I was thinking of this just seconds ago.
Just bought tonight a copy of “the sociopath next door” (sic) at the Barnes/Noble bargain bin at their entrance display. The author, Martha Stout, opines that “1 out of 25 Americans is sociopathic”. the front cover shouts, “1 in 25 ordinary Americans has no conscience...Who is the devil you know”? Inside back cover states the author “speculates this frightening statistic might be explained by our national obsession with competition, individualism and winning at any cost”.
Now that I’ve read this much from the cover, it appears it may be a polemic against the American way, capitalism and what made this country great. Hope I haven’t wasted my $8.
Martha Stout's book is a very important work for understanding a very difficult part of life. It is strong medicine but you cannot understand some people without dealing with the information in Matha's book.
You did the right thing to buy it. Keep on. It is very valuable.
The girl above appears to have classic FAS, fetal alcohol syndrome, features. FAS can also result in a diminished conscience and awareness of consequences.
I read that book. Fascinating.
Psychologists love tarring people with names culled from their reference book. That said, the reviews on Amazon looked pretty good, so enjoy the read and let us know if there’s anything we should know about.
I might get the Kindle edition for myself. I’ll for sure give the free trial a whirl.
Of course, maybe it’s also a sign of turning away from Christianity. Say what one might about such things as the earth supposedly being created in six days and so on, I’m certain that there was less psychopathy when we were all more religious.
“1 out of 25 Americans is sociopathic”
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I do not think I would believe anything this guys says.