---
title: ▍Why Is Everyone so Boring?
created: 2026-07-23
modified: 2026-07-23
authors: Robin Hanson
category: Podcast
---

> Real people are more often lively, passionate, opinionated, and provocative, and they express more disagreements.

> I see roughly three typical public stances: boring, lively, or outraged. Either you act boring, so the bandits will ignore you, you act lively, and invite bandit attacks, or you act outraged, and play a bandit yourself.

> It takes unusual art, allies, and energy, in a word “eliteness”, to survive while choosing lively.