Conversation

Observation: psychopaths are often charming/reassuring and can put you at ease in a trusting, vulnerable state. Hypothesis A: Psychopaths learn to fake norms of trustworthiness and reassurance Hypothesis B: Societies evolve to normalize psychopath behaviors as norms for all
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B is very intriguing. What if all is non-psychos pick up highly manipulative behaviors as “polite and considerate” behavior via imitation of powerful psychopaths? And so all societies have psychopathic cultures of manners as their UX?
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Many of the actual kindest and most trustworthy people I know are ill-mannered. Not in the sense of being pointlessly rude or sadistic, but rough, uncouth, and ill-at-ease even in their own milieus. They can’t put others at ease.
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Entertaining thoughts is fun. I guess why they call it entertaining. Building on that maybe I should host a party for thoughts, serve them alcohol (which I’d have to drink of course since they live in my head)
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Okay, just thought up a pretty robust case for B that this margin is too small to contain. I’m upgrading it to working hypothesis.
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Logging interesting exchange with
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Replying to @aresnick @SamoBurja and @vgr
At least one mechanism for this: witting application of force invites resistance, unwitting manipulation does no, leading to selection for ever subtler mechanisms of manipulation. In the limit, manipulators cannot see themselves as such, but have been selected into their roles.
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Obv this is a subtweet thread of shit going on I can’t share publicly. My entire writing career is an extended subtweet. My memoirs should be titled “Subtweeting the Universe”
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Replying to
Trying on 2 summary aphoristic versions of the hypotheses for size A: Sufficiently advanced psychopathy/sociopathy is indistinguishable from good manners B: Civilization is the process of turning sociopathy into good manners B strikes me as more true
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Oh shit just realized 2x2 fits right into this theory. Ruinous empathy and manipulative insincerity are right next to each other and if you can’t tell real/fake “care personally” apart, they’ll look the same to you.
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