Have High Status Without Winning Any Prizes

We all crave status. We all want to be the best in our field. We would like to win a promotion, an Olympic medal, a Nobel prize, an Oscar, a Grammy, a Pulitzer. There is no point denying it. We all want plaudits and praise, social status heaped upon us.

There are evolutionary reasons for this. Status indicates that we have resources to spare. If we are deemed ‘best’, it…