“Jeeves,” I said, “you look . . . pensive.” “I confess to a slight concern, sir.” That, from Jeeves, is rather like hearing that the Bank of England has “a slight concern” about the stability of the pound. It makes you sit up. “Concern, Jeeves?” “Concern, sir. I ran into Lady Flashcome this morning, who informed me that that, last night at the Drones, Viscount Clavicular was mid jestergooning, when a group of Foids came and spiked his Cortisol levels.” “Well, I’m bound!” I said, nodding the old bean. “So that’s what it is, is it? Most interesting.” I paused. “Jeeves?” “Yes, sir.” “I confess I didn’t quite follow that.” “Understandable, sir. The essential question, as I understand it, is whether ignoring the foids while munting and mogging moids is more useful than SMV chadfishing in the club.” “Come again, Jeeves,” I said, for though I had caught the words as they came out, the meaning had slipped past me like one of those greased eels making a dash for the open sea. “In plain terms, sir, the speaker is asking whether it is more advantageous, in a social setting, to disregard women entirely while attempting to dominate or impress other men through vulgarity and competitive posturing, rather than attempting to attract women by means of artificially inflating one’s perceived desirability—particularly through the presentation of a false identity suggesting superior physical attractiveness and social value.” I stared. “In other words,” Jeeves continued smoothly, “it is a comparison between two strategies for attaining social status: one based upon humiliating rivals and cultivating masculine hierarchy, and the other based upon deceiving prospective romantic partners by misrepresenting one’s own attractiveness.” He coughed politely. “Neither approach, sir, would generally be considered conducive to the development of sincere human relationships.”