Thursday, February 10, 2011

The sociopathic art of persuasion

The subject has just recently been covered in "Split-Second Persuasion The Ancient Art and New Science of Changing Minds," by Kevin Dutton, part explanatory, part how-to. This review compares the book to other self-help books, such as Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People":
The worldviews of Carnegie and Dutton overlap at times. Both proffer self-confidence as a means of getting your way. But while Carnegie was a classic partisan of brownnosing (smile, never argue or find fault), Dutton sees things through a darker lens. The book builds slowly toward a simple climax: Nobody does it better than the psychopath.

The term psychopath gets defined here quite liberally. Jim Jones makes an appearance. But not all psychopaths inhabit jail cells. Some serve as platoon sergeants. Others prowl corporate suites. Some pretenders may even sleep in cribs. Yes, babies, no surprise to many of us, "lack empathy, are superficially charming, possess not the slightest sense of the consequences of their actions and are out purely for themselves" - all qualities reminiscent of Hannibal Lecter or Gordon Gekko.

So ultimately the book is more Con-Artistry for Eggheads (certainly not Dummies) than How to Win Friends and Influence People, all of which makes it a lot more fun to read than the hackneyed prescriptions of run-of-the-mill self-help gurus and Oprah guests.

Persuasion keeps us alive, Dutton proclaims in the first few pages. Any society worthy of our esteem relies on conviction, not coercion. The author's interest lies not in the mundane garden-variety skill - "let me have the extra pillow, dear, I need to wake up early" - but in milling through the mental circuitry of a select cadre of those who seem to be able to get whatever they want: "reservations, contracts, bargains, babies. Anything." Yes, fame and infamy grace this club. Winston Churchill and Ted Bundy, but also elite salesmen, lawyers, a type of fungus that tricks both plants and bees into doing its bidding.

***

There is a lot to like. You'll learn how other species as well as our own take advantage of key stimuli for their persuading. A key stimulus triggers a fixed response from its recipient, "neat 200 proof mind control - undiluted by language and the thought fields of consciousness," as Dutton observes.

Lesser species do this much better than we do. Bell frogs have their "quonkquack" love calls. Honeybees dance to convey to their brethren the whereabouts of food. Humans can achieve similar responses, but language, our main persuasion tool, must first penetrate an "ozone layer" of conscious thought. "Only the really special make it through," Dutton asserts.


286 comments:

  1. If you really want to bypass the conscious mind, you can use subliminal stimuli. It works like a charm.

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  2. WTF ^ Subliminal stimuli.. really. -.-

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  3. Anyone who doesn't take no for an answer is a good persuader, so you are talking about every sociopath.

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  4. All self help books introduce the stereotype of the sociopath into their policy.

    You won't find a self-help book that'll say "Be good to everyone, help the ones in need...".

    The Bible does that.

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  5. i have been wanting to be a psychopath for many years and i have been continually working towards it by studying and applying lessons of psychopaths I want to be like. i think this sounds good.

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  6. Jason, you probably think subliminal messaging works too don't you?

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  7. i have been wanting to be a psychopath for many years and i have been continually working towards it by studying and applying lessons of psychopaths I want to be like. i think this sounds good.

    It can only end bad for you.

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  8. I'm not implying ridicule but reading this article makes me imagine a world so over-populated that one has only room to stand next to ten others directly around them, with ten others directly around each and every person around them, and they all shake hands with each other alternately and practice persuasion.

    I see a bored, helpless people who's art is meaningless because EVERYONE practices it either consciously or subconsciously such that it makes no real difference who's actually aware of their actions and who's not.

    I still see the advantage in the hands of those who are aware of their actions, and the only advantage those unaware have is the judgment(s) of the aware.

    I've said it a few times before and I shall say it again, they are all psychopaths. Don't misunderstand, I'm not excluding myself.

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  9. no it won't adam. chicks won't give me the time of day but they will when i become a psychopath. i am going to be famous.

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  10. Thanks M.E. if it does anything else it'll prepare me better for the ones that try to run everything.
    And by the way not taking no for an answer is obnoxious.

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  11. Reading this would probably have a different effect of being able to recognize when someone is trying to persuade you to do something you would not normally do. Being able to spot the manipulation could be a good tool for just about anyone.

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  12. Really Nyx? ALL manipulation is bad? I don't have to theorycraft to get away with this one, you would definitely still be shitting all over yourself if it were not for manipulation.

    It took manipulation for the toilet to be invented. It took manipulation for people to accept this new way of taking shits. I would even hazard the guess that originally that the idea of the toilet was considered the "Devil's work" because it wasn't natural or something humanity would normally accept or want to include in their daily lives until they were MADE to see the luxury.

    So, I say let's educate everyone on how to avoid ALL manipulation especially if it's new and unusual.

    Good luck to everyone :)

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  13. It would be fun to work in advertising.

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  14. It would be fun to work in advertising.

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  15. It would be fun to work in advertising.

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  16. hunter wants to be a psycho just for chicks... eurgh. wasted talents. if you actually succeeded.. possible, i would say, you could use it for much greater things. but no, you want it to get vagina -.-"

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  17. To my mind manipulation is always one person's attempt to smuggle their reality, or what they want their reality to be, under the skin of another.

    Whether either reality is good or bad is, of course, subjective.

    But yes, we all manipulate, and learn to as children – perhaps more craftily as we get older in individualist cultures where we're expected to hide emotions, be self-reliant, and act rather than feel.

    The result is that genuineness is often viewed as weakness by those who seldom employ it - or, tellingly, as deception.

    To my mind Machiavellian strategies of manipulation will continue to grow in popularity within cultures of artifice and inauthenticity where obscurantism and reductiveness are encouraged.

    Personally, I feel very uncomfortable when the gap widens too much between my person and persona because I can no longer sense the world as effortlessly.

    However, naturally I can morph into a mistress of dark arts (or, er, a personal variation thereof) to protect others and myself in the face of danger - there's the chemical reaction then, the adrenaline kick, and the clarity that comes.

    So, I do enjoy learning about it so that I can recognise it in others, and wield it if need be.

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  18. Not everyone thinks kindness is weakness, I do but in any civilised place the majority are good willed people.

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  19. Sea Witch is talking some real shit.

    I wouldn't normally have the disposition really listen and understand somebody's discourse from their point of view but the state that I'm in right now allows me to.

    So what Sea Witch is talking is really real and thoughtful.

    I can't believe that a girl can talk this way. Usually girls are just taking shallow and superficial shit but this time she spoke with real insight.

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  20. Sorry about the misspellings and errors in my comment.

    I'm soooo high right now...

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  21. Quick unrelated question:

    Any sociopaths on here, do you get upset or angry when you see things like the Westboro Baptists picketing soldiers funerals or children being deliberately raised as racists (pretty much anything Louis Theroux has documented)?

    Having an inability to empathise do you just not give a shit?

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  22. Mike, you're high? How could you tell?

    Sea Witch, I couldn't agree more. Save for the last part. For me putting on the hero mask in the face of danger would be purely situational, not predetermined or necessarily chosen.

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  23. Nah I couldn't give a fuck. I laugh when I hear about murders on the news.

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  24. "Mike, you're high? How could you tell?"

    Pardon my asking dudelicious... what do you mean ?

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  25. Adam:
    "I laugh when I hear about murders on the news."
    What, at the mere fact that someone has been killed? Why?

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  26. I don't know, that some idiot who I don't know suffered? At the mere fact? Yeah because laughing takes a ton of effort.

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  27. "I don't know, that some idiot who I don't know suffered? At the mere fact? Yeah because laughing takes a ton of effort."
    It just seems a little sad that it induces a reaction in you, if one of amusement. Suppose you're just easily amused. :)

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  28. Adam's a badass. Don't talk shit 'bout him. lol

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  29. Not really, shut your pie hole you are reacting because I am laughing at murder victims. Who in your family got murdered? Tell all of us we won't laugh.

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  30. Shut up you little Emo bitch I know where your from I've seen hour face book

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  31. Adam's so dumb, he thinks that the facebook link I gave you guys is for real.

    C'mon Adam you badass come and laugh at my house for being red or whatever.

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  32. "Not really, shut your pie hole you are reacting because I am laughing at murder victims. Who in your family got murdered? Tell all of us we won't laugh."

    Nope. I'm reacting because I dislike you and these stupid claims you make to make yourself look like...what you believe is a sociopath.

    I don't care all that much about murder victims, my empathy doesn't tend to extend that far.

    I'm not sure whether you actually believe it, but no, nobody in my family has been murdered. Only one relative has died, in fact, in my lifetime, at age 80.

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  33. Mike go tweet about Starbucks you fat fuck

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  34. Misanthrope can't have sex. His condition gets understandable this way.

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  35. L shut up atleast people listen to me your a nobody, I'm a celeb here.

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  36. Adam is a substitute for lady ? rofl

    Are you a lady Adam ? Should we call you Eve ?

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  37. Mike that wasnt me. But you should know that I have about as much respect for you as my imposter.

    Phaos. Why are you asking stupid questions? I couldn't give a shit about any of that. In fact nobody could. Normal people just convince themselves that they care so that they feel better about themselves.

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  38. Mike that wasnt me. But you should know that I have about as much respect for you as my imposter.

    Phaos. Why are you asking stupid questions? I couldn't give a shit about any of that. In fact nobody could. Normal people just convince themselves that they care so that they feel better about themselves.

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  39. "L shut up atleast people listen to me your a nobody, I'm a celeb here."
    I don't really care... I'd generally rather go unnoticed anyway. If you enjoy the positive and negative attention, well, good for you. Have fun while it lasts.

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  40. Mike that wasnt me. But you should know that I have about as much respect for you as my imposter.

    Phaos. Why are you asking stupid questions? I couldn't give a shit about any of that. In fact nobody could. Normal people just convince themselves that they care so that they feel better about themselves.

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  41. Ok Misanthrope.

    Good comeback to Phaos by the way.

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  42. Mike that wasnt me. But you should know that I have about as much respect for you as my imposter.

    Phaos. Why are you asking stupid questions? I couldn't give a shit about any of that. In fact nobody could. Normal people just convince themselves that they care so that they feel better about themselelves.

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  43. Misanthrope says Adam B like UKan.February 10, 2011 at 11:38 AM

    Adam is biting your style, UKan

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  44. Misanthrope is right, even if they exist severely under-stimulated.

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  45. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  46. 'Why are you asking stupid questions? I couldn't give a shit about any of that. In fact nobody could. Normal people just convince themselves that they care so that they feel better about themselelves.'

    Misanthrope, that's a very ignorant statement. (i edited my post since i was ranting a bit before). Christ...

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  47. Why did you delete your comment notme? Are you really that insecure?

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  48. Oh...

    I thought it was good the way it was...

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  49. Someone's afraid of saying something inappropriate on this blog? It can't happen.

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  50. that's the first proper comment i've deleted. I pride myself on not giving much of a shit here.
    But i already explained why i deleted this one. It's no biggy.
    Ia-l de dragă? :P

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  51. lol

    What did you mean about ia-l de draga?

    It doesn't mean anything. I could roughly translate it as "take it as dear".

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  52. hehe, blame that fucking google translate.
    'get it darlin'?'

    ;)

    can't blame a girl for trying...

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  53. I read your original post, notme and frankly I don't care. You probably think I'm arrogant and I am, but I'm also right. Did you really care about the "poor" chillian miners while they were trapped underground? Were you devistated by the "heart wrenching" story of Baby P?

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  54. Yeah, pretty cute...

    You're quite flirty aren't you?

    Or am I getting wrong signals around here?

    How old are you?

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  55. I read your original post notme, and frankly I don't care. You probably think I'm arrogant and I am, but I'm also right. Did you really care about the "poor chillian" miners while they were trapped undrground? And were you truley devistated by the "heart wrenching" story or Baby P?

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  56. yeah you're getting wrong signals. not flirting. sheesh.
    i meant i was trying to write in romanian.
    Ne pare rau
    lols

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  57. I see...

    I am pretty narcissistic this way.

    "Ne pare rau" means "We are sorry"
    "Imi pare rau" means "sorry"

    ;)

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  58. I read your original post, notme and frankly I don't care. You probably think Im arrogant, and I am but I'm also right. Did you really care about the "poor" chillian miners when they were trapped underground? And were you trulely devistated by the "heart wrenching" story of Baby P?

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  59. whoever created google translate is a moron.

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  60. I read your original post, notme and frankly I dont care. You probably think I'm arrogant and I am, but I'm also right. Did you really care about the "poor" chillian miners when they were trapped underground?
    And were you truley devistated by the "heart wrenching" story of Baby P?

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  61. Ok, to whoever is posting as misanthrope, lol.

    I can't even tell the real from the fake because the fake made a replicate blog account to copy the posts from the original haha.

    Major dick-ridin'

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  62. you're not right. You made a complete generalisation which was insulting to the truth.
    Personally, i didn't care about the chilean miners and i know nothing about baby P and I possibly wouldn't care if I had. However, I do care about a great many other things that I see. We can't care about everything, it's physically impossible. This doesn't mean that when we do care, it is a pretence. For starters, it does NOT make me feel good to feel someone's elses pain or feel empathy. Perhaps that's your sadistic nature speaking? Ever considered that?
    You are arrogant by presuming you KNOW exactly what other's motivations and experiences are. Not everyone is like you. No.1 lesson in life.

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  63. If I don't know and like them, why would I care? It was a stupid question and misanthrope nailed it. That's how everyone is. Its no different then crying at a death in a mpvie. You don't bactually care you just get caught up in the drama.

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  64. "Personally, i didn't care about the chilean miners and i know nothing about baby P and I possibly wouldn't care if I had."

    And thats exactly my point. most people say "oh isn't that just dreadful" and then they get on with their fucking day. Most people only really care about the the events and people close to them. Everything else is outside of their range of empathy, but they convince themselves that it isn't because they think that they're supposed to care but they're not. Your supposed to look ot for yourself, and thats all. My attitude is fuck everything, Because everything and everyone is outside of my range of empathy. I just don't care.

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  65. "Personally, i didn't care about the chilean miners and i know nothing about baby P and I possibly wouldn't care if I had."

    And thats exactly my point. most people say "oh isn't that just dreadful" and then they get on with their fucking day. Most people only really care about the the events and people close to them. Everything else is outside of their range of empathy, but they convince themselves that it isn't because they think that they're supposed to care but they're not. Your supposed to look ot for yourself, and thats all. My attitude is fuck everything, Because everything and everyone is outside of my range of empathy. I just don't care.

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  66. "Personally, i didn't care about the chilean miners and i know nothing about baby P and I possibly wouldn't care if I had."

    And thats exactly my point. most people say "oh isn't that just dreadful" and then they get on with their fucking day. Most people only really care about the the events and people close to them. Everything else is outside of their range of empathy, but they convince themselves that it isn't because they think that they're supposed to care but they're not. Your supposed to look ot for yourself, and thats all. My attitude is fuck everything, Because everything and everyone is outside of my range of empathy. I just don't care.

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  67. Misanthrope, (your comment got spammed but here's my response anyway).

    some people feign empathy,
    some people feel it genuinely. Some people do neither. Some people do one more than the other, some people do both equally. Do you get it? Painting everyone with the same brush is to me a reflection of the inability of the mind to perceive and process subtleties. You categorise everyone and everything so superficially.
    That's why you convince yourself that you know everything - cos the way you see people is shallow and monochrome - even though it's often innacurate.

    You complain that non-sociopaths think everyone is like them. I see the same behaviour here often, only in reverse. You simply can't fathom what it is you can't experience, so you disparage it.

    I don't want to argue about this boring topic, but when i see a glaring innacuracy it's hard to avoid responding.

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  69. This place is full of shit

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  70. Maybe it's compost. :P

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  71. It's an argument many (even intelligent) people use a lot, I don't experience this/know about this/understand this, therefore it cannot exist. It's idiotic.

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  72. absolutely i love tn.
    It does make me wonder though, what does it take for people to not think this narrowly - does it take empathy? (ironically - which btw is more about the power of the imagination i'd say, as well as strength of emotions).
    Or does it take a certain kind of wisdom and awareness? - ie. a non-egotistical perspective.

    I think you can arrive at this understanding either way.

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  73. You just have to accept you're not always right, nobody is. I only realised this recently myself. The one thing you have to remember is the world doesn't stop at the end of your knowledge, just because you don't know about or understand nuclear fission obviously doesn't mean it doesn't exist. What reason is there to think that that principle only applies to physics? Why does that make any more sense than thinking nuclear fission doesn't exist?

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  74. Concerning Phaos's question which I only now read because of the tantrum that surrounded it, I can say that indeed sociopaths don't give a shit at all about this kind of events.

    As for normal people, I don't know. My mom seems really bothered by violent things on tv so I think she cares.

    I also think that the tragedies that are being broadcast don't really make a change or impact people seriously.

    I think that a lot of that feeds a human need for seeing suffering. People have that. They need to look and it interests them when a tragedy happens.

    It's not like someone watches something bad happening on tv and they turn their head away or switch the channel, they tune into the suffering.
    I think that they enjoy seeing other people suffer because otherwise they wouldn't watch. It's a need for drama inside the human being that is being fed by the news.

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  75. I highly doubt that Mike. I'm not sure why they do it but I don't reckon they enjoy it as such. Also I imagine part of the reason it doesn't have a massive impact on people is a) because it's on the television which I would hazard a guess impairs one's ability to relate (it doesn't seem so real) b) because they couldn't afford to let it have a massive effect on them, if people got caught up in every bit of suffering they wouldn't be able to survive. And c) it's not happening to them on anyone they know, I'd guess that distances them from it.
    But that could be bullshit.

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  76. there's two things happenning at once. People's attention is drawn to danger, it's a survival mechanism - so we watch. But, false danger (it's on tv, it's not happening to us directly) creates desensitisation over time to what's on screen.
    Also, Mike, have you never heard anyone say, 'i don't watch the news anymore' - it's because it creates an overstimulation of adrenalin - when adrenalin has nowhere to go, (ie. can't be invested in a solution to the threat), it stays in the body and creates negative emotions - an imbalance of chemicals. (that's partly what's happening i suspect).

    No, actual empaths don't enjoy the suffering Mike. And i've turned off the news many times before.
    It's not always the case, in every rule there's an exception. We need a degree of threat (real or illusory) to keep us feeling alive, but too much and we feel crap.

    i love tn is right.

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  77. I just did the "Myer Briggs" quite recently, it turns out I am an ENTP, what did everyone else get?

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  78. i was ESFJ last time i checked. 'the provider' or something.

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  80. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  81. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  82. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  83. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  84. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  85. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  86. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  87. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  88. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  89. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  90. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  91. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  92. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  93. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  94. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  95. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  96. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  97. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  98. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  99. twenties.

    and LOL. ^^^^^^

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  100. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  101. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  102. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  103. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  104. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  105. I literally have no idea what happened there? Mental. Haha.
    And yeah, that seems to fit.

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  106. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  107. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  108. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  109. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  110. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  111. Oh dude that is so not cool. God damn...

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  112. Honestly I don't think people care as much as they say they do. Its total shit. One of my employees invoked her dead father as a excuse a couple of weeks ago and I know it was a lie. I've seen people do all sorts of things to people to save their own skin. Deep down all of you are just as empty. All the sentimental shit you fill your life with is just a smokescreen to supress how you really feel.

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  113. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  114. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  115. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  116. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  117. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  118. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  119. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  120. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  121. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  122. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  123. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  124. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  125. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  126. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  127. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  128. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  129. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  130. Somehow that doesn't surprise me Notme. :) Though I wonder what age you are?

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  131. Can you guys see a load of posts from my name too?

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  132. No. What are you talking about?

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  133. Ukan 'Deep down all of you are just as empty.'
    I see some wishful thinking going on there. Emptiness has nothing to do with what i said, you're projecting.
    You think everyone is the same? You think i was describing ALL non-sociopaths? You have heard of a spectrum, right?????? I was describing one type, one shade. Unlike you, i do not lump everyone together.
    Ukan, everything I said previously is proven in your comment. I think you need to get your head out your arse. And stop arguing with me, i can't be bothered to argue tonight. Or, go meet more people, preferably of a different caliber than the ones you know. Christ you can be a right imbecile. You're probably doing this just to piss me off. Cos you can't be that dumb, surely.
    :P

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  134. If you don't want me to argue with you, that makes you a bitch.

    What's the matter, are you afraid of getting your ass pounded by me verbally?

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  135. no i love tn. which posts?

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  136. Some weird spam shit is going down with my name on it. But that's cool if no one else can see it.

    As it goes UKan that's exactly the kind of view I was talking about earlier. People are different, that's it. Using dead people as excuses doesn't quite ring true for me. But who knows. And yes, people will do almost anything to save themselves but that doesn't mean they don't care or are as empty as us. I can't think you'll ever be successful if you're this unaware of how other people work.

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  137. Ukan, you're lucky i conversed with you at all.

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  138. you are my pawn.

    @I love tn

    I am using your name bitch.

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  139. i love tn, i was joking, i can see all the multiple posts.

    Stop saying bitch, it's passe.

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  140. I know how you work. You are wheels. Cogs. You wait for someone to wind you up and away you go.
    Luck had nothing to do with us conversing. I speak and you react

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  141. Yeah... That doesn't really translate over the internet Notme.

    *sigh* Sometimes people say clever things and I think I like them. It never lasts, they always say something stupid.

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  142. Im not using bitch you cunt figure it out

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  143. who, I said something stupid? i'm just playing along with 'Ukan'. idle hands and all that...
    i'm far from perfect i love tn.


    wv: splumpat

    ???

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  144. baker street

    in homage to all the sherlock holmes talk here and to one of my fave parts of london...

    :D

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  145. Ha ha ha. Are you stupid? No you are insecure. That's why when anyone says anything negative you think it's you they are talking about

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  146. Oh no, UKan did. Again. I kind of liked him at first and sometimes he has interesting things to say but most of the time he's ridiculous, he clearly hasn't bothered to think about anything before deciding he's right, it makes him come across as... pathetic. Child-like.

    And I do like Holmes, also I live near there haha :)

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  147. yes sometimes i'm insecure. duh. news just in.~

    like the song??

    saxophone galore.

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  148. I dont want your love or admiration, which is why I let someone troll my name since they were stirring shit up.
    Next time have a end game, its unimpressive. Plus I use cunt not bitch you monkey, get it right.
    GRK you have the minimal intelligence to get on this site. That's pretty much it. In a matter of a week we knew everything about you.

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  149. Then how come you commented so quickly. Idiot

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  150. I love tn at 2:50pm:

    I believe most closed-minded adults live aggressively self-centred lives, and tend to lack the ability to put themselves in someone else's shoes, so don't respond to what another person is feeling appropriately because they can't recognise it.

    However, when they're told what walking in another person's shoes feels like in terms they can understand, unless they're incapable of it they usually respond appropriately to other people's feelings, including aptly with compassion.

    Yes, lack of empathy is also seen as a disorder, but I'm surprised more work hasn't been done on Paul Eckman's three kinds of it: cognitive, emotional, and compassionate.

    Is a sociopath or narcissist lacking all three kinds of empathy? No, they're not: they're usually incredibly talented at cognitive empathy or knowing what another person is thinking or feeling.

    Myself, not so much. However I feel what others do (emotional empathy) and feel compelled to help them (compassionate empathy) - oftentimes, too much.

    In my opinion it's not common for people to possess all three kinds of empathy, equally, or in equal measures of each.

    Perhaps as a result, a false display of *sympathetic* concern too often passes for a true display of empathic concern even among the medical establishment.

    Mike at 3:14pm:

    I'm with Nietzsche: witnessing tragedy from a safe distance lets us enact a profound sense of catharsis because the unity of the drama denies the meaninglessness of life.

    Personally I don't follow the news because, well, it's not my kind of fiction.

    Also, I like to feel acutely awake to the intensity of life which I can't do when I'm being systematically desensitised to dehumanisation, poisoned with misinformation, and trained to be disillusioned.

    Like all media it tries to control my curiosity whereas I prefer to presume nothing, about anyone *or* anything, and draw my own conclusions.

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  151. Trolling me just makes me look smart and gives me more attention. You get no credit for anything. You fail.

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  152. Hahaha, really? I expected someone else?

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  153. Awhh, UKan, baby. Nothing makes you look smart. And none of that was trolling, I wasn't even talking to you. As it goes I am me and GRK is, whoever GRK is.

    SeaWitch. In that case I rule at cognitive. Seriously though. You're over educated, but usually slightly nonsensical. Or I get confused easily. No offence either way.

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  154. No one is addressing you ilovetoons. You were cut out of the conversation a while ago. I had to scroll up to remember what you said last. I guess that's how irrelevant you were. At any case it it at least more coherent then your last comment. You win the muppet award.

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  155. lol, Medusa's on the rag. ;)

    Sea witch, i'm on the same page as you defo.

    'Paul Eckman's three kinds of it: cognitive, emotional, and compassionate.'

    that's quite interesting. didn't know about that.
    so people can feel emotional empathy but not act on it as with compassionate empathy?
    hmm..that seems weird. I thought the point of emotional empathy is to act on it.

    lol, doctors are often very hard, i see it clearly it's quite funny. But then, that's part of the complexity of people, they need to be somewhat hard to perform a 'caring' service. However, the lack of genuine concern probably produces bad oversights too.

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  156. In men and women, the relative length of the index and fourth finger is different - in men, the index finger tends to be shorter than the ring finger, while in women, it is more likely that the fingers are similarly long, or the index finger longer.

    My ring fingers are very clearly longer.

    So I really am a dude.

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  157. Empathy is not compassion - I can have a deep awareness of another person's suffering but not want to do anything about it.

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  158. something else to mention - human beings are not 100% consistent, hence, untrustworthy. (so, all that i've said above also goes with the disclaimer which should go without saying, that there are exceptions everywhere).

    arguably, the most unpredicatable are the extremes, only they appear unpredictable on a day to day basis. Thus, untrustworthy on a day to day basis. However, i'd vouch, that in a crisis, in an 'extreme' situation, they are likely to be the most trustworthy, the most proactive people who others turn to, the ones who act on the instinct that they otherwise have to fight on a daily basis.

    it's an observation i have made.

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  159. Hmm, my violin really is a thing of beauty. Speaking of which, anyone else play musical instruments?

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  160. i dabble a bit on piano, and learnt guitar for a couple of years then gave up. So, only a bit. Voice is my instrument but it needs dire training and quitting cigarettes. i haven't belted a tune out in ages which makes me feel bereft and depressed as hell.

    i think Medusa's a proper pianist. Must be that long ring finger. ;)

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  161. Pick a tune and do it Notme.

    I don't doubt it Medusa.

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  162. Wow, I just noticed there is a shirt. I can't wait to see someone wearing it! :)

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  163. There's mugs too. I'm interested to see if anyone buys one.

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  164. hey where've you been Pythias? Welcome back :)

    lol, i laughed when i saw that stuff - someone should so wear one. They'd make a great conversation piece.

    I will i love tn! :D

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  165. i meant sing something, not buy a mug! lols.

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  166. I'm sorry, I have to ask, what does "I love tn" mean?

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  167. And seriously. I need something to do or the next door neighbors cat is gonna get it. Not cause I'm psychopath, it just makes a LOT of noise and I'm very bored.

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  168. Hah. Didn't notice the shop.

    I almost think I want a t-shirt. And I'm a person who is against any clothing that has words on it.

    Lol, there's baby wear, even. How could I have ever expected less.

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  169. Haa. I'd have a kid just so I could dress it in that.

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  170. Dogwear, too.

    I want one of these kiddy socios here to buy one. Kill their puppy, put that on the corpse, alert that authorities.

    The cocaine of instant site ranking improvement.

    (Disclaimer: It is agreed by all, so says I, that if such an act comes to pass, neither I nor SociopathWorld is liable for damages under the First Amendment. Please sign here.)

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  171. Delayed, I can only come up with one word for that.

    Kill the cat anyway.

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  172. Well it's probably that one.
    Hmm, risky especially after the last one, and not that fun... If I get bored enough.

    Haha Medusa, the dog t-shirt did make me feel kinda sick. Your idea made me laugh though.

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  173. People can now be wolves/sheep in SociopathWorld clothing.

    Disgusting!

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  174. Mike said...
    "Mike, you're high? How could you tell?"

    Pardon my asking dudelicious... what do you mean ?

    February 10, 2011 10:31 AM

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  175. So you're too scared?

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  176. Only the non-sociopaths will be buying them. And girls for their boyfreinds.
    I would have thought there would have been black shirts.

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  177. I love tn said...
    Can you guys see a load of posts from my name too?

    February 10, 2011 5:11 PM

    Ukan said...
    No. What are you talking about?

    February 10, 2011 5:13 PM

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  178. Why not UCon-fidence tnight?February 10, 2011 at 7:46 PM

    UKan,
    Something is not right with you . Did someone make you mad today? Erection problems? Something..
    Do tell.

    ReplyDelete
  179. lol i love funny bit!

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  180. Notme at 6:35pm and Medusa at 6:41pm:

    I first came across the suggestion that there are different types of empathy akin to cognitive, emotional, and compassionate in a book I was reading on the patterns and motivations of murderers.

    To me this makes a lot of sense, as does the emerging school of thought that there's a difference between "empathy (as the more intuitive emotional aspect) and perspective taking (as the more cognitive aspect)" - thank you, Wikipedia.

    The article on face-reading masquerading as 'mind-reading', in my opinion, is *merely* testing perspective taking.

    I don't believe autistic people lack empathy in terms of being able to recognise or share feelings – but because they recognise them by intuiting them, and not by perceiving them, they also don't reflect them back in ways that other people can perceive them, so are mistakenly seen to be devoid of it.

    Similarly, when I said before that a false display of *sympathetic concern* too often passes for a true display of *empathic concern* even among the medical establishment, I meant that a *stereotypical show* of sympathy too often passes for empathy (not that doctors suck, although like any profession, some do.)

    Encouraging autistic children to strengthen their perspective taking skills while disregarding their naturally stronger intuitive skills is damaging and leads to a lot of unnecessary grief. Imagine doing the same to non-autistic children! It's akin to forcing a left-handed person to write with their right-hand and setting them up for falls.

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  181. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  182. My empathy is definitely cognitive (except when it comes to myself), and has taken a while to develop.

    It's a pretty conscious and deliberate thing most of the time, barely has much to do with intuition.

    Except when it comes to myself.

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  183. I love tn
    I am so scared you'll wonder how old I am too.

    Having diarrhea tonight? Are you?

    How did you manage to spatter around like that, man? Or, are you a woman?

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  184. Yah im talking to you

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  185. Well in that case UKan. No, not scared just clever, thanks.

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  186. Ukan what the hells wrong with you today? why so boring?
    Something's up, i can tell. Tell mama notme...

    ReplyDelete
  187. Medusa said...
    Medusa ♥ Nikita

    lol.

    ReplyDelete

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