The lethal combination of intelligence and insanity.

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BlueAbyss
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10 Jan 2013, 6:08 pm

Shizz wrote:

ruveyn wrote:

auntblabby wrote:

how do we keep people like him out of trouble?

Since there is no reliable way of spotting addled folk like him, we have to deal with the damage they do after the fact. Having a compulsory test for being sociopathic or psychopathic would be an open invitation to institutionalize anyone who deviates from the "social norm". It would be a means by which the government could remove anyone who disagrees with its policies on the grounds that such disagreement is "sociopathic". The Soviets used to do this. Any political divergence was "diagnose" as a form of insanity and the person having such troublesome views was wrapped up in a straight jacket.

ruveyn

psychopaths have no emotions, so they are able to plan better because they won't get impulsive or emotional and lose site of their agenda. They have a goal and manipulate anyone to get it. The legal definition of insanity is that the person doesn't know right from wrong so they just don't know that what they did is against the law. Regular crazy people don't plan stuff like this. I've known some really smart people who go through all sorts of schemes to make money and I can't understand why they don't apply their street smarts to getting something done to make a legitimate living. I think sociopaths have a perverseness that makes them feel better about themselves when they outsmart society. Psychopaths wouldn't care to risk their well being, but a mixture of both sociopath and psychopath is a bad combination.

Huh, I would have put it much more simplistically, that it's too bad he didn't use his intelligence for good instead of evil. I don't know if it was mental illness or flawed character, I suspect a combination of the two. But it certainly has sealed his fate, as well, unfortunately, as those of his victims. That's the sad part.

"A man's character is his fate." - Heraclitus

It seems James Holmes' fate is to rot in prison or a mental institution. So much for intelligence.

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ruveyn
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10 Jan 2013, 6:49 pm

Shizz wrote:

psychopaths have no emotions

Not so. They are afraid of being caught and punished. That is an emotion. They plan carefully to avoid being caught.

ruveyn

Shizz
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10 Jan 2013, 8:11 pm

BlueAbyss wrote:

Shizz wrote:

ruveyn wrote:

auntblabby wrote:

how do we keep people like him out of trouble?

lol,

umm, well it's more than that, insanity by definition means that you can't tell the difference between right actions or wrong actions, good/bad, but a psychopath does know when he is breaking a law. A crazy person has no understanding of laws. A sociopath enjoys breaking social rules just for kicks or personal gain while a psychopath is much more controlled in his actions and less emotional/impulsive.

Shizz
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10 Jan 2013, 8:14 pm

ruveyn wrote:

Shizz wrote:

psychopaths have no emotions

Not so. They are afraid of being caught and punished. That is an emotion. They plan carefully to avoid being caught.

ruveyn

I wonder if psychopaths have fear. I've seen some face to face that don't show emotion, like they are sharks. Sharks avoid nets out of fear? Maybe.

auntblabby
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10 Jan 2013, 10:48 pm

in any case, it is a monumental waste of good potential. what is it about our culture which turns so many souls to the dark side? why did ted kaczkinski [a maths genius specializing in boundary functions] turn to the dark side? why could he not have been salvaged? why could lanza have not been salvaged? why do we allow this wholesale waste of potential to continue? what is it profiting us as a society?

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11 Jan 2013, 2:32 am

the devil will make work for idle hands to do
I stole and I lied
because you asked me to
and now you know the truth about me
you wont see me anymore

but I'm still fond of you
daddy

Sweetleaf
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11 Jan 2013, 2:41 am

I still think there was something fishy about that whole thing, so I am still not sure how to feel about it. Mostly I wonder if he acted completely alone or not. So not so sure this is a case of the dangers of madness and intelligence existing together.

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heavenlyabyss
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11 Jan 2013, 7:10 am

The guy is not a genius. Don't give him credit he doesn't deserve.

Objectively, he is most likely of above average intelligence. There are a lot of people who fit this description though.

LizNY
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11 Jan 2013, 6:22 pm

Surfman wrote:

The fathers of these recent monsters:

Brevik, dad was a foreign diplomat
Holmes, dad brilliant lecturer
Lanza, dad million a year executive

LizNY yes
but decent parenting may offset this insanity
how many of these fathers are undiagnosed PDDers???????
maybe they think: I'm brilliant so I dont need to parent correctly.........
or cant due to emotional disturbances
[or an overly material agenda and focus on the world stage- no emotional room or time for little Jimmy]

here's a video game and movie to keep you occupied

Perhaps. These fathers could be poor parents. Or these wildly successful fathers may set the success bar far too high for their offspring and demand this success out of them. and in response, their kids may lash out in disturbing ways that they believe will show their brains and power since these kids believe (and possibly truly so) that they will never meet the expectations of their parents and the surrounding community/society. in earlier generations, kids in similar situations rebelled and fell into slacker mode. but i have to wonder if these tragedies are created out of similar family circumstances as the larger society ever increasingly focuses on success at all costs.

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Shizz
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11 Jan 2013, 8:53 pm

auntblabby wrote:

the dark side is so easy and fun compared to all the hard work and personal awareness that goes into being good.

Maybe the answer to these questions is that nature is lazy and it's as simple as that.

BlueAbyss
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12 Jan 2013, 1:35 am

Shizz wrote:

BlueAbyss wrote:

Shizz wrote:

ruveyn wrote:

auntblabby wrote:

how do we keep people like him out of trouble?

I'm not sure I believe in "insanity" applying in cases that are so premeditated. Someone whose thoughts are organized enough to plan something so elaborate without blabbing about it in advance knows that what he's planning is wrong.

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auntblabby
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12 Jan 2013, 1:38 am

Shizz wrote:

Maybe the answer to these questions is that nature is lazy and it's as simple as that.

and our american culture is even "lazier." people are too disposable here, for a supposedly "civilized" culture.

Surfman
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12 Jan 2013, 1:49 am

A civilisation would be very different to me

raisedbyignorance
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12 Jan 2013, 2:19 am

Anyone could come up with an elaborate plan for anything but his bombs didn't work and he got caught very quickly after the shooting so technically speaking he's not a genius.

Chaos_Epoch
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12 Jan 2013, 4:03 am

ruveyn wrote:

Shizz wrote:

psychopaths have no emotions

Not so. They are afraid of being caught and punished. That is an emotion. They plan carefully to avoid being caught.

ruveyn

psychopath's have no emotions when the run through with whatever act they're committing in order to get that title, all that matters is hurting someone.

sociopath's also seem to have a lack of emotion, but they however tend to think their crimes out or go with the subtle and indirect approach, e.g. turning people against one another. which makes them a little more dangerous in most situations.

with the cases that are televised, it's hard to tell who is who when you get nutcases such as Brevrick and Holmes who could have planned ahead looking for as many deaths as possible, or it could just have been a random shooting. did they know they were going to get caught? where were they off to next? most of the questions never get answered.

BlueAbyss
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12 Jan 2013, 10:16 am

Shizz wrote:

auntblabby wrote:

I disagree. I find being good to be a lot easier than being bad. And a lot less stressful.

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