Faking Authenticity
The Dark Triad are masters at presenting falsely
In an era of info bombardment and lots of disinformation, we seek something real, something authentic. Sadly, this sets up us for manipulation at the hands of the Dark Triad.
The Dark Triad have compromised brains as I discuss in The Bullied Brain. In short, the Dark Triad are made up of narcissists, Machiavellians, and psychopaths. They are pathological liars and not to be trusted. But, they are brilliant at telling self-serving lies and we are remarkably susceptible to their deceptions.
Don’t think for a minute that you’re safe from manipulation because you’re educated or confident or informed or privileged. Dark Triad brains - especially the psychopaths - are even able to confuse psychiatric experts in less than an hour. They’re able to make these experts doubt their own sense of reality and replace it with the lies of the psychopath. If interested in more detail see The Gaslit Brain.
Imagine that you believe someone who is your complete opposite: you’re a parent struggling to make ends meet and they’re someone who has inherited a fortune; you’re a woman seeking better protection and they’re a sex abuser; you’re a religious person and their whole history is defined by desecration; you’re a law-abiding citizen and they’re a felon. Why do you believe them?
The answer lies in brain science. It’s not your fault. They’re highly skilled at putting on fictional masks that respond to what you seek. So if you’re a parent, they promise to lower the cost of groceries; if you’re a woman, they promise to protect you; if you’re a Christian, they say they’ll be your saviour; if you’re a law-abiding citizen they cover up or quiet down or ignore their convictions and use the law as an attack dog to solidify their alignment with the law.
What you need to notice is that the fictional mask changes depending on the group being addressed. Integrity requires one face, one way of speaking and acting. A quick way to identify the psychopath is to recognize that the face (the mask) changes depending on the audience.
If you’re seeking authenticity, don’t fall for the fictional mask.