Bill's Notes

Just how much trouble can one percent of the population cause? In a recent book, Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work, psychologist Dr. Robert D. Hare implies that about half the serious crime, and half the trouble in the world, is caused by an amoral, conscienceless group of people he calls psychopaths. Psychopaths are people without conscience and a moral sense — he distinguishes them from sociopaths, who says have a moral sense, but it's twisted. (Osama Bin Laden, thus, is probably a socipath; Hugo Chavez is most likely a psychopath.)

Now, a writer, Barbara Oakley, writes anecdotally about something similar in her book, Evil Genes: Why Rome Fell, Hitler Rose, Enron Failed, and My Sister Stole My Mother's Boyfriend.

In the Chicago Tribune, she describes the phenomenon ... and reminds me a little of M. Scott Peck's People of the Lie, another book on the why some people are ... well, evil.

Anyway, here's some interesting items from Oakley's Tribune essay:

No, it appears the real problem is not a religion like Islam, or an ideology like communism. It is, instead, the successfully sinister who roam among us, driven by their amorality to do whatever it takes to gain and maintain control. Social structures, ideologies and religions with little by way of transparency, checks and balances can provide a fast track to the top for such individuals. Even Democratic processes can be subverted if a successfully sinister individual rises to the top and gains the freedom to rewrite the rules. Witness Hitler's election to the presidency that presaged his role as dictator, and Hugo Chavez's similar attempts to reshape his role as the president of Venezuela.

Most of us are imperfect followers of a religion or ideology, and most of us have blind spots. But science is telling us that there are an amoral few among us who are far more imperfect than others. The sizzle of bacon provides the key: We can sometimes be blind to the real nature of human nature.

Read the whole thing.

I know that I have this blind spot — too often I think (and even insist) you can deal with people rationally, and often can get very frustrated when people refuse to see reason — especially knowable, obvious, provable reason.

I also wonder sometimes about Dante's curious choice to put people living at his time in his hell. That is, Dante said that living people's souls could already have died and gone to hell ... what's left -- a machine, an incarnate demon? Anyway, Dante is not official Catholic teaching, and I wouldn't want to argue that there are people among who have souls that have already left their bodies and suffer eternally, and what's left is either a meat machine or someone fully possessed by a demon. But it is a curious thought.

I got my ass handed to me on this thread. A nice lesson in humility. The bottom line: Do not comment on the Volokh Conspiracy unless you know what you're talking about. I didn't do the reading, didn't know the facts, and once I did, realized that I didn't know enough to speak intelligently about the subject.

How does one download a YouTube video? I can see how to save it as a file to use elsewhere? Does anyone know how I can do this?

Thank you.

The Management.

Last weekend, my old high school played a state championship game in football. Technically, it's the South Jersey Group IV championship game. The Toms River North Mariners were 11-0 and playing the Mainland Regional Mustangs at North's home field. In a very weird, wild game, North won, 22-19.

So I went ... it was freezing, even colder than I expected. Sat in the stands watched two defenses beat the hell out of two offenses. Some weird stuff:

1. The Mustangs band played Black Sabbath's Ironman in the stands. Rock is not only bourgeoise, it's downright respectable now.

2. We recovered a fumble on the opponent's 19. That is, we had 19 yards to go for a touchdown. Two holding calls and an illegal procedure later, it was 1st and 35. Finally, we got off a legitimate first down play. The quarterback was sacked. Now it's 2nd and something like 44.

3. The Mustangs were a great team. But they turned the ball over seven times. Still, they only lost by three — and the difference was in the points after. It was three touchdowns each.

4. Both teams would've been better off punting on first down. Of course, punting was a problem, too. We punted from deep in our own territory, and the Mustangs defense ran through our offensive line like it wasn't even there. And you couldn't blame our kids — these Mainlanders were huge. Can't stop a freight train.

5. Back in high school, I remember cheerleaders being quite attractive. Now, 26 years later, they look like a bunch of kids.

6. The band director is not only the same guy, he looks exactly the same. He must be 800 years old and have a picture in his attic that ages for him.

7. Did I mention it was cold?

8. Our band, in the stands, played Gary Glitter's Rock and Roll No. 2. See previous comment about rock and roll. In fact, all the music was really ... um, old. Has rock and roll ceased or something? Why not get at least into the 80s for 2007? (BTW, I'm not seriously complaining, just commenting.)

9. The only person I ran into from my time is the same person I see every time I go to Toms River. It really doesn't help my deja vu problem.

10. I left when we were down 19-14. Because they were undefeated, I thought I may be jinxing the team. So I left. Actually, the cold may have had something to do with it.