On March 22, Xi Jinping concluded a three-day visit to Russia and held secret talks with Putin, and the two sides signed a series of agreements to further deepen the strategic cooperative partnership. Towards the end of his visit, Xi said that both China and Russia are facing a century-old change, the meaning of which has been interpreted as a desire to reshape the international order. However, domestic news is focused on Trump, and the Manhattan District Court in New York may accuse him of paying actress Daniels $130,000 in hush money during the 2016 presidential election, a move that allegedly violated New York State campaign finance laws.
In fact, these three characters have a common characteristic, they all belong to the "psychopath" type. There are six characteristics of this type of person: high narcissism, lack of empathy, no regrets about the past, lack of integrity, like to play tricks and take advantage everywhere. In 2013, Dr. Kevin Dutton of the University of Oxford wrote the best-selling book, The Wisdom of Psychopaths: What Saints, Spies, and Serial Killers Can Teach Us About Success. As the book's subtitle suggests, people with this personality trait are socially polarized: either extremely successful or heinous. This group of people makes up about 1% of the population and is distinguished by the fact that they do not feel anxious in the face of danger. If you want to identify such a person in the population, you can observe the contagiousness of yawning. Due to their lack of compassion for others, such people are not infected when others yawn.
With the advancement of brain imaging technologies such as PET and MRI, people began to study the characteristics of the brain of such people, and the results were found to be quite different from ordinary people. In addition, the genes of such people have been studied, and it has been found that there are universal variants in the MAOA (monoamine oxidase A) gene. The role of this gene is to synthesize an enzyme that appears in the synaptic region and that effectively breaks down serotonin. When this gene is mutated, the ability to break down serotonin is greatly reduced, resulting in a variation in nervous system function. Since this gene is on the X-chromosome, men have a much higher chance of developing this abnormal personality than women.
From the perspective of evolution, diversity is the way to survive. Therefore, it is inappropriate to claim that such people have "perverted personalities"; Natural selection causes this gene in humans to come in two forms: MAOA-L (minority) and MAOA-H (majority). Because such people are good fighters in the face of danger, this gene is also called the "warrior gene". By the way, Russian Wagner mercenaries recruited a large number of criminals from prisons, and a high proportion of these people had "warrior genes", so they performed heroically on the battlefield.
Among historical figures, Cao Cao is a typical representative of the MAOA-L gene, so he can become a traitor in troubled times. By extension, those who stood out in the midst of the raging war basically fell into this category, and Mao Zedong was also an outstanding representative. Since this gene is on the X-chromosome, these adulterous sons often do not have this gene and therefore do not have the insidious and cunning Machiavelli personality traits. If the ancient emperors knew this principle, it is estimated that they would pass the throne to their grandsons. For example, the Northern Zhou general Duguxin was known as "the strongest father-in-law in history", and all three of his daughters became empresses, and Emperor Sui and Tang Gaozu Li Yuan were his grandsons.
If a society is to be stable for a long time, there will definitely be a mainstream culture, in other words, there will be "cultural tyranny". For example, Confucianism in China, Christianity in Europe, and Islam in the Middle East. This dominant culture tends to fit the psychological characteristics of most people, such as the four virtues or four ends mentioned by Mencius: compassion, shame, concession, and right and wrong. However, after the Renaissance, iconoclastic voices emerged in the West, the strongest of which came from Nietzsche. He argues that most people are mediocre people who do nothing, and that a very small number of "superiors" or "superhumans" are not bound by these "universal values."
Genes are not fate, and early life experiences also have an important impact on personality development; For example, many cold-blooded killers were abused at an early age. In the future, newborns will need genetic testing, and children with the MAOA-L gene will need special care. If their early experience and education are relatively good, many people will be very successful in adulthood. Many of the world's best entrepreneurs should have this gene, such as Steve Jobs and Elon Musk. These people are undaunted in the face of enormous pressure, ruthless in managing companies, empathetic in relationships, and often indifferent to their children.
Of course, not all people with the MAOA-L gene are so talented in their careers, but most people can be good fighters; Not only do they fight bravely on the battlefield, but they do not develop symptoms of "post-traumatic stress disorder" (PTSD) after demobilization. In fact, the fundamental reason why such people are not eliminated in natural selection lies in their excellent performance in conflicts and disputes; Therefore, such people are the wealth of society, not the dregs.