Careers With the Most Psychopaths

Before you go any further, you should check some facts:

1.086% of population have asperger

A more complex discussion of numbers for psychopaths


A good rule of thumb for both is 2%. The true conditions are very rare, very hard to quantify and does not describe each individual and their behaviours well anyways.

Please educate yourself on how these conditions works before trying to enlighten others.

Very "high" numbers for traders on the second link:

  • 10% of people in the financial services industry are psychopaths
    Dr. Christopher Bayer, New York psychologist & psychoanalyst, Wall Street Psychologist

  • 10% of Wall street employees are psychopaths
    Sherree DeCovny, Writer on CFA magazine
    As written in the March/April 2012 issue of the CFA magazine

But this doesn't give any meaning unless you know how diverse the true conditions are, what we know and don't know, how different psychopathy is from autism and how bad diagnosis describes each individual. If you believe there is a majority of psychopaths somewhere, look into psychopathic systems instead (upon which Western culture is built).

Neither your or d08's points are refuting my theory. Psychopathy an autism are spectrum disorders of varying intensity and with some overlapping. The lack of a theory of mind and reduced empathy found in many autistics could share a genetic basis with the reduced empathy found in those on the psychopathic spectrum. The increased risk of autism and psychopathy from the male sex raises the theoretical possibility of brain masculinzation playing a role in decreased empathy.
 
Simples,

Do you think the reason for the high numbers on high wall street or the financial services is due to their shared backgrounds ?

For example, almost all of them are college graduates, many are not from poor families especially when you get into the management positions, many live (work) in an environment that money determines your value as a person and social status...

Thus, does money corrupt the mind and increases the chance to be psychopathic ?

This is probably too much simplification and ignoring much of the true reasons for what's happening. Ie. Wealthy people usually have deeper values than poor people, since they need to care for larger systems, need to be smarter, etc.

If I were to guess, when people are raised by different values and standards, then I would guess it is the learned values that are manifesting, and not necessarily physiological traits. However, studies do show that physiological traits might become expressed more by stresses such as social repression and violence as well.

Research in gene expression might provide some understanding how it can be both ways. Research in gut bacteria flora may provide insights into autism.

However, personality disorders might, for better and for worse, just be part of a complex personality. I think it better to treat individuals and the surrounding systems / environment, and be mindful of how little we know.

Q3D is right in that we know too little and there are many possibilities / complexities. However, playing the divide and conquer-game, blame-game or generalization-game, will certainly be counterproductive and a blind alley.
 
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Neither your or d08's points are refuting my theory. Psychopathy an autism are spectrum disorders of varying intensity and with some overlapping. The lack of a theory of mind and reduced empathy found in many autistics could share a genetic basis with the reduced empathy found in those on the psychopathic spectrum. The increased risk of autism and psychopathy from the male sex raises the theoretical possibility of brain masculinzation playing a role in decreased empathy.

"Spectrum disorders", sometimes you just type without thinking I suppose...

They are classified completely separately.
Autism is not related to violence in any way. Psychopathy is very common in violent people, a large portion of jail population are psychopaths.
Autistic people have empathy, possibly even too much of it. Psychopaths lack empathy.

Pretty funny that you said trading is impossible due to HFT, then to demonize traders who can, labeled them as "autistic psychopaths". Whatever helps you sleep.
 
"Spectrum disorders", sometimes you just type without thinking I suppose...

They are classified completely separately.
Autism is not related to violence in any way. Psychopathy is very common in violent people, a large portion of jail population are psychopaths.
Autistic people have empathy, possibly even too much of it. Psychopaths lack empathy.

Pretty funny that you said trading is impossible due to HFT, then to demonize traders who can, labeled them as "autistic psychopaths". Whatever helps you sleep.

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/scien...covered-he-was-a-psychopath-180947814/?no-ist

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexithymia

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886911004132
 
This isn't related to what I said, it's just talking about psychopathy. I read 2 out of the 3.

All articles fit the assertion that these disorders are spectrums and not as black-and-white as you had suggested. I agree psychopathy and autism are not directly connected, although they could share some genetic basis. Being able to not be emotionally influenced by other people's mental states is useful for a Wall Street executive or a chartist.
 
All articles fit the assertion that these disorders are spectrums and not as black-and-white as you had suggested. I agree psychopathy and autism are not directly connected, although they could share some genetic basis. Being able to not be emotionally influenced by other people's mental states is useful for a Wall Street executive or a chartist.

Wall Street executive, probably. A "chartist", probably not as you don't deal with people anyway. A psychopath needs someone to use to get ahead, a trader working alone can only rely on himself and has to take responsibility - he's the furthest thing from a psychopath.
This is also why people in jail, very often psychopaths, are scared of solitary confinement so much, they have to be around potential targets to abuse and receive their admiration - without it they start to come apart. Personally, in many prisoners I'd volunteer to be in solitary.

You can't just throw everything in there and say it's a spectrum. Yeah, being an amputee and having a lobotomy is also a spectrum.
 
...I agree psychopathy and autism are not directly connected, although they could share some genetic basis...

Psychopathy and Autism do not share the same genetic basis and one of them is more susceptible to sociological and environmental influences than the other (you should be able to guess which one is that). Yet, you have been very careful in using the word "could" in your statements.

Further, there are parts of the brain (e.g amygdala) that are impaired in psychopaths whereas not impaired in those diagnose as autistic. In fact, those that are autistic has an abnormal growth in their amygdala that's linked to a specific gene. Just as important, there are parts of the brain that are impaired in autism (e.g. cerebellum and hippocampus) that are not impaired in those diagnosed as being a psychopath.

Note: I use the word impaired a little too loosely above. What I'm saying is that there's a difference in the impairment between autistic and psychopatic although in reality both are impaired.

Simply, there are physiological differences in the brain between the two along with the fact that one of them is more susceptible to sociological and environmental influences than the other.

So yeah, as you stated...they are not directly connected and the only genetic basis is that both can be influence from genes that's hereditary but not by the same genes. Thus, if you're going to use those words "genetic basis"...make sure you're not implying the same genes in both. I say this only because some people are not familiar with genetic descriptions and when they see the words "genetic basis"...they easily think in error that such involves the exact same genes.

By the way, brain trauma injury (e.g. shaking of a child) can cause autistic or psychopathic behavior in a child. Just as important, adults (after the brain has developed) will have a tendency to develop psychopathic behavior than autism if they suffer a brain injury (e.g. football players, hockey players, boxers, rugby players, UFC/MMA and so on) after multiple concussions that can lead to CTE.
 
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I have been diagnosed with ASPD, I can say being psychopathic has helped my trading. Execute orders like a machine, I don't think like a killer, I think like the big money.

I just don't like going out or being around people unless we have something in common like trading/finance.econimics. Outside of that, it is hard for me to get along with most people. It is both great and sucks!
 
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