At one point in our evolution was there some advantage that being a psychopath conferred?
For those interested in a great sci-fi look at that question, I recommend Thirteen by Richard Morgan.
Letter From A Psychopath
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Re: Letter From A Psychopath
#62Earlier quoted context omitted.
I would like to meet this person. No, no no no no. No you would not. Not unless you mean it like "I'd like to meet a serial killer, just for the experience." Maybe it'd be interesting to get their point of view, sure, but you are far better off without them in your life. And certainly without having any form of relationship with them. One of the main reasons this guy wrote this letter was probably self-aggrandization…
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.
> 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.
Not referring to the OP here, but some people are wholly toxic and cannot have a meaningful relationship with you that doesn't involve the erosion of your own person and physical/mental health. These people may be toxic for a long time, even for your whole life. While people should be treated kindly, don't confuse being kind with being an emotional dumping ground for someone that doesn't respect your boundaries.
Re: Letter From A Psychopath
#63Jon Ronson's audiobook version of The Psychopath Test is the Daily Deal today on Audible.com for 2.95
Re: Letter From A Psychopath
#64I'm generally viewed as a "nice guy" but once when I was younger met a psychopath who viewed my "niceness" as a weakness and took it upon himself to destroy me. I retreated from that battle, but from then on learned to identify such people and try to match wits with them. I'm very competitive and couldn't stand losing to them. I out-witted several of them over the course of my life and they would usually leave me alo…
how do you spot a psychopath? what are the usual traits you looks for? How did you do battle with former inmate?
Re: Letter From A Psychopath
#65Brilliantly articulated. I think this might be useful for everyone :
"The test of their self-superiority is their ability to rapidly find weaknesses in others, and to exploit it to its fullest potential.
But that is not to say that this aspect of a psychopaths world view cannot be modified. These days I see weaknesses and vulnerabilities as simple facts - a facet of the human condition and the frailties and imperfections inheritent in being human."
Re: Letter From A Psychopath
#66... Am I the only one who interprets this letter as an attempted sympathy exploit/attack on people being properly on guard against psychopaths?
Re: Letter From A Psychopath
#67Earlier 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.
This is actually the central reason I was so torn up over my experience, and one of the reasons the whole thing sometimes still haunts me. Because the only possible way out of my situation was to completely cut ties, and shut off the love. I'm a loving person and it absolutely tore me up for a long time. Eventually I came to terms with the fact that if I wanted to lead a life without torment, it was a necessary evil.…
You're personalty can't handle a psychopath mine can.
I'm not loving nor forgiving and although I do poses empathy and remorse can contentiously suppers it.
Everything has to be earned with me.
This applies to everybody including my own parents.
I grew up around manipulative people i know how to deal with them. I actually instinctively distance myself from them.
I'm not saying I would be his friend but i find his point of view valuable as long as he doesn't try it with me. I would notice if he did.
Re: Letter From A Psychopath
#68Earlier quoted context omitted.
Pathological lying and manipulativeness are hallmarks of a psychopath [1]. It would be like befriending a spider - when you're the fly. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hare_Psychopathy_Checklist
These are justifications for not attempting to understand and thereby humanize him. These same sort of broad brush strokes have been used against any group of people that are deemed unworthy of being truly seen.
And why are those arguments so convincing? Why does painting people as monsters work so well?
One possible answer is that it's a counter-adaptation to psychopathy. If some people are naturally monsters, being naturally afraid of monsters might be a good adaptation.
That's not to say we shouldn't treat him with compassion, or that we should treat him as a monster. But people who haven't seen the damage a predator can cause are often too glib; they literally can't imagine how dangerous another human can be.
Re: Letter From A Psychopath
#69Interesting. I would like to meet this person. I find it very helpful to surround myself with people that have a different way of seeing the world.
Pathological lying and manipulativeness are hallmarks of a psychopath [1]. It would be like befriending a spider - when you're the fly. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hare_Psychopathy_Checklist
I have a friend who's a pathological lier and I've never seen any indication he's a psychopath. I've seen him go out of his way to help people many times and have never seen him try to manipulate others. Just because you have one condition doesn't mean you have the other.
Re: Letter From A Psychopath
#70Everybody 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.
Let's all prattle on about the guy as if he isn't an active member of this forum. The man can read you know, most developers can. I'm not trying to censor discussion but it just seems a little odd to publicly deconstruct this guy in every mental health thread like he's some type of lab specimen. It is indeed possible to read comments while hellbanned.