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Letter From A Psychopath

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Re: Letter From A Psychopath

#191

Post by MarkPNeyer »

Guvante wrote: post #187
undoware wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hate to logic-chop a civilian (i.e. someone who didn't waste their youth in an analytic philosophy department studying ethics) but here we go. If your position is that all convincing self-accounts by psychopaths are themselves only convincing because the psychopath is somehow 'tricking' you, then you can take that statement and s/psychopath/any group you care to name/ and you'd never know the difference. Don't beli…

To be fair, he is specifically pointing out bits of information that are designed to lead you a certain way, he is not just saying don't believe him. Thus you can't debunk him just by saying "Don't believe him because he is a psychopath is insufficient". If you want to pin all of his logic on that baseline theory (which would be stretching it), then your replacement no longer works, as crack dealers aren't known for…

additionally crack dealers and pedophiles are probably more likely to be sociopaths. i'd guess most groups gain 'distrusted' status because of the influence of sociopaths within them.

Re: Letter From A Psychopath

#192

Post by n09n »

benihana wrote: post #168
beaker52 wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Love is the kindest and most valuable thing we can spread in this world and your reply offered none to this individual. He is no less deserving than any other. We all have the same life sentence. We're all trying to do our thing, he, you and I included. More love, less hate. Please.

You don't understand at all. I was in a relationship with a psychopath. Love does not matter to these people. Your emotions do not matter to these people. Your intentions do not matter to these people. The only thing that matters to a psychopath is their own ego and self-aggrandizement. You're taking an incredibly naive view that will likely leave you completely taken advantage of and hurt. It doesn't matter how much…

So what? Even if it doesn't matter to them, it can still matter to you. Making yourself a better person isn't less worthwhile because someone else tells you you're being taken advantage of in the process.

Re: Letter From A Psychopath

#193

Post by LaGrange »

Fuxy wrote: post #170
LaGrange wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"You're personalty can't handle a psychopath mine can.” You actually come off like someone who claims that they had grown up around airplane pilots and therefore can handle gravity. It’s actually unlikely you can. "I would notice if he did.” I’m just going to call that posturing.

More like i was born on a planet so i can handle gravity. The only thing i meant by that is that he/she is the sweet, loving, sensitive type nothing wrong with that but may not be well suited for some things. I on the other hand am fascinated by psychology and love surrounding myself with different types of people even psychopaths. Everybody has to offer a unique way of looking at things. Some may consider that crazy…

Actually, that's a pretty common, normal line of thinking, often summarized as "those things happen to the other people". Even the declared love of psychology is quite usual, as is the dismissal of "normal".

Sweet/loving/sensitive type dismissal shows a huge disconnect. People hurt that way include soldiers, astronauts, public performers, politicians, enterpreneurs and many others. You're not really looking into people, you're romanticizing the diseases they have, and that really comes off as patronizing in most cases, and in this case as reckless and patronizing.

Re: Letter From A Psychopath

#194

Post by LaGrange »

n09n wrote: post #179
Pompky wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes it is true. This is a very manipulative and actually non substantive, shallow piece of writing. It smacks of the superiority complex and has the shiny flawless gleam of the narcissist in the psychopath. It is just too slick and seamless. That is what gives away the fact of his psychopathy. In fact he is one of the worst forms of psychopath I think, which are those that actually believe what they are telling other…

Those are also the ones that are actually sincere. If you insist on assuming the worst about others all the time, it's your loss.

You don't have to lie to manipulate. That's the scary beauty in that piece: it's almost certainly sincere, but it doesn't stop it from being manipulative and misleading.

Re: Letter From A Psychopath

#195

Post by munificent »

michaelochurch wrote: post #47
peterwwillis wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thing is, in their mind, they're not rambling. They believe they are saying something intelligible. They have thoughts, sometimes mixed up, and feelings, and try to express them - but something in the delivery smashes it to bits. So the interesting thing to me is how you can read these ramblings and actually extract feelings and intentions from them, even though they make no sense. Usually it's very sad and lonely.

Do you think schizophrenics know of their condition, or are they clueless that there's something biologically wrong with them? To me, that seems to be the hallmark difference between hypomania and "real" mania, and what makes the latter more dangerous and scary-- the loss of insight into the condition, or that there even is anything amiss.

The clinical term for this is "anosognosia", which describes a specific physical, neurological inability to be aware of their illness. They literally have damage in their brain which prevents self-awareness. Something like 50% of cases of schizophrenia have some degree of anosognosia as well.

This is a big part of why schizophrenia is so hard to treat. With other disorders like OCD, patients generally do know they are unwell and are willing to accept treatment to improve it. With schizophrenia, patients are often rigidly convinced they are already healthy and refuse to be treated. They are incapable of understanding that they have an illness.

Re: Letter From A Psychopath

#196

Post by nostrademons »

tfb wrote: post #155
throwaway83294 wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have no idea. I was "friends" with someone for years, who at the time I didn't know was a psychopath (over time I realized they met literally every item on the psychopathy checklist). The manipulativeness, the ability to lie completely sincerely (I bet a lie detector test would show absolutely nothing), and absolute and utter lack of remorse is terrifying, in a way. The most striking thing, in retrospect, is the…

I've known a few psychopaths myself. It is interesting how they react when you make it clear you know all about their deception. I personally find it hilarious that they think they're able to dupe everyone they meet, but I also feel sad that it still works on so many. It's hard though to differentiate true psychopaths from those who simply share a few traits. When I read about psychopaths, I tend to find common trait…

Usually the defining characteristic of a psychopath is an inability to feel shame, remorse, or empathy. If you catch someone with narcissistic personality disorder in a lie or situation where they've hurt someone and call them out on it, the response is usually bluster, a frantic attempt to shore up ego. If you catch someone with borderline personality disorder or just plain deep insecurity, they'll often deflate and get downcast. Catch a secure person and they'll apologize and try to make things right. Catch a psychopath and they'll react rationally to further their own interests - they completely lack an emotional response to hurting people.

Re: Letter From A Psychopath

#197

Post by undoware »

MarkPNeyer wrote: post #186
undoware wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hate to logic-chop a civilian (i.e. someone who didn't waste their youth in an analytic philosophy department studying ethics) but here we go. If your position is that all convincing self-accounts by psychopaths are themselves only convincing because the psychopath is somehow 'tricking' you, then you can take that statement and s/psychopath/any group you care to name/ and you'd never know the difference. Don't beli…

> If your position is that all convincing self-accounts by psychopath He made no such generalization. He simply talked about this one self account.

Good point, thanks Mark. :)

See, I positioned myself for not getting it quite right -- I can say, "this means I'm probably less psychopathic than you."

Monster! :D

Re: Letter From A Psychopath

#198

Post by undoware »

DanBC wrote: post #184
undoware wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hate to logic-chop a civilian (i.e. someone who didn't waste their youth in an analytic philosophy department studying ethics) but here we go. If your position is that all convincing self-accounts by psychopaths are themselves only convincing because the psychopath is somehow 'tricking' you, then you can take that statement and s/psychopath/any group you care to name/ and you'd never know the difference. Don't beli…

> If your position is that all convincing self-accounts by psychopaths are themselves only convincing because the psychopath is somehow 'tricking' you, then you can take that statement and s/psychopath/any group you care to name/ and you'd never know the difference. Don't believe me? Try substituting various bogeymen of the twentieth century: crack dealers, pedophiles, etc. You see what I mean? It always works: You s…

So is being any sort of successful criminal. A pedophile, for example.

Re: Letter From A Psychopath

#199

Post by munificent »

kristofferR wrote: post #31

Everybody should turn on showdead in the settings and check out losethos' comments here. Psychopathy is really interesting and fascinating, but so is schizophrenia. It boggles my mind how anyone can write such nonsensical rambling comments while at the same time coding a 64 bit operating system from scratch.

> It boggles my mind how anyone can write such nonsensical rambling comments while at the same time coding a 64 bit operating system from scratch.

Comments like this show exactly how poorly our culture handles mental illness. Imagine if someone had said, "It boggles my mind how anyone can be deaf while at the same time coding a 64 bit operating system from scratch."

He isn't stupid, he's schizophrenic. Aside from his disease, all of his other faculties are as fine as yours and mine.

Re: Letter From A Psychopath

#200

Post by undoware »

Guvante wrote: post #187
undoware wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hate to logic-chop a civilian (i.e. someone who didn't waste their youth in an analytic philosophy department studying ethics) but here we go. If your position is that all convincing self-accounts by psychopaths are themselves only convincing because the psychopath is somehow 'tricking' you, then you can take that statement and s/psychopath/any group you care to name/ and you'd never know the difference. Don't beli…

To be fair, he is specifically pointing out bits of information that are designed to lead you a certain way, he is not just saying don't believe him. Thus you can't debunk him just by saying "Don't believe him because he is a psychopath is insufficient". If you want to pin all of his logic on that baseline theory (which would be stretching it), then your replacement no longer works, as crack dealers aren't known for…

Of course crack dealers are manipulative and good at lying. The ones that aren't are caught. It's selected for.
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