Note: I’m no longer going to publish every Wednesday. Or at least, I might not. I have spent almost two and a half years now publishing a note every Wednesday. I did this mostly as an exercise in discipline — a way to build the skills necessary to write for an audience. And now I’ve done that, so it’s time to ease off the gas a bit.
The new site looks amazeballs! (my attempt at saying what I really feel). Your posts have made me a better man if in no other way then by the mere fact that I drink more water nowadays. For a while I delved into the psychology of true sociopaths (after an encounter with one), and there were some positive things I picked up from that. Firstly, I learnt that sociopaths pay more attention to others than normal people. They are better listeners and much more attentive to things like body language etc. I also learnt that a lor of us normal people hide our sociopathic tendencies behind moral facades. Think of the football fans who end up hurting each other after a match in support of their team, or a cop who goes too far to catch a criminal. That made me aware of my own tendencies to do this. Another thing I learnt is that sociopaths are more creative in thinking up solutions to problems because they have a wider range of possible actions. I think this is what ties in with your post. There was a story in Kevin Dutton's book 'The Wisdom of Psychopaths' about a landlord who was having trouble evicting a tenant, and Kevin asked some psychopaths what they would do in that scenario. Long story short their solutions seemed more likely to work. I think normal people can benefit from leaning into their sociopathic sides to some extent.
The new site looks amazeballs! (my attempt at saying what I really feel). Your posts have made me a better man if in no other way then by the mere fact that I drink more water nowadays. For a while I delved into the psychology of true sociopaths (after an encounter with one), and there were some positive things I picked up from that. Firstly, I learnt that sociopaths pay more attention to others than normal people. They are better listeners and much more attentive to things like body language etc. I also learnt that a lor of us normal people hide our sociopathic tendencies behind moral facades. Think of the football fans who end up hurting each other after a match in support of their team, or a cop who goes too far to catch a criminal. That made me aware of my own tendencies to do this. Another thing I learnt is that sociopaths are more creative in thinking up solutions to problems because they have a wider range of possible actions. I think this is what ties in with your post. There was a story in Kevin Dutton's book 'The Wisdom of Psychopaths' about a landlord who was having trouble evicting a tenant, and Kevin asked some psychopaths what they would do in that scenario. Long story short their solutions seemed more likely to work. I think normal people can benefit from leaning into their sociopathic sides to some extent.
Great post! I look so forward to your posts! I will be sad if they are less frequent. Keep writing. You have a gift!