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davidr 's review for:
James Fallon is a neuroscientist, a professor of psychiatry at the School of Medicine at University of California, Irvine. He is an active researcher in brain structure. He discovered telltale attributes of brain scans (PET, fMRI) that indicate that a person is a psychopath.
So, it was with shock and some degree of disbelief, when he found that his own brain scan showed that he, himself is a psychopath! And then, additional evidence came in that he is a psychopath. First, a relative did a genealogy of his father's ancestors. It showed that seven of his ancestors were murderers! They had murdered their close relatives, never outsiders. The famous case of Lizzie Borden is among his ancestors!
And then, James Fallon asked his friends and relatives to comment on his personality--the whole truth, no holds barred. And he got the truth; Fallon is a fun guy to be around, but totally untrustworthy. As an example, he took his own brother on a trip to a particular cave in Kenya, where he new that Marburg disease (related to Ebola!) is actively infectious. When his brother learned that Fallon knowingly took him to this dangerous place, he realized just how untrustwothy he is. Fallon does not want to harm anybody; he is not a violent man, he is married and has children, and never committed a violent act. But he has no empathy for other people. He can fake empathy, but does not really feel it in his gut.
But nevertheless, he is a distinguished scientist, and has made many contributions to neuroscience. This is a fascinating book; about two percent of the world's population are psychopaths. They are not all violent; they have learned to cope, and many probably do not even understand what "empathy" is all about. How can you know you lack a feeling, if you have never felt it yourself?
So, it was with shock and some degree of disbelief, when he found that his own brain scan showed that he, himself is a psychopath! And then, additional evidence came in that he is a psychopath. First, a relative did a genealogy of his father's ancestors. It showed that seven of his ancestors were murderers! They had murdered their close relatives, never outsiders. The famous case of Lizzie Borden is among his ancestors!
And then, James Fallon asked his friends and relatives to comment on his personality--the whole truth, no holds barred. And he got the truth; Fallon is a fun guy to be around, but totally untrustworthy. As an example, he took his own brother on a trip to a particular cave in Kenya, where he new that Marburg disease (related to Ebola!) is actively infectious. When his brother learned that Fallon knowingly took him to this dangerous place, he realized just how untrustwothy he is. Fallon does not want to harm anybody; he is not a violent man, he is married and has children, and never committed a violent act. But he has no empathy for other people. He can fake empathy, but does not really feel it in his gut.
But nevertheless, he is a distinguished scientist, and has made many contributions to neuroscience. This is a fascinating book; about two percent of the world's population are psychopaths. They are not all violent; they have learned to cope, and many probably do not even understand what "empathy" is all about. How can you know you lack a feeling, if you have never felt it yourself?