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I always find these articles interesting, especially the idea that most psychopaths aren't particularly dangerous. If we look at mental illnesses as a whole, I

I always find these articles interesting, especially the idea that most psychopaths aren't particularly dangerous. If we look at mental illnesses as a whole, I feel like untreated depression and bipolar disorder are FAR more costly for American society. Also, I think it's somewhat dreadful that the tech industry seems to elevate/celebrate psychopathic traits such as ignoring rules, impulsiveness, and lack of empathy. I'm pretty sure that are people with psychopathic tendencies at the top of the ladder of some of the giants.

watwut 9y ago
Tech industry elevates lack of emphaty for the same reason as any industry flooded by money - money and power attracts that kind of people. The other reason is early years assumption of some institutions that "disinterest in people" predicts good programming skills. That tilted culture and caused disproportional self selection of people who don't care about others.
Fnoord 9y ago
> If we look at mental illnesses as a whole, I feel like untreated depression and bipolar disorder are FAR more costly for American society. Yes, of course, reportedly psychopath % is 4% of society, but the number of serial killers is a mere fraction of that 4%. Psychopaths or not, the number of serial killers is also very small compared to the number of depressed Americans, or obese Americans for that matter. What matters is: 'can a person function in society?' If no, that's a loss for that individual as well as for society. The victims of the serial killers are just [often] innocent to the victim which clouds our judgement on severity. Compare terrorism victims with traffic accident victims. > it's somewhat dreadful that the tech industry seems to elevate/celebrate psychopathic traits such as ignoring rules, impulsiveness, and lack of empathy. 3/3 match with antisocial personality disorder. Quoting Wikipedia: "Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), also known as sociopathy, is a personality disorder characterized by a long term pattern of disregard for, or violation of, the rights of others. An impoverished moral sense or conscience is often apparent, as well as a history of crime, legal problems, or impulsive and aggressive behavior." [1] It also doesn't help Hare mixes up sociopathy and psychopathy in his works. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisocial_personality_disorder https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisocial_personality_disorde...

watwut 9y ago

Tech industry elevates lack of emphaty for the same reason as any industry flooded by money - money and power attracts that kind of people. The other reason is early years assumption of some institutions that "disinterest in people" predicts good programming skills. That tilted culture and caused disproportional self selection of people who don't care about others.

Fnoord 9y ago

> If we look at mental illnesses as a whole, I feel like untreated depression and bipolar disorder are FAR more costly for American society. Yes, of course, reportedly psychopath % is 4% of society, but the number of serial killers is a mere fraction of that 4%. Psychopaths or not, the number of serial killers is also very small compared to the number of depressed Americans, or obese Americans for that matter. What matters is: 'can a person function in society?' If no, that's a loss for that individual as well as for society. The victims of the serial killers are just [often] innocent to the victim which clouds our judgement on severity. Compare terrorism victims with traffic accident victims. > it's somewhat dreadful that the tech industry seems to elevate/celebrate psychopathic traits such as ignoring rules, impulsiveness, and lack of empathy. 3/3 match with antisocial personality disorder. Quoting Wikipedia: "Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), also known as sociopathy, is a personality disorder characterized by a long term pattern of disregard for, or violation of, the rights of others. An impoverished moral sense or conscience is often apparent, as well as a history of crime, legal problems, or impulsive and aggressive behavior." [1] It also doesn't help Hare mixes up sociopathy and psychopathy in his works. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisocial_personality_disorder https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisocial_personality_disorde...