(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best psychologist biographies

It’s cool, it’s cool! I’m half disappointed I didn’t get to introduce you to Out of Print, half thrilled you already knew and love it like I do!

Speaking of why murderers are the way they are, you can’t go wrong with anything by John Douglas, the man who basically invented criminal profiling. Netflix’s show Mindhunter is about him, based on one of his books of the same name. I can’t recommend him enough.

And one more I must recommend, similar to Jon Ronson, is Will Storr’s the Unpersuadables: Adventures With the Enemies of Science. He hangs out with folks like the world’s most (in)famous Holocaust deniers, creationists, and 9/11 & 7/7 truthers. He actually visits Auschwitz with a group lead by fucking David Irving, even participating “undercover”, pretending to be a fellow denier. It’s an compellingly readable book, and much like Ronson’s style.

I recommend all of Ronson’s and Storr’s books, because they’re just really fun and on fascinating subjects. Sort of like Malcom Gladwell, only more controversial subjects, while still being so entertaining I reread them every few years. I reread a lot. And read a lot. I’m disabled, so I get to read a ton.

I’d welcome any fiction recommendations you might wish to share!

>Only the products that work sell, because they work.

How does one know they don't work until they are already sold? I realize defenders of capitalism, such as yourself, have such a low standard of quality. If it's shiny it works for me! Both Brian and Dave know that they can both exploit the customers, so the choice is really which product looks like it will last longer and looks like it will do what it claims.


>You should have the freedom to choose your purchases, ignorance is not a valid excuse.


How about the truth being manipulated by the seller? And the not-so-independent reviewers? I'm sure you think you are above these things, but how would you know?


>There is no debating that competition drives innovation.


First, it's not the best or only way. Second it leads to false innovation: things that are not needed or wanted until the consumer is manipulated by commercialism, and things that don't solve the problem they claim to. Kinda of changes the rate in communism's favor, I'd say.



>And the fact of the matter is the system IS working for me,


You don't sound like a person who feels good about himself, just my perception.


> I've seen first hand how the free market expands the middle class more than socialism ever can, and how socialist policies mixed with a free market economy keep the poor on the bottom.


I'm not familiar with any of these circumstances. Has the free market ever existed? Where has socialism existed long enough(before being suppressed by those capitalists) to gather any data? And I am not advocating "socialist policies", that is a misnomer.


> You completely skipped over my comment about the Clinton era leading to the house bubble.




If you think anything any US president has ever done has anything to do with communism or socialism, you should educate yourself what these things are.


>You can not compete with the World economy under communism. You can not save the poor under socialism. You can not multiply, by division.
We will never evolve to your ideal because it is an impossible one.



These are opinions, not backed by anything but old scare tactics to keep you feeding the 1%.



>Then one day, everyone's house was getting foreclosed.


That's a capitalist problem, with cooperation from a government owned by these same capitalists. Why do you think this has anything to do with communism?


> As I looked further into why, it was apparent I was being fed bull shit my entire life,...


What the hell did FOX tell you?







I hope you are reading other posts in this subreddit and can get your misconceptions cleared up. Here's a thin book that can help you understand, as well.



Good wishes!

The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson is such a good book, it's utterly brilliant!

may I reccomend The Secret Chief

>This book is about a psychologist, "Jacob" (pseudonym), who applied psychedelic drugs throughout his practice of psychotherapy until his death twenty or so ago-in spite of the fact that such drugs had been declared illegal in the mid-60's. The body of the book is an interview with Jacob conducted in the early 80s but never before published; this is followed by an appendix paraphrasing the drug experiences of five of his clients, and an appendix listing resources for those interested in psychedelic therapy. The drugs favored by Jacob: LSD (he always started a series with LSD), sacred mushrooms (Psilocybe cubensis), mescaline, MDA, MDMA ("Ecstasy"), harmaline (yage') and ibogaine. Each has a somewhat different effect. In successive chapters, Jacob discusses the preparation for a psychedelic session, the setting, the session itself, the dosages, and outcomes.

I expect that someone's writing one.

Edit: There seem to be several. Here ya go:

Jordan Peterson: A Biography by Michael David - Gawd! Only 26 pages

Jordan Peterson: A Biography by Michael Roberts - Not much better: 52 pages

An Unauthorized Biography of Jordan B. Peterson by Richard West - 55 Pages [sigh]

It looks like we will have to wait for something more substantial.

The advice I always give to people getting into Zizek is that you absolutely must have a basic understanding of Lacan. He is a Lananian first and foremost, and he makes liberal use of Lacanian terminology that cannot be easily understood from the context (for example the Real doesn't mean what everyone assumes when they hear "the Real").

This is a good primer. It's still quite difficult but stick with it and you should get the general concepts. This book should be easier to read, but it's much more surface level than the other introduction I linked.

I'm reading this book now: Lethal Inheritance, A Mother Uncovers the Science Behind Three Generations of Mental Illness.

I find it fascinating. It might be up your alley.

"The Art of Strategy" by Dixit and Nalebuff presents a very accessible approach to game theory. (http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Strategy-Theorists-Business/dp/0393337170)

"Economic Fables" by Rubinstein is a combined memoir and text on game theory methodology that's a fun read. (http://www.amazon.com/Economic-Fables-Ariel-Rubinstein/dp/1906924775/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1412805443&sr=1-1&keywords=economic+fables)

https://www.amazon.com/Assault-Truth-Freuds-Suppression-Seduction/dp/0345452798/ref=pd_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=6HQSV1FX5P36Z5N16HQW

https://www.amazon.com/Final-Analysis-Making-Unmaking-Psychoanalyst/dp/034545278X

Better still, buy them direct from the author on his website:

https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://jeffreymasson.com/books/the-assault-on-truth.html&ved=0ahUKEwjUw_iL2rjQAhWHspQKHXnlBrMQFgjDATAO&usg=AFQjCNFZU3Ktip2NVVgiR6KXOo03Z9hXCQ&sig2=697u6RsasxFLKXCbZayJKA

synopsis: Tune in this week for a double interview feature!

First, Dr. Tressie Cottom joined Ana Marie Cox for “the hot take superbowl.” They began by recapping the Northam debacle in Virginia and where it fits into our historical moment. They continued with a discussion of Dr. Cottom’s new book THICK: And Other Essays. From Betsy Devos to our society’s flawed concept of beauty, Dr. Cottom wrote about her personal experiences with all of it.

Ana then interviewed Erika Christensen about her experience with later abortion. They discussed what it meant to take such a private moment and make it public, as well as the real life implications of policy decisions surrounding a women’s right to choose. Follow the links to hear more about Erika’s Story.

https://www.amazon.com/How-Can-Help-Week-Psychiatrist/dp/1476706794/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

This book is really neat and insightful for anyone, but I found it especially comforting for those with their own mental distresses.

Why Freud was wrong

It's a very extensive and academic read. Each chapter has HUGE bibliographies, though a lot of references are in German.

Jon Ronson is a journalist and he starts exploring the lives of psychopaths. It's really interesting.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Psychopath-Test-Jon-Ronson/dp/0330492276

He was definitely a mystic. Have you read the Red Book?

Check this out
https://www.amazon.com/Jung-Mystic-Esoteric-Dimensions-Teachings/dp/0399161996

I would recommend this great book http://www.amazon.com/Hallucinations-Oliver-Sacks/dp/0307957241

It should alleviate your worries about whether what's going on is something exceptionally unusual. Particularly there are a couple chapters in there devoted to various hallucinations around sleep. You'll find that these things, while not common, are not entirely uncommon either

There's a subcommunity of urban explorers who share info with each other.

https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Cities-Travels-Metropolises-Exploration/dp/1585429341

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestine:_Peace_Not_Apartheid

https://www.amazon.fr/Birthing-Nation-Strategies-Palestinian-Anthropology

https://www.amazon.fr/Out-Place-Edward-W-Said/dp/1862073708

Robert Fisk : The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East

https://www.amazon.com/My-Life-Golda-Meir/dp/0399116699

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01CR706PM

Read this

I only found a Polish version.

For a bit of lighter reading

https://www.amazon.com/Dealers-Lightning-Xerox-PARC-Computer/dp/0887308910

https://www.amazon.com/Dream-Machine-M-Mitchell-Waldrop/dp/1732265119

This is very informative, but mostly, highly entertaining.

Stephen Hawking's ex-wife apparently did describe their sex life in her book.

• Salon: Stephen Hawking's ex-wife writes tell-all
  
• Jane Hawking: Music to Move the Stars: A Life with Stephen Hawking
  
  Further googling reveals more.

Oliver Sacks has this book where these kind of patterns are mentioned. They are hallucinations nothing more.

I picked up a used copy of Rational Mysticism at Half priced books but haven't started to read it yet. It might be down your ally. Hallucinations by Oliver Sacks and the Psychedelic Explorers Guide by James Fadiman may also be what you are looking for

Citations:

Stephen Hawking's ex-wife writes tell-all

Hawking's nurse reveals why she is not surprised his marriage is over

*Music to Move the Stars: A Life with Stephen Hawking by Jane Hawking

My ex was a narcissist (and probably a psychopath) and he got loads of panic attacks. Usually when he lost control of a situation or me not doing what he thought I should. A lot of people high up in the business world are psychopaths, this book is good The Psychopath Test
This is description of psychopaths from perspective of abusive relationships but it gives you an idea of how common it is even if they're not all killers.