“The Wisdom of Psychopaths” Kevin Dutton (2012) Review | Attractive and decisive

★★★★☆ Attractive and decisive. If you add violence they become a criminal, if they can control it they become socially successful people. And yes, you can create a psychopath.

🔽 log 🔽
The Wisdom of Psychopaths
What saints, spies, and serial killers can teach us about success 
Kevin Dutton, 2012
Read 2025.02


🔽 Book review and notes 🔽
The book is not about how Psychopaths are psycho and dangerous and crazy. It's more about how these psychopaths are among us, and usually as our leaders.

Decisive, attractive, focused, adventurous, and doesn't care about other people's opinions.
If some kind of violence is added to the character, they become criminals, but if they can control that themselves, they become socially successful.
For example, they can be those people who can easily fire their employees because they simply focus on the company's profit.

The book talks about nervous system, and that if you can manage to give the right nudge, the person could be a psychopath temporarily.
Yes, that you can make psychopaths.

Another interesting point is that a saint "as an occupation" is suitable for a psychopath. Yeah maybe it makes sense that those who have been enlightened have the same characteristics as psychopaths.
They can focus "now" and "here", without meditation or trainings.

So psychopaths are not always "bad" for the society.
The problem comes when these clever folks decide to abuse their ability.
It's not that this book is teaching us how to be psychopaths, but rather if you could think like psychopaths, you could be socially successful. Not sure if I'd like to though.

🔽 Where to buy 🔽

●●● Amazon.com (US) ●●●

The Wisdom of Psychopaths: What Saints, Spies, and Serial Killers Can Teach Us About Success Paperback

Amazon.co.uk (UK)

The Wisdom of Psychopaths Paperback

Amazon.it (Italy)

The Wisdom of Psychopaths Paperback