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"It might seem crazy to entertain, but having seen first-hand that these folks can consistently climb and succeed while being what most decent people would cons
by abbasmehdi 13y ago
"It might seem crazy to entertain, but having seen first-hand that these folks can consistently climb and succeed while being what most decent people would consider scumbags..."
One of my best friends is a psychiatrist at a large academic hospital. He works with "corporate leaders" and top athletes (college level and above). He says in his 5 years of practice, he has not yet seen a "successful" person who does not exhibit a significant degree of sociopathic behavior. He goes as far as saying that being sociopathic is an asset if you are trying to be successful in any hyper competitive human endeavor (politics, business, sports etc).
- megablast 13y ago> he has not yet seen a "successful" person who does not exhibit a significant degree of sociopathic behavior. This is such a weak argument, you can subscribe some sociopathic behavious to any regular person if you want.
- abbasmehdi 13y agoA psychiatrist cannot differentiate between "any regular person" and "significant degree of sociopathic behavior"?
- SamuelMulder 13y agoMaybe not as simple as you think: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYemnKEKx0c http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYemnKEKx0c
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- forgottenpass 13y agoA psychiatrist cannot differentiate between "any regular person" and "significant degree of sociopathic behavior"? No they can't. Psychiatric opinions are too mailable. It's not an easy assessment like diagnosing someone else's professional qualifications in a field unrelated to yours using a 2nd hand anecdote posted on the Internet. Now there's an analysis you can take to the bank.
- abbasmehdi 13y agoAny evidence to back up the claim "No they can't."? Their opinions seem to carry weight in courts. I'm not saying that is evidence, but that could be an indicator that psychiatrists might know what they're talking about (and its not just voodoo science).
- forgottenpass 13y agoIt was heavy sarcasm.
- jckt 13y agoI think Bill Gates is a good counterexample. Microsoft was not the nicest company around, but as a boss he seems pretty normal, even good. And I'd say he's just as successful as Jobs, if not more. (Also difficult to imagine a sociopath being a philanthropist like Gates).
- shortsightedsid 13y agoBill Gates' reviews were notoriously difficult - http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2006/06/16.html http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2006/06/16.html. I wouldn't call him a "normal" boss either.
- serge2k 13y agoA difficult review is not a bad thing, especially when it is a software review.
- chris_wot 13y agoDo you really need to bean arsehole whilst doing said difficult review?
- jckt 13y agoI guess I meant normal as in not-a-sociopath. As another commenter said, Gates was definitely intense. But then a lot of other people can be similarly described (maybe not to the same degree, but someone like Linus is not exactly known for being mild mannered[1], but he's definitely not a sociopath). But thanks for the link though, I'll check it out. I must've suppressed all my Gates-criticism for all the good he's doing now. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5107495 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5107495
- snom380 13y agoWell, for one he also tried to push his co-founder out of the company while he was sick in hospital. If he wasn't a sociopath at the time, he sure acted like one.
- lepht 13y agoRelevant reading for those that are interested: Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work - http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0061147893?pc_redir=1395239748&robot_redir=1 http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0061147893?pc_redir=1395239748...
- vacri 13y agoPehaps it's more that the ones that make themselves visible are like that? I've known a couple of people in that social group that were quite ethical and concerned people. They didn't spend a lot of their time drawing attention to themselves, though. Not to say the the 'quiet' ones are all like that, just that perhaps there's something in pandering to the media that correlates with the 'public, sociopath' ones. I don't really move in those circles though, so it's not like the people I do know are necessarily representative.
- moron4hire 13y agoThere may be an aspect of confirmation bias at hand. I would suspect that sociopaths--being narcissists--need validation and seek to advertise their success much more than successful non-sociopaths.