
Why Men Are at the Top of Society (and the bottom) - Roy Baumeister - #1075
Modern Wisdom
03/23/26
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Roy Baumeister is a psychologist, professor, and researcher.
Are men inherently more expendable from an evolutionary standpoint—and if so, has that dynamic helped drive innovation? If risk-taking outliers are often responsible for progress, what does that say about the role men play in shaping civilisation? And does this tradeoff come at the cost of higher failure, instability, and sacrifice along the way?
Expect to learn why cultures flourish when they exploit men and what that actually means, why men have ended up in higher positions in society and if civilisation runs on male competition, why men are so much more likely to take physical, financial, and social risks, if risk-taking men are necessary for progress, what people do not understand about self-destructive male behaviours and much more...
Timestamps:
(0:00) Why Men Are Seen as More Expendable (7:27) The Hidden Power of Intrasexual Competition (13:25) How Female Choice Drives Male Ambition (15:55) Why Men Vary More Than Women (22:12) The Real Driver of Differences Between the Sexes (29:21) Why Men Take More Risks Than Women (33:14) What is the Imaginary Feminist? (35:56) Is Modern Gender Discourse Broken? (45:36) Has Feminism Changed How We Protect Women? (51:55) What Happens When Male Sacrifice Isn’t Rewarded? (54:07) Why Ego Depletion is Under Attack (59:15) The Strongest Critiques of Willpower (01:05:47) How to Improve Willpower and Self-Control (01:10:53) Porn is Damaging Sexual Novelty (01:21:11) How Does Sexual Novelty Affect Female Desire? (01:29:00) Where to Find Roy
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Episodes You Might Enjoy:
#577 - David Goggins - This Is How To Master Your Life: lnkfi.re/SN-Goggins
#712 - Dr Jordan Peterson - How To Destroy Your Negative Beliefs: lnkfi.re/SN-Peterson
#700 - Dr Andrew Huberman - The Secret Tools To Hack Your Brain: lnkfi.re/SN-Huberman
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Previous Episode
Nir Eyal is an author, behavioural design expert, and investor. What does it mean to truly hold a belief you endorse? Maybe some of what we believe isn’t true. But more interesting is how beliefs are formed, and how they can be reshaped. So how do you update your beliefs in a way that actually serves you, rather than holds you back? Expect to learn why beliefs are so important and why they are just tools not truths, what’s wrong with the traditional view of behaviour change and motivation, why smart, disciplined people still quit when their beliefs weaken, how big of a problem limiting beliefs are, how to reframe rejection and failure, why rumination feels productive when it’s actually destructive, how to audit your beliefs and much more...
Timestamps:
(0:00) Why Belief Shapes Everything You Do (7:43) Are Spirituals Beliefs Weaker Than Religious Beliefs? (11:32) The Power of Choosing What You Believe (16:34) Why You Shouldn’t Treat Beliefs as Fact (20:17) Can Belief Be Engineered? (28:58) Rumination: Helpful or Harmful? (30:57) How to Rebuild Belief After Failure (38:28) Can You Really Create Your Own Luck? (41:19) You’ll Always Find Negativity If You Look For It (46:24) How Beliefs Can Physically Affect Your Body (52:29) How to Break Free From Limiting Beliefs (01:03:38) The Challenge Behind Changing Health Beliefs (01:08:18) You Have More Agency Than You Think (01:13:05) Why the Brain Defaults to Helplessness (01:15:37) You Need to Believe in Your Potential (01:21:46) The Placebo Prayer Protocol (01:26:34) Where to Find Nir
Sponsors:
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New pricing since recording: Function is now just $365, plus get $25 off at https://functionhealth.com/modernwisdom
Extra Stuff:
Check out Nir's new book: http://geni.us/beyondbelief
Free belief change guide Nir mentioned is here: http://nirandfar.com/belief-change
Bonus content and the 30-Day Belief Transformation Journal: http://nirandfar.com/beyond-belief
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Get my free reading list of 100 books to read before you die: https://chriswillx.com/books
Try my productivity energy drink Neutonic: https://neutonic.com/modernwisdom
Episodes You Might Enjoy:
#577 - David Goggins - This Is How To Master Your Life:
#577 - David Goggins - This Is How To Master Your Life: lnkfi.re/SN-Goggins
#712 - Dr Jordan Peterson - How To Destroy Your Negative Beliefs: lnkfi.re/SN-Peterson
#700 - Dr Andrew Huberman - The Secret Tools To Hack Your Brain: lnkfi.re/SN-Huberman
-
Get In Touch:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/modernwisdompodcast
Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact
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Next Episode
Will Guidara is a restaurateur, hospitality expert, and author.
What does it take to become the world’s best restaurant? In an era of extravagant dining and over-the-top experiences, the answer might be simpler than you think. So what actually separates the best from the rest?
Expect to learn the biggest differences between service and hospitality, how Will went from #50 in the world to #1, how to operationalise magic and why most companies forget the human they are supposed to serve, which tricks of hospitality from well known restaurants most people probably overlook or don’t notice, what the one thing I should get right if you want to run a successful restaurant is and much more...
Timestamps:
(0:00) Would Your Younger Self Be Proud of Who You’ve Become? (5:17) How Will’s Father Shaped His Career (10:54) Building the Best Restaurant in the World (14:30) Why Experience is Everything in Hospitality (17:15) The Hot Dog That Changed Everything (24:15) Going the Extra Mile For Every Guest (29:01) Why Businesses Forget the Human Touch (31:21) The Power of Mastering Your Touch Points (42:26) The Smartest Marketing Moves That Work (48:11) When Taking Life Too Seriously Backfires (52:33) Think Big But Be Patient in Pursuit (54:00) The Cost of Becoming #1 (01:03:25) Where to Find Will
Sponsors:
See discounts for all the products I use and recommend: https://chriswillx.com/deals
Get 35% off your first subscription on the best supplements from Momentous at https://livemomentous.com/modernwisdom
Get a free bottle of D3K2, an AG1 Welcome Kit, and more when you first subscribe at https://ag1.info/modernwisdom
Get a Free Sample Pack of LMNT’s most popular flavours with your first purchase at https://drinklmnt.com/modernwisdom
Get up to $50 off the RP Hypertrophy App at https://rpstrength.com/modernwisdom
Extra Stuff:
Get my free reading list of 100 books to read before you die: https://chriswillx.com/books
Try my productivity energy drink Neutonic: https://neutonic.com/modernwisdom
Episodes You Might Enjoy:
#577 - David Goggins - This Is How To Master Your Life: lnkfi.re/SN-Goggins
#712 - Dr Jordan Peterson - How To Destroy Your Negative Beliefs: lnkfi.re/SN-Peterson
#700 - Dr Andrew Huberman - The Secret Tools To Hack Your Brain: lnkfi.re/SN-Huberman
-
Get In Touch:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/modernwisdompodcast
Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact
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Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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