One of Slate’s Twenty Overlooked Books of 2012In this engrossing journey into the lives of psychopaths and their infamously crafty behaviors, the renowned psychologist Kevin Dutton reveals that there is a scale of “madness” along which we all sit. Incorporating the latest advances in brain scanning and neuroscience, Dutton demonstrates that the brilliant neurosurgeon who lacks empathy has more in common with a Ted Bundy who kills for pleasure than we may wish to admit, and that a mugger in a dimly lit parking lot may well, in fact, have the same nerveless poise as a titan of industry.Dutton argues that there are indeed “functional psychopaths” among us—different from their murderous counterparts—who use their detached, unflinching, and charismatic personalities to succeed in mainstream society, and that shockingly, in some fields, the more “psychopathic” people are, the more likely they are to succeed. Dutton deconstructs this often misunderstood diagnosis through bold on-the-ground reporting and original scientific research as he mingles with the criminally insane in a high-security ward, shares a drink with one of the world’s most successful con artists, and undergoes transcranial magnetic stimulation to discover firsthand exactly how it feels to see through the eyes of a psychopath.As Dutton develops his theory that we all possess psychopathic tendencies, he puts forward the argument that society as a whole is more psychopathic than ever: after all, psychopaths tend to be fearless, confident, charming, ruthless, and focused—qualities that are tailor-made for success in the twenty-first century. Provocative at every turn, The Wisdom of Psychopaths is a riveting adventure that reveals that it’s our much-maligned dark side that often conceals the trump cards of success.

lgli/0374291357.wisdom.psychopats

lgrsnf/0374291357.wisdom.psychopats

Dutton, Kevin

North Point Press

Hill & Wang

Macmillan

1st ed., New York, New York State, 2012

First paperback edition, New York, 2013

United States, United States of America

37779th, PS, 2012

0

lg888483

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Includes bibliographical references and index.

In this engrossing journey into the lives of psychopaths and their infamously crafty behaviors, the renowned psychologist Kevin Dutton reveals that there is a scale of madness along which we all sit. Incorporating the latest advances in brain scanning and neuroscience, Dutton demonstrates that the brilliant neurosurgeon who lacks empathy has more in common with a Ted Bundy who kills for pleasure than we may wish to admit, and that a mugger in a dimly lit parking lot may well, in fact, have the same nerveless poise as a titan of industry.
Dutton argues that there are indeed functional psychopaths among usdifferent from their murderous counterpartswho use their detached, unflinching, and charismatic personalities to succeed in mainstream society, and that shockingly, in some fields, the more psychopathic people are, the more likely they are to succeed. Dutton deconstructs this often misunderstood diagnosis through bold on-the-ground reporting and original scientific research as he mingles with the criminally insane in a high-security ward, shares a drink with one of the worlds most successful con artists, and undergoes transcranial magnetic stimulation to discover firsthand exactly how it feels to see through the eyes of a psychopath.
As Dutton develops his theory that we all possess psychopathic tendencies, he puts forward the argument that society as a whole is more psychopathic than ever: after all, psychopaths tend to be fearless, confident, charming, ruthless, and focusedqualities that are tailor-made for success in the twenty-first century. Provocative at every turn, The Wisdom of Psychopaths is a riveting adventure that reveals that its our much-maligned dark side that often conceals the trump cards of success.

In this engrossing journey into the lives of psychopaths and their infamously crafty behaviors, psychologist Kevin Dutton reveals that there is a scale of “madness” along which we all sit. Incorporating the latest advances in brain scanning and neuroscience, Dutton demonstrates that the brilliant neurosurgeon who lacks empathy has more in common with a Ted Bundy who kills for pleasure than we may wish to admit, and that a mugger in a dimly lit parking lot may well, in fact, have the same nerveless poise as a titan of industry.
Dutton argues that there are indeed “functional psychopaths” among us different from their murderous counterparts - who use their detached, unflinching, and charismatic personalities to succeed in mainstream society, and that shockingly, in some fields, the more “psychopathic” people are, the more likely they are to succeed. Dutton deconstructs this often misunderstood diagnosis through bold on-the-ground reporting and original scientific research as he mingles with the criminally insane in a high-security ward, shares a drink with one of the world’s most successful con artists, and undergoes transcranial magnetic stimulation to discover firsthand exactly how it feels to see through the eyes of a psychopath.
As Dutton develops his theory that we all possess psychopathic tendencies, he puts forward the argument that society as a whole is more psychopathic than ever: psychopaths tend to be fearless, confident, charming, ruthless, and focused - qualities that are tailor-made for success in the 21st century.
The Wisdom of Psychopaths is a riveting adventure that reveals that it’s our much-maligned dark side that often conceals the trump cards of success.

<p>In this groundbreaking adventure into the worlds of psychopaths, the renowned psychologist Kevin Dutton argues that there is a fine line between a brilliant surgeon who lacks empathy and a Hannibal Lecter who kills for pleasure. Incorporating the latest advances in brain scanning and neuroscience, Dutton reveals that there is a scale of “madness” along which we all sit. Dutton deconstructs this misunderstood diagnosis through bold on-the-ground reporting and original scientific research, and as he mingles with psychopathic criminals in a top security hospital, undergoes a “make me a psychopath” experiment, and visits monks to track their eye movements and microexpressions, he shows us that a mugger in a dimly lit parking lot tonight may very well be the Special Forces hero of tomorrow. Dutton also puts forth the controversial argument that our society as a whole is more psychopathic than ever: psychopaths tend to be fearless, confident, charismatic, ruthless, and focused—qualities tailor-made for success in the twenty-first century.</p>
<p>Provocative and surprising at every turn, <i>The Wisdom of Psychopaths</i> is a riveting journey into the lives of the insane that will spark debate for years to come.</p>

An analysis of what can be learned from psychopaths incorporates advances in brain scanning and neuroscience to illustrate the scale of mental health that impacts everyone, the role of functional psychopathic behaviors in success, and the misunderstandings that impact treatments

Preface
Scorpio rising
Will the real psychopath please step forward?
Carpe noctem
The wisdom of psychopaths
Make me a psychopath
The seven deadly wins
Supersanity
Notes
Acknowledgments
Index.

2013-03-29