When walking with one other person, which side is considered the "alpha" side?

[HamburgerBoy]

I mean, everything else in the world seems to have been divided into alpha and beta male roles, so surely there has to be a theory behind this as well. In general I find that I walk on the right side and my acquaintance to the left. Does this signify that I am in charge of leading my group forward, or is it the other member of the party?

(Limiting this to two, because it is common knowledge that in a group of three or greater, a /\ shape or T shape (leader in center of front) is assumed)

 

[halik]

wat?

 

[Ronstang]

I couldn't give a fuck less. I have no vision out of my left eye so I ALWAYS walk on the left so I can see who I am walking and talking with.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

wat?

Assume that neither is ahead of the other.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

The gentleman always walks on the street side with the woman on the left.

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

Alpha is on the left as the left is the clear area of a sidewalk, the right has newspaper stands, the road, etc. Where the person on the left walks determines how much the person on the right has to avoid obstacles.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

I couldn't give a fuck less. I have no vision out of my left eye so I ALWAYS walk on the left so I can see who I am walking and talking with.

Funny, I would have assumed the opposite. You know that you can trust your ally on your right, but your left is open to attack from foreign assailants. Are you sure you want to do this?

The gentleman always walks on the street side with the woman on the left.

Are these British streets or something? Here, it is customary for foot traffic to generally follow the same rules as bike or road traffic.

(I limited this to male-male partnerships btw, to avoid such exceptions being mentioned.)

 

[sandorski]

The side I'm on.

 

[Tristicus]

Alpha comes before Beta, if that is what you're saying...

 

[micaturbo]

Alpha is on the left as the left is the clear area of a sidewalk, the right has newspaper stands, the road, etc. Where the person on the left walks determines how much the person on the right has to avoid obstacles.

One-way sidewalks?

 

[gaidensensei]

Since I'd assume a good amount (5/6 or ~80-90&#37 of people are right handed, an alpha male would likely stay on the left.

 

[lxskllr]

The gentleman always walks on the street side with the woman on the left.

^^^

This is the only standard I know of, but I propose that the man should walk on the building side to mitigate alleyway attacks.

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

One-way sidewalks?

Um, no...

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Since I'd assume a good amount (5/6 or ~80-90&#37 of people are right handed, an alpha male would likely stay on the left.

Develop this statement. I do not see an obvious relationship between handedness and which side to walk on. Is it because a right handed person can smack the beta into submission easier? Because that's pretty barbaric. Humans don't rely on such violence. The alpha and the beta simply are.

 

[micaturbo]

Um, no...

Ok so you're being all Alpha and decide you'll walk on the left as that's the clear side. Now you and your companion do a 180 and go the opposite direction...who's on the left now?

Since I'd assume a good amount (5/6 or ~80-90&#37 of people are right handed, an alpha male would likely stay on the left.

I'd much rather be on the right side so I could actually take a swing at them, if necessary.

 

[SandEagle]

the right side.

the left is always for wiping your ass

 

[Bignate603]

The alpha side is whichever side is occupied by the man who is not concerned about what side is the alpha side.

If you are worrying about if your actions are "alpha" then that is confirmation that you are not what you are attempting to be.

 

[JulesMaximus]

The correct answer is: The opposite of whatever the OP does.

OP rides bitch...always.

 

[Perknose]

The gentleman always walks on the street side with the woman on the left.

Historically, this. The gentleman thus protects the fair lady from being splashed when traffic goes through street puddles -- doubly so in the days of horse-drawn traffic and the subsequent prevalence of road apples.

 

[gaidensensei]

Develop this statement. I do not see an obvious relationship between handedness and which side to walk on. Is it because a right handed person can smack the beta into submission easier? Because that's pretty barbaric. Humans don't rely on such violence. The alpha and the beta simply are.

I'm assuming that the alpha is likely the one speaking the most.
People use gestures pretty often to emphasize on the communication to the person they are talking to. In those cases, the dominant hand is always the hand of choice and often chosen subconsciously.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Historically, this. The gentleman thus protects the fair lady from being splashed when traffic goes through street puddles -- doubly so in the days of horse-drawn traffic and the subsequent prevalence of road apples.

What if the OP is walking with another dude? Does it mean he loves or cares deeply for the other guy if he's on the street side?

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Are these British streets or something? Here, it is customary for foot traffic to generally follow the same rules as bike or road traffic.

(I limited this to male-male partnerships btw, to avoid such exceptions being mentioned.)

Historically, in the U.S., foot traffic has moved opposite to traffic. I believe it stems from the need to see oncoming vehicles/horses that may splash through a puddle so, the man can shield the lady.

 

[BrokenVisage]

why don't you ask him?

 

[Perknose]

Since I'd assume a good amount (5/6 or ~80-90&#37 of people are right handed, an alpha male would likely stay on the left.

Develop this statement. I do not see an obvious relationship between handedness and which side to walk on. Is it because a right handed person can smack the beta into submission easier? Because that's pretty barbaric. Humans don't rely on such violence. The alpha and the beta simply are.

Pshaw! Poppycock and folderol! Violence, most specifically the ever present hint of violence is the alpha male's stock in trade. It is how he became the alpha male, and it is how he maintains his rank.

gaidensensei assumes correctly. Most people are right handed. Left-handed-ness is a trait of the weak, the sly, the duplicitous . . . yea, verily, the sinister.

Think, ProcessedBeefBoy, think! A right thinking, right hand using Alpha Male will carry his sword on his left side. It is to protect said sword from sinister swiping that he stations himself on the left.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

I'm assuming that the alpha is likely the one speaking the most.
People use gestures pretty often to emphasize on the communication to the person they are talking to. In those cases, the dominant hand is always the hand of choice and often chosen subconsciously.

At first I found your argument a strong one, but giving it some thought, an alpha has full control of both arms and knows how to use them (whenever necessary). Just look at Italian sign language. Both arms are used to their full potential. I think this issue is extraneous to the matter at hand.