Jay Van Bavel, PhD
@jayvanbavel
May 13
Academia in a nutshell: We are status-seeking chimps searching for status through a tiny number of journals. This is not particularly healthy nor efficient.
Chris Blattman
@cblatts
May 13
Replying to @cblatts
At the end of the day, every human being is just a status-seeking chimpanzee. And we are status-seeking chimpanzees where a main thing that gives us status and validation has amazing diminishing marginal returns and a weird discontinuity at the "top 5"

May 13, 2026 · 3:43 PM UTC

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Big @wstorr Energy! And don't get @katrosenfield started on chimps.
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Jay Van Bavel, PhD
@jayvanbavel
May 14
Yes, @Wstorr has the best book on status that I've read.
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"You don’t understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender, I could’ve been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am.” Marlon Brando — On the Waterfront (1954)
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I don't know, economists seeing everybody as chimpanzees is on par for them. But that's part of the problem with economists.
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Ergomorph 🌉⏩ 🇺🇸🦅
@mathepi
May 14
what do you want from people? if you want people to value learning you have to tolerate some egotistical eggheads...there are worse things in the world
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Nope. It is just Jay Van Bavel being a performing chimpanzee
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I’ve pursued an alternative strategy. Find an important problem that you probably can’t solve in your lifetime. Contribute to solving it. Profit.
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Took me a while to realize that, not gonna lie 🤷‍♂️
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The end of the day, is a small part of the day. 😉
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Says the man with "PhD" after his "X" handle...
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"Status seeking chimps" ... well, "chimps" maybe be over the top, but yes our instincts can lead us to servile addiction. see VTA and brain's "reward circuitry". As with use of such as meth, certain events / actions trigger a burst release of dopamine i.e. pleasure! cc: @cblatts
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