Some of the many articles about it:
The notion that wolves fight amongst each other and the strongest becomes the “alpha” and the weakest is the “omega” and all that, is a misconception that has been debunked ages ago, and even the author of the study who called them “alphas” in the first place is pleading with his old publisher to stop printing the dang book already so this misconception can finally die out.
Wolf packs are more or less just families. One “breeding pair” and their pups, which often stay with their parents way into adulthood.
Ironically its that they don’t have “alphas” in the wild because they just separate and leave each other alone…
For humans in school, prisons, and even just work environments we’re a lot more like captive wolves than wild
That being said, any person describing themselves as an alpha is usually a big piece of shit.
Personally, I like the “alpha as in new software” approach: Alpha version = unstable, missing important features, filled with flaws, prone to breakdown and not fit for the public.
Oh I’m definitely stealing this my dear. That’s gold
I can see myself coming up to a Alfa dude and say "are you Alfa Wolf as in a wolf stuck in captivity or Alfa Wolf as in the first and incomplete version of a wolf
I actually met and interviewed Mech some years ago while working on a story regarding wolves in Oregon. He was a kind and very approachable person.
Fun fact; his name is pronounced “Meech,” not “mech” as in “mechanic.”