#human behavior

Publication Date: February 9th, 2021

Rating:  ★★★★★

As far as studying psychopaths, serial killers, and how they might have become the way they are, this book is an absolute gem. I knew when I started this that it was going to be a five star rating within the first few pages. Starting off with the preface, which was amazingly written and enticing the reader to continue reading, we read about the last “celebrity” serial killer of the epidemic years and a name everyone knows: Jeffrey Dahmer. Enough of a blurb to show how lives can change forever in one day and really kickstart the whole book.

Vronsky writes an absolutely fascinating introduction to the “golden years” of serial killers. His writing is clear and concise, and absolutely filled with interesting statistics, facts, and information. Organized by decade based on the adaption of serial killers in the time and featuring prominent killers in the media, we also learn about outside influences each decade that could help cook up the perfect storm that makes psychopaths commit these heinous acts. Things like wars and fathers with PTSD, media such as movies and magazine filled with dark themes in post war times, the politics of race and underreporting of black victims, the brain of a psychopath and the damage that can cause a shift in personality, etc. 

One of the greatest parts of this book for me had to be Vronsky’s thorough use of his research and citations. I took down so many of his citations for science journals and books that I want to read to do further research. He remains seemingly objective to everything and merely writes things as they are, which is a talent to be respected when dealing with atrocities that break your heart. He is such a good writer that some of the descriptions and reading about the lives of the victims is devastating. 

Thank you to Peter Vronsky, Berkley, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC, especially for such a well-written book. 

-

Saylor Rains

Find me and this review on Goodreads.

But, oh, to get involved in the exchange of human emotions / Is ever so, ever so satisfying

  - “Human Behaviour”, 1993

Observe, observe, observe.

—Milton Erickson

其实我们都可以伸出援手-we can all help others

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tilthat:

TIL one of Frank Abagnale’s first cons included, disguising as a security guard, hanging a sign above a bank drop box that read, “Out of service, leave deposit with security guard”. Later he commented how he could not believe it worked, “How can a drop box be out of service?”

viareddit.com

Apparently Catch Me If You Can was going to include this con but they had to cancel the scene because when they tried to film it people kept walking up and trying to give Leo their money.

So a professor of mine used to work at a bank back in the day. She says one day a guy in professional attire and a clipboard shows up in a big moving truck. He says he’s from the home office and they’re changing all the chairs. He’s needs them to just load all their old chairs into his truck and later he’d be back with the replacements.

And that’s how they gave away their office furniture to a conman whose master plan was “Wear a tie and carry a clipboard.”

Looking professional is just a pass to do whatever the hell you want.

Put a suit on and you can get almost anywhere.

there’s more to it, look nice and ACT LIKE YOU BELONG. If you don’t look like you belong there, people will stop you.

this smacks of a chef i heard of that was tired to death that every single person ordered their eggs ‘over easy’, so asked the waitress to say ‘were out of over easy, we have plenty of scrambled’ and nobody questioned it

How low must your self image be to plan to rob a bank and all you take is some second hand chairs?

I 100% believe this was a former employee with a grudge.

Kid you not, this is how a sister store of mine got their entire dog treat bar stolen.

A couple of guys said they were with maintenance and they were there to replace the old bar with a new one and the employees were like “Seems legit” and they wheeled them out.  The staff even helped them do it.

This is called a “Bavarian Fire Drill” and the trick to pulling it off is to have absolute confidence that it’s going to work. If you seem even the slightest bit nervous or hesitant, everyone will see right through it.

Case in point:

In 1906, a German con man named Wilhelm Voigt dressed up in a German Army captain’s uniform and entered the town of Köpenick claiming to be an “inspector” (inspector of what, he never specified). He managed to wrangle ten German soldiers and a sergeant into assisting him, ordered the local police to halt all telephone calls to Berlin for an hour, arrested the mayor and treasurer for nonexistent charges of crooked bookkeeping, and confiscated the town’s entire treasury complete with a receipt which he signed with his former jail director’s name. He only got caught (two weeks later) because his former cellmate blabbed, and was later pardoned by Kaiser Wilhelm II who found the whole thing hilarious.

That Kaiser is a definite bro.

This is why slytherins like to be fancy and professional looking

When you’re a trickster, it pays to be … low key.

I was hired to help test a security system once. I was sent in to a semi-large company and had to go through a list of certain objectives. My favorite one was “take something out of the building that is too big to hide on your body.“ I paired it with “get into a secured facility within the building.”

I walked in in my general business getup. Shirt, tie, jacket, nice pants, not quite “suit” because it was all just a little bit shabby and not exactly matching but not clashing. Nice briefcase. Clipboard.

Getting into the secured part was easy. Learned the name of the supervisor, told the security guard that “Cindy said they’d let me in without a problem on my first day. Something about the badges not being made fast enough.” Sure, no problem, go ahead.

Walked in, unhooked a PC tower, walked to the bathroom where I’d hidden a dolly earlier, went into a stall and changed into the outfit I’d had in the briefcase. It was what I’d consider workman’s clothes but a worker in an office, not like a construction worker.

Blue jeans, t-shirt, worker’s vest (low key), hat, good boots but 2nd hand.

Threw the tower on the mover’s dolly with a couple other things, stacked very slightly precariously but not likely to fall, walked over to the stairs leading down, and started going down to the way out, which I knew had a security guard on it.

As soon as I saw him see me I stumbled and yelled out. He came running over and helped stabilize everything. Helped me down the stairs. Held the door open for me and told me to “have a nice day” as I left. Never asked for my badge or even where I was going with the stuff.

Act like you know what you’re doing. Look like you belong. Be confident.

That’s 75% of it right there.

That is some Moist Von Lipwig bullshit right there and I am fucking delighted.

A former coworker told me about the time he was working at Pizza Hut, first job ever, and a guy showed up with a clipboard and said he was there to inspect the taplines. Walks in, pours a pint from each of the six taps, chugs each pint, says everything seems in order, and left the building.

My buddy and the other guy on shift both decided it was best not to report it.

Your eyes see what your mind tells them to see. Your mind is affected by your current experiences and mood. Do you see two hands letting go, or one extending a hand to the other?

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