Thanks Tom! Absolutely agree that status is not just state, but also trait, and that the two interact in really interesting ways. And then of course also the power of context — what the situation is, who else is there, what your goals are — etc.

Johnstone has a quote that I deleted from the final draft about how once you see status, you see it everywhere, and he wasn’t wrong. I went a bit nutty for a few days meta-cognitively analyzing every conversation and it really was astonishing.

But I too loathe false dichotomies and explain-alls. I was riding off of Johnstone’s confidence and being playful with the click-baiting. Glad the caveats came through. :)

Best of luck with the book!