Outsiders who don’t play the social game and manage to win at it anyhow. Alphas hate Sigmas since they're the only men who don’t accept or at least acknowledge their social dominance. (e.g. Alphas absolutely hate to be laughed at, and Sigma’s can enrage Alpha’s by simply smiling at him.) Everyone else is vaguely confused by them. At parties, he’s the guy who stops by to say hello to a few friends accompanied by a tier-one girl no one has ever seen before. Sigmas often like women, but also tend to be contemptuous of them.
Alphas seemingly rule the roost yet live in a world of constant conflict and hierarchical testing. Sigmas usually acquired their outsider status
the hard way; one doesn’t become immune to the social hierarchy by
virtue of mass popularity in one’s childhood.
In the event of all-out conflict between a Sigma and an Alpha, the Sigma will vanish. This may count as victory from the Alpha
perspective, since he retains his control over the hierarchy. But, the victory can be hollow if the Sigma’s a valuable team member.
The wise Alpha will find a way to let the Sigma do his thing separately, but within the larger context of the team. Think skunk works, or IBM setting up its Boca Raton group to develop the PC without the
interference of the larger
organization.
Examples include: the Duke of
Wellington, Orson Welles, (the artist formerly known as) Prince
Originally coined by Vox Day (going as far back on his blog as 2010) as part of the Socio-Sexual-Hierarchy (SSH)