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Comment by Ludwig Fahrbach (ludwig-fahrbach) on Book Review: Going Infinite · 2023-10-25T12:25:00.704Z · LW · GW

Using the Hare Psychopathy Checklist, SBF seems to be a psychopath. The Checklist consists of 20 items. Each item is scored on a three-point scale, with a rating of 0 if it does not apply at all, 1 if there is a partial match or mixed information, and 2 if there is a reasonably good match.  Here are my ratings. Most of my ratings follow quite directly from Zvi's account. I tried to err on the conservative side. 

Disclaimer: I am a layperson, not a psychiatrist, and have no relevant training in this area. The Wikipedia page warns against laypersons applying the Checklist. 

  • Glibness/superficial charm -- 1 point (2 points?)
  • Grandiose sense of self-worth -- 2 points 
  • Need for stimulation/proneness to boredom -- 2 points
  • Pathological lying -- 2 points
  • Conning/manipulative -- 2 points
  • Lack of remorse or guilt -- 2 points
  • Shallow affect -- 2 points
  • Callous/lack of empathy -- 2 points
  • Parasitic lifestyle -- 1 point (debatable)
  • Poor behavioral controls -- 1 point (debatable)
  • Promiscuous sexual behavior -- 0 points
  • Early behavior problems -- 0 points
  • Lack of realistic long-term goals -- 0 point (because of EA and utilitarianism, but debatable) 
  • Impulsivity -- 2 points
  • Irresponsibility -- 2 points
  • Failure to accept responsibility for own actions -- 2 points
  • Many short-term marital relationships - 0 points
  • Juvenile delinquency -- 0 points
  • Revocation of conditional release -- 0 points
  • Criminal versatility -- 2 points

Source: Wikipedia

 

The sum is 25 points. 25/40 counts as a case of psychopathy in the UK and "sometimes for research purposes", but not in the U.S. For comparison, Jeffrey Dahmer scored at 23/40 (Wikipedia), and the average male scores at 4/25 (The Psychopath Whisperer, Kent Kiehl p. 77. Kent Kiehl is an established scientist in the field and his book is highly recommended.) In the end, it is not so important whether SBF should be classified as a psychopath. Rather what is interesting is that many items on the Checklist match those in Zvi's account quite closely.