At least in the developed world, the games we join in adolescence usually take the form of a clique or peer group – a set of people with whom we can comfortably play.

Mothers and fathers in every area wanted the best for their children, but Parkside parents wanted the best: ‘I’m not interested in the normal, I’m interested in the best,’ said one mother. ‘My daughter is extraordinary at chess and ice skating, for which I pay through the nose for her to be extraordinary at.’ Ironically, however, Kusserow found the

Anthropologist Professor Adrie Kusserow has made a fascinating investigation into how social class impacts parenting. She spent time with white parents in three New York City area communities: impoverished Queenston where she ‘could never wear sandals because of all the broken crack vials littering the streets’; patriotic, blue-collar Kelley, its

Our genes also influence how successful we’ll be. People wired to experience greater feelings of thrill and reward when they win are more likely to become wealthy. Most billionaires become billionaires, in part, because they’re monstrously competitive. They may be extroverts who, writes Nettle, ‘tend to be ambitious’ and ‘are prepared to work very

Three major forces conspire to push us in certain directions: genes, upbringing and peer group.

That promised land is a mirage. In our lowest moments, we should remind ourselves of the truth of the dream: that life is not a story, but a game with no end. This means it isn’t a final victory we should seek but simple, humble progress: the never-ending pleasure of moving in the right direction. Nobody wins the status game. They’re not supposed

In this strange and restless dreamworld, we’re continually offered new and shifting symbols of what it is to be a winner: thinner, larger, whiter, darker, smarter, happier, brave-and-sadder with this career triumph and that many likes. I remind myself that these symbols we chase are often no less ridiculous than giant yams and that none of us are

I’m better able to defend my own perception in the understanding that, just because large crowds of smart people have begun believing that which seems crazy, it doesn’t necessarily follow that they’re right. The fact of their numbers doesn’t increase their trustworthiness and neither does their power, platform or intellect. Elites and their games

Competing with the young in games of youth is not just hopeless, it’s dull. The trick is to find new and better games. There are different worlds to explore, in the second half of life, most more meaningful than those of the first.