Strange answers to the psychopath test | Jon Ronson

Introduction

• The speaker was at a friend’s house who had a copy of the DSM manual, which is a diagnostic and statistical manual for mental disorders.
• The manual has grown in size, currently consisting of 886 pages and includes 374 mental disorders.
• The speaker wondered if they had any mental disorders and discovered they were affected by twelve of them.

“I wondered if I had any mental disorders, and it turns out I have twelve of them.”

List of the speaker’s mental disorders

• Generalized anxiety disorder.
• Nightmare disorder.
• Problems with the parent-child relationship (jokingly blaming parents).
• Factitious disorder (Munchausen syndrome).
• The speaker finds it rare to have factitious disorder and generalized anxiety disorder together since factitious disorder causes extreme anxiety.

“I have generalized anxiety disorder, and that’s a given. I have nightmare disorder, which falls under the category of if you have recurring dreams where you’re being chased or announced that you’re a failure – my dreams are full of people chasing me in the street, screaming ‘You’re a failure’ (laughs). I have a problem with the parent-child relationship, which I blame my parents for (laughs). I’m joking. I’m not joking. I’m joking. I have factitious disorder. And I think it’s rare to have factitious disorder and generalized anxiety disorder because factitious disorder makes me incredibly anxious.”

Tony’s Story

• Tony was a patient in the psychiatric ward.
• He was wearing red emergency button pants.
• Tony and the other patients seemed compliant and easy to control.

“They’re under the influence of medication,” whispered Brian the Scientologist. “The worst thing in the world for a Scientologist.”

Tony’s Disguise

• There was a man walking towards the ward entrance.
• He appeared fit and was not wearing sporty cotton pants like the other patients.
• He was wearing a striped suit with his arm stretched out.
• Tony looked like a man who wanted to dress up and convince others that he was sane.

“Look, there’s Tony.”

Tony’s False Insanity

• I asked Tony if it was true that he faked his way in.
• He confirmed that he had assaulted someone when he was seventeen and was awaiting trial in jail.
• His cellmate advised him to claim insanity.
• Tony said, “Pretend you’re mad. They’ll send you to a minimum-security hospital. The nurses will bring you pizza. You’ll have your own PlayStation.”

“Well, how did you do it?” I asked.

Tony’s Plan

• Tony requested to see the prison psychiatrist.
• He had watched the movie “Crash” where people got sexual pleasure from car crashes.
• He told the psychiatrist, “I get sexual pleasure from crashing cars into walls.”
• He also expressed a desire to have sex with women while they’re unconscious, as it made him feel normal.

“Where did you get that from?” I asked. “[From the prison library’s Ted Bundy autobiography].

Tony’s Unexpected Outcome

• Tony successfully convinced the prison psychiatrist of his apparent mental illness.
• However, instead of being sent to a low-security hospital, he was sent to Broadmoor.
• Upon reaching Broadmoor, Tony expressed his frustration and informed the psychiatrist that he was not mentally ill.

“There’s been a terrible mistake. I’m not insane.”

Tony’s Long Stay

• Tony had intended to serve five years in prison for his original crime.
• However, he has been in Broadmoor for twelve years.

“It’s incredibly hard to convince people you’re sane by convincing them that you’re insane.”

Tony’s Acting Normal

• Tony believed that the best way to appear sane was by engaging in normal conversations about everyday topics.
• He mentioned being a subscriber of “New Scientist” magazine.
• Tony shared an article about the U.S. Army training honeybees to detect explosives.

“Did you know that the U.S. Army trains honeybees to detect explosives?”

Tony’s Assessment

• Tony questioned how one could sit and cross their legs in a sane way.
• He considered it impossible to do so while still being perceived as normal.

“How can you possibly sit in a sane manner? How can you cross your legs in a sane way?”

Mysterious Behavior

• The speaker, Jon Ronson, shares that he has inclinations towards serial killers like Stranglers and Tiptoe Through the Tulips rapists, which he finds terrifying.
• Sitting alone in his room for long periods is seen as a sign of madness by psychopaths.
• Experts consider his tendency to spend long periods of time in his room as evidence of his isolation and aloofness.
• Ronson questions whether his own behavior is indicative of something wrong with his mind.
• He emails his doctor, Anthony Madden, to inquire about his condition.
• Ronson’s doctor claims that his previous claim of madness was a ploy to avoid jail time, as his hallucinations vanished upon entering Broadmoor.
• Ronson’s behavior was assessed, and it was concluded that he was mentally disturbed.
• Faking madness is a deceptive and manipulative characteristic of a disturbed mind.

“Claiming that something is wrong with your mind is evidence that there is indeed something wrong with your mind.”

Glossary:

• Strange answers
• psychopath test
• Jon Ronson
• definitive line
• crazy
• sane

Emailing Don Lab – Seeking Meeting

• Sent an email to Don Lab about a rare brain defect
• Mentioned his exceptional traits and lack of fear
• Requested a meeting to discuss his rare brain defect

“I believe you have a very rare defect in your brain that makes you exceptional and unafraid. Can I meet you to discuss this defect?”

Visiting Don Lab’s Mansion

• Went to Don Lab’s grand mansion in Florida
• Filled with sculptures of predatory animals
• Explored the park with black bears, tigers, and eagles
• Lab pointed out the presence of sharks in a less flamboyant way

“There are also more sharks and more tigers.”

Inside Don Lab’s Kitchen

• Entered Don Lab’s kitchen
• Lab was known for rescuing failing companies
• Joked and fired people often
• Shared a famous story of firing someone who just bought a new car
• Lab was accompanied by his wife and personal bodyguard

“Remember how I told you in the email that you might have a rare defect in your brain that makes you exceptional?”

Don Lab’s Response to Psychopathy Accusation

• Lab found the theory fascinating
• Likened it to Star Trek, going where no one has gone before
• Psychiatrists might label him as a psychopath

“Psychopath?”

Discussing Psychopathic Traits

• Mentioned the term “psychopathy”
• Asked to go through a list of psychopathic traits
• Lab showed genuine interest and agreed

“I have a complete list of psychopathic traits in my pocket. Can I go over them with you?”

Don Lab’s Narcissistic Tendencies

• Lab exhibited a strong sense of self-worth
• Hard for him to deny it, as he stood under a giant oil painting of himself

“You need to believe in yourself!”

Psychopathic Traits – Manipulative and Shallow Affect

• Lab admitted to being manipulative
• Lab argued that it was a leadership quality
• Mentioned the inability to express deep emotions
• Lab questioned the value of being burdened with trivial emotions

“Who wants to be weighed down by meaningless emotions?”

Don Lab’s Revelation and Author’s Observation

• Lab seemed normal whenever he revealed something
• For example, he denied having any history at West Point when accepted
• Denied having short-lived marriages, despite having been divorced twice
• Lab acknowledged a past threat with a knife mentioned in divorce papers
• Lab claimed to have wondered about the taste of human flesh
• But shrugged off his ex-wife’s accusation as mere marital squabbles

“I won’t put this in my book.”

Discovering Madness

• The speaker struggled to understand madness to its fullest extent.
• After 20 years, the speaker realized that this is what journalists do.
• Journalists travel the world with their notebooks and wait for the extraordinary.

“I was striving for the furthest reaches of madness.”

Journalists and Boundaries

• Journalists travel the world with their notebooks, seeking the extreme.
• They encounter individuals with unusual personalities and delve into their lives.
• They stitch together the pieces into a cohesive story.
• Natural boundaries are left behind as they pursue the extraordinary.

“We sew them together like medieval monks.”

Country Diagnoses

• Some countries diagnose specific mental illnesses far more than reality suggests.
• For example, children as young as four years old are classified as having bipolar disorder.
• These children exhibit anger tantrums, which leads to high scores on the bipolar disorder checklist.

“Some countries diagnose certain mental illnesses far more than reality suggests.”

Strange Answers and the Psychopath Test

• When the speaker returned to London, he received a phone call from Tony.
• Tony questioned why he hadn’t answered his calls.
• The speaker mentioned that people had labeled Tony as a psychopath.

“You know what? One of the paragraphs on the checklist is lack of remorse, and another one is manipulative, cunning. So when you say you feel remorse for your crime, they say: Ah, that’s like a psychopath pretending to feel remorse when he doesn’t.”

The Inversion of Reality

• The psychopath test flips everything upside down.
• It challenges traditional notions of behavior.
• Tony mentioned that everyone is somewhat psychopathic, including himself and the speaker.

“It was like a magic trick. They’ve inverted everything.”

Unique Invitations

• Tony invited the speaker to attend his upcoming trial.
• The speaker agreed to go.

“Can you come to my trial?”

Unexpected Release

• After spending 14 years in Broadmoor hospital, Tony was released.
• His high scores on the madness checklist indicated a higher likelihood of relapse.
• However, the authorities decided it was not indefinite confinement.

“They decided he shouldn’t be stored away forever because he has very high scores on the checklist, which means he has above-average chances of recidivism.”

The Ever-Present Psychopath

• Tony stated that everyone is somewhat psychopathic.
• The speaker asked what Tony would do now.
• Tony replied that he would go to Belgium to pursue a woman he desired.

“Everybody’s a bit psychopathic, aren’t they? You. Me. Well, obviously me.”

The Grey Areas

• Tony spoke about the importance of the grey areas.
• These areas are often neglected because people prefer absolutes.
• However, it is within the grey areas that complexity, humanity, and truth are found.

“Grey areas are where you find the complexity, and where you find humanity.”

A Gesture of Gratitude

• Tony asked the speaker if he could buy him a drink to show his appreciation.
• However, the speaker declined the offer.

“Can I buy you a drink in a pub just to say thanks for what you did?”

Unpredictable Turns

• The speaker mentioned that his book concluded around two years ago.
• Everything seemed to be going well during the following 20 months.
• However, Tony ended up back in prison for a month after getting into a bar fight.

“In the ensuing 20 months, nothing bad happened.”

“He’d got into a fight in a pub, which meant he had to spend another month in prison, which I know is bad, but at least one month…sort of wasn’t really bad.”