Life as a Nonviolent Psychopath • Hacker News Board

Re: Life as a Nonviolent Psychopath

#21

Post by pavanky » Sun, Feb 02, 2014, 9:35 PM UTC

mcguire wrote: post #20

In this article, I learned, * that the "warrior gene" thing == psychopathy, * that your genes determine your personality, except when they don't, * that your behavior is determined by your biology, except when it isn't, * that lack of affect == Buddhism, * that "looking at brainscans" is a valid step in judicial sentencing, * that you can claim to be a person who suffers from an impairment of empathy, who at the extr…

The raiding and pillaging was probably more to do with societal factors than genetics.

Re: Life as a Nonviolent Psychopath

#22

Post by hristov » Sun, Feb 02, 2014, 9:35 PM UTC

lutusp wrote: post #2

An interesting but scientifically useless account. Psychiatry and psychology will become useful to science only when such stories are validated by an effort to connect effects with causes -- to try to explain what has only been described . To date, these fields have gotten by with descriptions of things they cannot explain. Once explanations are proposed, they can be validated or falsified using empirical evidence, b…

Not true at all. Observation is very legitimate and valid scientific pursuit. We will not be able to explain the human brain for a long time but that does not mean we should not make observations about how it behaves and find repeating patterns of behavior.

One parallel is that humans were able to observe and accurately predict the movement of the stars before they ever knew what stars were. In fact humans were able to use stars for navigation long before anyone had the slightest idea of the actual physical nature of a star, or could offer any plausible explanation as to why a star moves a certain way.

Furthermore, observations can be tested and supported by empirical evidence. You can for example run brain scans for criminals and see if the psychopath brain pattern has higher incidence among prison populations (it definitely does).

Of course you cannot perform the types of precise tests on humans one performs with atoms, but psychology there are scientific tests and studies you can do.

Re: Life as a Nonviolent Psychopath

#23

Post by mtdewcmu » Sun, Feb 02, 2014, 9:57 PM UTC

mcguire wrote: post #20

In this article, I learned, * that the "warrior gene" thing == psychopathy, * that your genes determine your personality, except when they don't, * that your behavior is determined by your biology, except when it isn't, * that lack of affect == Buddhism, * that "looking at brainscans" is a valid step in judicial sentencing, * that you can claim to be a person who suffers from an impairment of empathy, who at the extr…

To get a decent depiction of psychopathy, one really needs read a book like Without Conscience, by Robert Hare. Psychopathy is truly bizarre. You have to consider that this article was coming from a psychopath, and psychopaths have certain characteristic ways of speaking; those characteristic speech patterns, I think, are the reason this article sounds weird.

Re: Life as a Nonviolent Psychopath

#24

Post by 001sky » Sun, Feb 02, 2014, 10:13 PM UTC

coldtea wrote: post #11

philwelch wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Psychiatry and psychology have probably taken lives as well.

So has the general medical profession.

So has lightning, raindrops, and sunshine

Re: Life as a Nonviolent Psychopath

#25

Post by mtdewcmu » Sun, Feb 02, 2014, 10:13 PM UTC

chimeracoder wrote: post #3

lutusp wrote: post #2

An interesting but scientifically useless account. Psychiatry and psychology will become useful to science only when such stories are validated by an effort to connect effects with causes -- to try to explain what has only been described . To date, these fields have gotten by with descriptions of things they cannot explain. Once explanations are proposed, they can be validated or falsified using empirical evidence, b…

To expand upon your point, biology lucked out with Carl Linnaeus. It so happened that Linnaeus's methods of classifying and naming biological organisms happened to correspond very well to other scientifically relevant concepts (genetics, etc.)[0]. We have no similar guarantee that the same applies to classifications of behaviors. That said - and let me qualify this by saying I have many complaints with the DSM (parti…

Biology was far luckier in general, in that biology is a much better subject for scientific inquiry than psychology. Good science has to work very hard to keep subjectivity and bias at bay; they are constantly and insidiously trying to creep in, and they are poison. Psychologists have the unlucky job of trying to scientifically study subjectivity and bias itself. I don't think it's really possible to make psychology a rigorous science; the subject may simply be out of reach.

Re: Life as a Nonviolent Psychopath

#26

Post by dinkumthinkum » Sun, Feb 02, 2014, 10:32 PM UTC

Is anyone else nonplussed by this? I'm not saying its wrong or I don't believe the brain scans mean anything, but without a lot more details particularly from people not invested in this research program being a success, I find this hard to take seriously and it seems very naive.

Re: Life as a Nonviolent Psychopath

#27

Post by Tycho » Sun, Feb 02, 2014, 10:52 PM UTC

Whenever I read about diagnosed psychopaths in the mainstream press, they always seem to be married (with kids). I find this interesting. What were their spouses thinking? Wouldn't 'total lack of empathy' rather preclude starting a family with someone? Were they that good at faking romance, or were they different when they were young? Or is the 'cold as steel' personally attractive? Were they just willing to marry anyone who asked them? Actually, a general study of 'why people decide to get married' would probably be even more interesting than studies about psychopathy...

Re: Life as a Nonviolent Psychopath

#28

Post by theorique » Sun, Feb 02, 2014, 10:54 PM UTC

pavanky wrote: post #21

mcguire wrote: post #20

In this article, I learned, * that the "warrior gene" thing == psychopathy, * that your genes determine your personality, except when they don't, * that your behavior is determined by your biology, except when it isn't, * that lack of affect == Buddhism, * that "looking at brainscans" is a valid step in judicial sentencing, * that you can claim to be a person who suffers from an impairment of empathy, who at the extr…

The raiding and pillaging was probably more to do with societal factors than genetics.

No, it's all genetic.

Re: Life as a Nonviolent Psychopath

#29

Post by theorique » Sun, Feb 02, 2014, 10:55 PM UTC

mtdewcmu wrote: post #23

mcguire wrote: post #20

In this article, I learned, * that the "warrior gene" thing == psychopathy, * that your genes determine your personality, except when they don't, * that your behavior is determined by your biology, except when it isn't, * that lack of affect == Buddhism, * that "looking at brainscans" is a valid step in judicial sentencing, * that you can claim to be a person who suffers from an impairment of empathy, who at the extr…

To get a decent depiction of psychopathy, one really needs read a book like Without Conscience, by Robert Hare. Psychopathy is truly bizarre. You have to consider that this article was coming from a psychopath, and psychopaths have certain characteristic ways of speaking; those characteristic speech patterns, I think, are the reason this article sounds weird.

In the morning if my face is a little puffy I'll put on an ice pack while doing stomach crunches. I can do 1000 now. After I remove the ice pack I use a deep pore cleanser lotion. In the shower I use a water activated gel cleanser, then a honey almond body scrub, and on the face an exfoliating gel scrub. Then I apply an herb-mint facial mask which I leave on for 10 minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine. I always use an after shave lotion with little or no alcohol, because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older. Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye balm followed by a final moisturizing protective lotion.

Re: Life as a Nonviolent Psychopath

#30

Post by mtdewcmu » Sun, Feb 02, 2014, 11:19 PM UTC

Tycho wrote: post #27

Whenever I read about diagnosed psychopaths in the mainstream press, they always seem to be married (with kids). I find this interesting. What were their spouses thinking? Wouldn't 'total lack of empathy' rather preclude starting a family with someone? Were they that good at faking romance, or were they different when they were young? Or is the 'cold as steel' personally attractive? Were they just willing to marry an…

Psychopaths are known for being very good at getting people to agree to things; they are described as very glib and superficially charming, which is why they excel at being con men. So it doesn't seem hard to explain how they manage to get married. What is peculiar, though, is how their spouses manage to stay married to them even after they find out the truth. There has to be some denial involved. If something like one partner belatedly coming out as homosexual is considered an obvious reason to invalidate a marriage, discovering that you married a psychopath can only be even more obvious.