Should You Be A Psychopath?
Use code VSAUCE250 to get 50% off your first Factor box at https://bit.ly/3mG5rbL
Please support Vsauce2 on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Vsauce2
You almost certainly know a psychopath in real life… and you may very well be one yourself. And that might even be a good thing.
We’ve recognized psychopathy in science and culture for thousands of years, yet we still don’t know what to do about it. Yet we use the word itself now more than ever, so much that the meaning of the word “psychopath” has become diluted in popular culture. As we increasingly learn more about the science of psychopathy, we should get better at deploying the term more accurately -- but instead, it’s become a catch-all for unconscionable human behavior and a mainstay of true crime stories.
Psychopaths are much more complex than that… for better and worse.
In reality, a psychopath’s brain creates and perpetually reinforces a moral code that is defined more by what it lacks than what it contains. From a total absence of anxiety to a simple utilitarian worldview that can do tremendous harm to others, the psychopath is a mix of brute force and the most subtle manipulation. And this is where it gets really complicated: you actually want the ruthlessness of a psychopath to run your company, you want the charm of a psychopath for investigative journalism, and you want the fearlessness of a psychopath to respond to medical emergencies.
Can we harness the biological and psychological forces that create dangerous, destructive psychopaths to improve humanity? And if we could cure or eliminate psychopathy… would we even want to?
ADDITIONAL READING
Kiehl, Kent. “The Psychopath Whisperer: The Science of Those Without Conscience.” https://www.amazon.com/Psychopath-Whisperer-Science-Without-Conscience/dp/0770435866
Dutton, Kevin. “The Wisdom of Psychopaths: What Saints, Spies, and Serial Killers Can Teach Us About Success.” https://www.amazon.com/Wisdom-Psychopaths-Saints-Killers-Success/dp/0374533989
*** CREDITS ***
Vsauce2:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/VsauceTwo
Instagram: https://instagram.com/kevlieber
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VsauceTwo
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@vsaucetwo
Talk Vsauce2 in The Create Unknown Discord: https://discord.gg/tcu
Vsauce2 on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/vsauce2/
Hosted and Produced by Kevin Lieber
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevinlieber
Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/thecreateunknown
Research and Writing by Matthew Tabor
https://twitter.com/TaborTCU
Editing by John Swan
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJuSltoYKrAUKnbYO5EMZ2A
Huge Thanks To Paula Lieber
https://www.etsy.com/shop/Craftality
Vsauce's Curiosity Box: https://www.curiositybox.com/
#psychology #truecrime #psychopath #mentalhealth #science
Other Videos By Vsauce2
2024-04-04 | The Insane Cult Leader Who Lived Inside The Earth |
2023-12-22 | They Starved Surrounded By Food |
2023-12-07 | The Man Who Killed Millions Trying To Grow Food In Snow |
2023-10-30 | The Man Who Wants Us Dead |
2023-09-03 | The Man Killed For Saving The World |
2023-08-23 | The Baby Bum - Mind Blow |
2023-07-31 | Should You Be A Psychopath? |
2023-07-24 | Hand Smell Predicts Gender? - Mind Blow |
2023-06-28 | Gamers Will Live Forever - Mind Blow |
2023-06-21 | Does Pain Actually Hurt? |
2023-05-30 | GROWING Computers In Your Backyard? -- Mind Blow |
2023-05-13 | Is Happiness Happy? |
2023-04-29 | Why Bugs Are Attracted To Light SOLVED - Mind Blow |
2023-04-08 | The Line Between Smart and Crazy |
2023-03-26 | The Self-Healing Robot - Mind Blow |
2023-03-09 | The Joel Miller Conspiracy #shorts |
2023-03-08 | The Insane Data of Car Chases |
2023-02-28 | New Ice Invented - Mind Blow |
2023-02-14 | The Game Theory of Snitching |
2023-02-07 | The Future of Vsauce2 |
2022-11-29 | The Problem With Talking To People |