Book SummaryThe Unplugged Alpha, by Richard Cooper

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of The Unplugged Alpha

In The Unplugged Alpha, entrepreneur and YouTuber Richard Cooper argues that modern men have been taught a series of lies regarding how society works—and that in order to succeed, they need to transform both their understanding of society and how to behave in it.

Cooper realized that he’d been taught these lies after divorcing his ex-wife and experiencing a traumatic breakup with a single mother. This realization is known in some Internet circles as “unplugging,” or “swallowing the red pill,” in an allusion to a famous scene in the movie The Matrix: Faced with a choice to take the “blue pill” and remain in the “the matrix” (a virtual reality) or swallow the “red pill” and “unplug” from his virtual reality, the protagonist chooses the latter. After swallowing the red pill and realizing that...

The Unplugged Alpha Summary Unraveling the Three Big Lies: How Society Actually Works

Cooper argues that modern society has taught men three lies that have given them unrealistic views of how the world works.

The first big lie, according to Cooper, is that women are second-class citizens. In the modern world, most of us learn that society primarily values men and harms women. But Cooper says that in reality, our society highly values women and harms men. This isn’t anything new: Cooper writes that as far back as 20,000 years ago, tribes and empires sent men to die in wars—and if they conquered another tribe, they killed all the remaining men. The conquerors spared the widows so that they could bear children, and the widows consented because the conquerors were now the highest-status men.

(Shortform note: Cooper sees the fact that men had children with the widows of the tribesmen they conquered as evidence that society valued the women. But he doesn’t acknowledge that these women were forced into those sexual relationships to stay alive. Modern data bears out the idea that men subject women to sexual violence in conflict (and post-conflict) situations: In Invisible Women,...

The Unplugged Alpha Summary How to Become a Dominant

You’ve now learned why you need to become a dominant, but how do you do so? In this section, you’ll first learn how to determine your current level: Are you a dominant, and if not, how much work do you have to do to get there? Then, you’ll learn how you can become a dominant by embodying masculinity, pursuing excellence, and mastering social skills.

Determine Your Level

According to Cooper, the first step to becoming a dominant is to determine your current level. To do so, first envision your ideal self: If you had to rank yourself on a scale of 1-10, what would 10 look like? Then, determine how you rank now given factors like your finances and fitness. Once you’ve done so, go on a dating app in your area pretending to be a woman, and review your male rivals for female attention. Adjust your score if you need to, then evaluate your results. Unless you’re an eight or higher, you’re not yet a dominant.

(Shortform note: Entrepreneur Will Freemen presents an alternative way of ranking your level. Instead of basing your ranking on how you compare to other men in your area, he assigns specific scores...

The Unplugged Alpha Summary How to Be Sexually Successful

Once you’ve become a dominant—which you can determine by rating yourself as described in the previous section—how can you get the women that you want? In this section, you’ll first learn who not to date. Then, you’ll learn how to date: What should you do to maximize your chances of finding good women? Finally, you’ll learn why Cooper strongly recommends against marriage—and how to proceed if you choose to get married anyway.

Who Not to Date

Cooper warns that dating the wrong woman can bring a host of problems into your life. As such, he argues, every man must learn how to identify whether a woman is bad for him. To that end, Cooper presents several warning signs that you should look out for when dating.

First, Cooper warns against dating women who are emotionally immature —those who are overly possessive, who regularly blow small issues out of proportion, or who don’t know how to calmly communicate any issues they may have with the relationship. Also, skip dating anyone with addictions or who lies constantly.

(Shortform note: What are signs that a woman is good for you? One key trait is [emotional...

Shortform Exercise: Decide What You Want to Improve First

In The Unplugged Alpha, Cooper suggests that if you want to become dominant, you must start by evaluating your current level on a scale of 1-10. If you have a score below eight, you’re not yet a dominant and need to improve yourself in several areas. In this section, we’ll help you decide where to start improving yourself.

Briefly describe your current level and why you gave yourself that score. Relevant factors might include your salary and your looks.