Category Archives: screening

CRISPR changes everything

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Autism

Some mental illness may no longer need to be diagnosed through social tests.    While the United States busys itself with corporate protectionist legislation like the TPP to protect the major drug companies, some of the world is experimenting with the new precise, cheap and repeatable gene editing method known as CRISPR.

In the past gene editing was hit or miss.  Practiced more like chemistry, it was more like a million misses to a marginal hit.  Identifying a gene was not enough, splicing it became a major endeavor for companies like Monsanto.   Experiments on human DNA (except perhaps if you count our GMO diet) was effectively impossible.

As of 2015, the CRISPR technique, takes a precise strand of DNA and inserts it, reliably, in a larger DNA strand, precisely where it is told to insert it.   This is the holy grail of both nano scale assembly, and made to order DNA.  The mind reels.  Designer babies are eminent.  Greatly reduced aging is possible.  DNA based nanites can built to both manufacture on the table top and enhance human attributes.

These are in the future (AFAIK), but before all that, apparently we have already begun to use it verify genetic disease.  The technology is not even a year old and Chinese scientists have already implanted a suspected autism gene in monkeys, to see if their behavior varies.  It does.

The implications are huge for all illness from athletes foot to cancer, but it’s important that the first study is on behavioral disease.  If the civilization gene is correct and psychopathy is genetic, we could be close to a completely different world.  There are no suspect genes (other than the debunked warrior gene) at the moment, but it is possible to find, were the right people to take interest.  Now, a new way to verify that first study is readily available.

Conversely should some mental illnesses become officially understood to be genetic, psychopaths should  be easier to diagnose.  Psychopaths are the highest functioning mental illness.  ASPD stage psychopaths are well known for feigning other mental illnesses to evade detection.  A narrower field of patients through genetic screening for other disease means less misdiagnosis, and more understanding of the social consequences of widespread psychopathy.  That ultimately means real targeted help for the psychopaths.

Is civgene just apophenia? Why don’t you run an experiment?

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microscope

I was asked a variant of the above question, here is my response.

Proof is expensive, and hard.

I estimated finding the psychopathy gene would cost be about 30-50 million dollars.   Not to mention if I’m correct I’d need at least a few political favors from powerful government figures to keep it from being shut down.  If I am correct it is certain some people ‘in charge’ are psychopaths, know it, and don’t want to be caught.

Here’s the link I sent you a while back.
http://civgene.matthewnewhall.com/background

Which includes the following.
http://civgene.matthewnewhall.com/papers/Psychopaths-genetic-screening.html

That’s where the 30-50 million comes from.  Proof may well cost 100 million dollars.  That’s why.  If a study is funded, I’ll help anyway I can.  Of course I’d love to hear flaws in how such a study might work versus my suggestions.

I could be wrong, but I doubt it’s apophenia.   But here’s how to convince me it might be.  Use logic or good data to disprove one of these axioms.  I’ll be happy to elaborate more on the ‘weak spot.’

  1. Copernicus observed and theorized.  Adam Smith observed and theorized.  Darwin observed and theorized.  Observation and positing theories is how new science is done.  It just happens in this case I didn’t need a huge grant from the NIH simply make the observations.  The details were hidden in plain sight.  Now I would like one to prove the theory they provide.  I noticed them partly because I have such a strange group of perspectives and interests.
  2. All people have some ‘good’ in them is incorrect.  Some (not all) people will never revert to behavior that is a mean benifit to humanity.  This is based on Hare’s psychopath work.   BTW his work is used to parole (or not parole) convicts.  Ignoring this science not only refutes the science he helped create but is passing a blind eye to real peoples hurt (no parole) resulting from the bad science.  Our perception that they need ‘one more chance’ is a projection of who we are onto them.  (this last point is illustrative)
  3. Hare’s work, specifically the psychopathy checklist has endured not only scientific peer review, but judicial review in multiple countries.
  4. Psychopaths display no behaviors that can’t be found in the body of mentally healthy adult humans.  The reverse is not true.  Most humans display regular symptoms of a conscience (perhaps with periodic omissions or exceptions in the form of psychopathic behavior), psychopaths never do.
  5. People are out to get you, but they are not working together.  To me this draws the line between authentic apophenia/paranoia and reasonable caution.  There is an argument against this, but interestingly you need to assume at least part of civgene is true to make it.  As another illustrative point, I have had some success with speculation on science trends in the past (open source.)
  6. Game theory or selfish logic, fails in the real world.  Most people help each other, at least sometimes, even when there is no benefit.
  7. Economic explanations of the foundation of civilization are muddy, overly complex and incoherent.   Archaeological remnants of civilization appear suddenly indicating a rapid change in behavior with technologies at their onset.
  8. Many facts about psychopathy are brand new.  There was no coherent definition of it until the 1970s.  So it’s the right time for these ideas.  Modern science of psychopathy couldn’t have happened without microcomputers, a pre-requisite for the MRI, a prerequisite for some repeatable experiments.  So… the earliest it could have happened was the 1970s.
  9. Psychopaths know they are different.  A psychopath knows they function and operate differently than the people around them, even if they don’t know they are a psychopath.  Psychopaths are relatively indifferent about lying and are highly competitive so they are VERY unlikely to admit they are sick or strange unless they think it provides them a competitive advantage somehow.  All these facts come directly from Hare’s work.  They are critical to crafting the psychopathy checklist.

These are key points that formed civgene.  Since then I’ve been just using the new lens to bring events into focus.

Because some of the most powerful stand to loose their most prized possessions (money, power) if civgene is proven, it’s important to proceed to remediation of the damage without the proof.  I lay this out in the type on civilization paper.
http://civgene.matthewnewhall.com/papers/Type-one.html

That’s why I didn’t just stop at civgene.  No they can’t trust each other or work together, but many callous people have a common interest.  To prevent civgene from being fact.

BTW I also have a paper on how to falsify civgene specific theories.
http://www.civgene.matthewnewhall.com/papers/Civgene-falsifiability.html

And why I think this fell on me.
http://civgene.matthewnewhall.com/archives/723

You may disagree, and I may be a nut, but that doesn’t prove I am wrong either.  Thank you for your points.

Tie a bell around their neck.

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bell

 

Previously I have written about how to create a type one civilization without genetic screening for psychopaths.  But what if we did genetic screening for the civilization gene?  What would a genetic study look like?  How would society look after the discovery of the civilization gene?

A couple of samples.

Dr Hare has previous suggested the only way to really protect society from psychopaths is to tie a bell around their neck. We already do that, sometimes. The ASPD or ego stage psychopaths volunteer themselves for screening by the criminal justice system. This is no accident. The antics of ASPD psychopaths in jail(like attempts on Dr Hare’s life) led him to his numerous studies on the subject. The Hare was born in the pen, to be used in the pen.

People have a fundamental right to free will and to define their relationships, and may fraternize, interact, conduct business with, and even reproduce with who they like, including psychopaths. These rights shall not be infringed. This is the fundamental underpinning for the right to fork ANY organization including national governments. The right of rejection of government authority is the flip side of giving psychopaths rights that they are wired to abuse.

http://civgene.matthewnewhall.com/papers/Psychopaths-genetic-screening.html

 

Kohlberg, psychopaths, and the pointless tragedy of Socrates

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Socrates

The problem with most of our modern social models is they assume that humanity is exactly one global set of behavioural variations.  This makes sense as actionable study of psychopaths has really started in the early 70s.  Without a concerted effort until the 1990s.  Psychopathy as completely different set of social behaviour is only 40 years old, and it’s most definitive test, the MRI word list, only 30.

Lawrence Kohlberg developed a theory of moral development.  Of course his development model assumes all humans could display all behaviours but this is not true.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kohlberg%27s_stages_of_moral_development

It turns out only the first four stages of moral development are available to psychopaths.  The highest a human with only a master/slave model of interaction is a level four (of six) or the law and order model of society.  Level 5 is almost a literal definition of applied empathy, and level six is expanding empathy beyond the current physical and temporal constraints into a system of higher principals.  No empathy IS the definition of a psychopath.

For simplicities sake, I’m working on the principal the proceeding stages are automatically available (they seem to be) when a higher stage is accomplished.  Theoretically psychopaths could accept that society is their master and they the slave, IF they accept that all the empaths working together are superior to their self in every way, AND that is unlikely to change.  Without screening it is impossible to guarantee a psychopath will never perceive a golden opportunity rapidly plunging them back into a two or a one (what’s in it for me.) on Kohlberg’s scale.  So for now it seems they are reduced to the highest possible consistent state of a three, assuming that they have accepted a ‘social norm’ that many people would take a golden opportunity.  Unfortunately this is true enough in a society where their imperceptibility is the norm.

I have long contended that no society could be peaceful unless their entire membership is at least a four or law and order oriented.  Then post conventional agents could adjust the laws as needed, and the society could adapt to their environment without conflict.

When Socrates was threatened with death he contented that law and order were the minimal requirements for a peaceful civilization.  Without the aid of Kohlberg’s stages I think he was describing a level four citizen as a societies minimal requirement for progress and peace.  What Socrates didn’t know is that (absent genetic screening) that a percentage of indistinguishable humans could never become a stage four in moral development.  So long as some high functioning humans can’t get past a three, there can never really be peace.

I understand Socrates decision at both a gut and an intellectual level, but he didn’t have all the information.  He didn’t know that some people could never ever be reliable fours, and could never truly revere law and order, no matter how intelligent or logical they became.  That they just didn’t have a conscience, and we just couldn’t spot them every time.  If he did he would have realized that the social contract had always been invalid, because some of it’s signers traded a property they could not have ever owned.  The capacity for complete reliability.  He would have ran.  He would have raised and army, and he would have crushed the disintegrating country that condemned him.

What a tragic waste.

Self defense from sociopaths

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barn

As I mentioned in the BSA and Catholic Church child defense review, an intelligent sociopath stage psychopath may show no signs until a golden opportunity presents it’s self.  Without genetic screening how do you protect yourself?  Actually there are quite a few things you can do.   They may require permanent life changes, but it’s well worth it.  You won’t need to wait until society catches up to enjoy the benefits.

The key to happiness is a commitment to enlightenment.    Once you know how to know yourself, then making the world a better place becomes the obvious goal.  The key to both of these stages is knowing who to trust.  If you know who to trust, everything else falls into place.   It’s all about conserving energy for endeavors that first help yourself, and ultimately strengthen your ability to help others.

Train Yourself

  • Know yourself – You have emotions attached to every memory.  You can’t (and shouldn’t) change them all, but if you know WHY you have that emotional reaction then you own it.  If you can’t be surprised, you can’t be manipulated.  Your emotions may be hurtful or damaging, and destructive, but are never inaccurate.  That’s what you feel.  Understand them all.  Learn to counteract old destructive emotions, with positive ones that value you, your loved ones and your societies.  If you understand the old emotions and add new positive emotions, the old ones become
    far less dangerous or destructive.  The conscience is a game of averages.
  • Study psychopaths – Learn about how psychopaths act in narcissistic, ASPD and sociopath stages, and how intelligence and wealth accelerates the progression.  Consider how someone who views all others as either their master or their slave would interact with the world.   You can study many other animals for examples.  Know what a golden opportunity is, not just in reality, but from different perspectives, points of view,and intelligence levels.  Most importantly always remember that all people project what they want to see onto others.  They will project superficiality onto you, and you compassion and empathy on them.
  • Become a meta-psychopath –  Intentionally hide your emotions and act like a psychopath under some conditions.  This is very dangerous and not for everybody.  Your conscience can quickly become overloaded with negative emotions, making you the monster you set out to fight.  Once you understand how other people work, and completely know yourself (your emotions), you can put them aside for a larger purpose.  Undercover police are a great example of how this might work.  Avoid hierarchical psychopath cooperatives as they become police states and cults, and you may not be allowed to abandon your post when the needs of your conscience demands it.  For hands on training you can join a society that is a psychopath cooperative.  This is where psychopaths are allowed some psychopathic behavior in exchange for strict limits as to when and where they can act out.  Typical examples might be black markets, counter-cultures, and activist collectives.  Of course I am NOT endorsing any illegal activity here.  For example the global heavy metal society may be one example of a completely legal, non-hierarchical counter-culture that is mildly psychopathic.

 

Identify psychopaths

  • Perform the questionnaire – Take the Hare attributes and Thomas Sheridan’s attributes and rate 6-10 people from 1-5 (not true to very true) for each attribute.  You must make sure to include yourself, and at least one person you are sure is not a psychopath to create a baseline.  If anyone has all the required attributes and many of the others, you have identified them.
  • Play the dupe – If you truly know yourself then bragging, boasting and generally displaying your full prowess is not needed.  Learn how to get people to underestimate you.  You will know you are succeeding when you become the subject of cruel jokes and endless ribbing and brow beating.  The psychopath will quickly assert themselves as them master and begin to order you about.  Now you have found them.
  • Set traps – Leave a variety of easy scores laying about.  Leave a $100 as bookmark on a coffee table book.  Leave your most powerful pain killer prescription bottle in the medicine cabinet in your bathroom with an exact number of placebo (probiodics work great)  pills in it.  Set your boss up to take credit for a project of yours at work.  Send a flirty, loyal but unknown friend to chat with your boyfriend, and see if he takes the bait.  If they take the bait no need to confront them.  The goal was identification, mission accomplished.
  • Examine their past – Don’t be afraid to ask tough questions about their past, not only of them but previous friends.  It doesn’t need to be a job interview.  Ask to see photo albums.  Ask about old cars.  Previous houses, towns.  Psychopaths love to brag so make it about how great their things and awards were.  This takes some time but this should yield research-able leads about their entire life.  If not, the risk is too great to continue.
  • Observe behavior

Ending the madness

Once you know who to trust your following actions should be a fairly easy decision.  It may be difficult to walk the path, but please persevere.  Shun all psychopaths.  Interact with them as minimally as possible.That way the next time they see a golden opportunity, you won’t be involved.  If must interact with them be sure you have a trusted witness.

Unless you are comfortable and skilled as a meta-psychopath, you should not remain in a society with known psychopaths.  Instead focus on local societies.  Use the rules of the societies to rout them, or find/form societies that have not yet been infiltrated and controlled.

If you are financially involved with a psychopath, minimize interactions to business, record everything, and make a plan to exit the relationship as soon as possible.

One day I will expand and revise this list.  Of course I am open to suggestions.  I hope this helps.

Type one civilization paper complete

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peace

Major additions to the type one civilization paper. Added a comprehensive section on how to reform national governments to reduce corruption. Please reread and share.

Here is an excerpt.

I would suggest a new political party would be needed. The distribution party, or the distributors of law. Endorsing capitalist republics, but ones with minimal powers under constant scrutiny and subject to regular legal distribution. Fiscally conservative but socially liberal. Dedicated to rewriting laws and their allocated funding to the smallest locales possible.

http://civgene.matthewnewhall.com/papers/Type-one-v3.html

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