Psychopaths, Con Men & Human Nature

Pop culture has warped the reality of nearly all social conditions & behaviors. In particular, we tend to either glorify or simplify those that deviate from "normal" human nature.

Psychopaths: The Unburdened Mind

“I don’t think I feel things the same way you do.”
The man sits at the table in the well-fitted attire of success—charming, witty, and instantly likeable. He is a confident, animated speaker, but he seems to be struggling with this particular point. His name is Frank, and he is a psychopath.

In the public imagination, a "psychopath" is a violent serial killer or an over-the-top movie villain, as one sometimes might suspect Frank to be. He is highly impulsive and has a callous disregard for the well-being of others that can be disquieting. But he is just as likely to be a next-door neighbor, a doctor, or an actor on TV—essentially no different from anyone else who holds these roles, except that Frank lacks the nagging little voice which so profoundly influences most of our lives. Frank has no conscience. And as much as we would like to think that people like him are a rare aberration, safely locked away, the truth is that they are more common than most would ever guess.
(via DamnInteresting.com)

Con Men: How To Cheat At Everything

It's an amazing paradox--a con man has incredible emotional insight, but without the burden of compassion. He must take an intense interest in other people, complete strangers, and work to understand them, yet remain detached and uninvested. That the plan is to cheat these people and ultimately confirm many of their fears cannot be of concern.

Con men tend to be excellent conversationalists. "Many men kissed the Blarney Stone," Mr Lovell likes to say, "a con man has swallowed it." A con man puts a victim at ease by telling a story that reveals his own rather similar anxieties, thereby forging a "mutual understanding" of sorts.

"Now you can prey on their emotions and do evil--because con men are evil, undeniably so," Mr Lovell says. He smirks, admitting pride in past cons.

Just then we are interrupted by our waiter. Mr Lovell notes his British accent, immediately parroting it. The waiter, it turns out, is from north-west London, and the conversation turns to a lively discussion of Watford football. Once the waiter is out of sight, Mr Lovell explains: "You must have an encyclopaedic knowledge of odd bits of trivia and use these facts to win people over."

The reality is not so dramatic, in fact it's quite simple: these people merely combine the desire to please with the ability to manipulate. Perhaps we dramatize these characters because it'd be unpleasant to recognize these frightfully common traits at the table next to us. Or, to some degree, in ourselves.

Back at lunch, our waiter returns with a complimentary round of drinks and free desserts, beaming.
(via MoreIntelligentLife.com)