The Sociopath Next Door

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There is an excellent book by psychologist Martha Stout called "The Sociopath Next Door" which examines this subject. The author claims as many as 1 in 25 Americans is a sociopath. http://www.amazon.com/Sociopath-Next-Door-Martha-Stout/dp/07... Indeed, this book changed my perception of human nature -- some people are un-reformable. Most of them aren't serial killers, they're just dicks who get their rocks off by controlling other people. Think your asshole boss, or a jerk you knew who was always using people.

…admittedly uneducated) understanding that a psychopath cannot maintain trait #1 (superficial charm & charisma). I got this from having read Martha Stout's excellent book The Sociopath Next Door, which is an incredible eye-opener. It is estimated that 1 in 25 are missing the brain mechanism known as "conscience", which Stout describes as "an intervening sense of obligation based in our emotional attachments to others". I don't currently work for anyone with this set of symptoms, but I have before. Before that, I was married to one. Both are pretty draining experiences. FWIW, here's something I wrote after reading Stout's book. Parts of it are a bit oblique, but you may find it interesting: http://tinyurl.com/ob89u6

…ounds like a sociopath, someone who lacks a conscience and will say anything they think they can get away with manipulate people into doing what they want. Read the book The Sociopath Next Door, it's a decent intro (skip the bunk "origins of conscience" chapter) - until you realize they literally can't be like a normal person, you'll keep thinking they'll make good on their promises and the golden future they've described will arrive. I worked at a startup owned by a sociopath for most of a year. There were some huge promises and I was excited to be part of it. Except that sometimes the founder was a huge jerk sometimes, except the business didn't feel quite right, except agreements never worked out like I understood they would. I finally realized something was badly wrong when, instead of the long-promised stock options, they offered emp…