I recently read a report that estimated about 10% of adults in the US are sociopaths. I'll try to remember where I read that and provide a link. That is one scary stat.
On a personal level I have known a couple of people I believed to be sociopaths. One guy was literately the most charming person I have ever met. He seemed to be very intelligent and certainly had the gift of gab. However, after being around him for any length of time you started to become aware of how shallow he was...in almost every way possible. He knew "a little about a lot" but could not really engage in any deep conversation on any topic. His knowledge, like his charm, was entirely superficial. One day he was just gone. We later learned he would go into people's office while they were in session or in a meeting, take their ATM or credit card, go make withdrawals or purchases and return the card before the person came back to their office. When a large sum of money came up missing from the accounting dept. they were going to give everyone lie detector tests and he left town. At first I thought I was one of the lucky ones who didn't fall victim to him. However, one night I sat straight up in bed as I recalled a time about a year earlier when I noticed a withdrawal I didn't recall making. Of course I thought my husband must have done it and forgot to tell me but he insisted it wasn't him. I then just assumed I must have done it and just forgot...I'm not the most organized person but that would have been out of character. I was totally floored when I found out about this guy...I liked him and would not have thought anything about entering my PIN with him standing next to me. I felt so vulnerable...how could I have trusted him??
The sociopath is a very scary person because they can appear so different than they actually are.
I can relate to your story softsoul. I have had a little glimpse inside the mind of one. I dated a man two years ago, who was absolutely charming. There was something different about him, the moment I met him. That is what attracted me to him. He was aloof but also attentive if you know what I mean. He played terrible mind games with me with his lying.
He lied to me and told me that he ran his own business as a floor layer, he even had business cards printed out, which I found out eventually were all fake. He just laughed when caught out in this lies. Did not bother him one iota. He would make another lie up to cover the first lie and so on... He thought everyone was stupid. He was always saying that people were dumb and gullible. He was a night owl and roamed at night..he didn't require a lot of sleep.
One day he casually mentioned to me that he thought he was anti-social. He said he had been tested and that most of the markers pointed to him being anti-social. He tried to explain to me what that meant. He drew me a diagram of the universe and explained that he was on the outside of it.. He also pointed out a wooden fence to me, and said that we see it as just a fence, but he sees it very differently. He sees bits of wood and nails etc.. I still don't understand really how he saw it..
He was highly intelligent. Probably the most intelligent person I have ever met.
He said many times that he would love to 'put someones' lights out'..meaning kill them, but he never would, because they weren't worth going to gaol for. But for him that was the ultimate. He looked down upon everyone, but always with a smile on his face.
He had a fear of death, yet a fascination with it..
He would tell bold faced lies, and although he knew that I knew he was lying, he thought it was amusing. He had fun playing with us 'trusting' people..
He was not sexually normal either. Didn't really like any physical affection. He said he believed people that needed sex were weak. He only did it for the health benefits...occasionally!
One weird thing he showed me was a database he had set up on his computer. He had about 10 different girls names and all their statistics in in.. He rated them all from eye colour, breast shape, weight, age, hair, skin, personality, whether they had children etc...and he had it set up to give a rating at the end. I'm guessing when we broke up, he also included me into this database. He was searching for the perfect woman, I think.
I left this man eventually because I really did get fearful for my life, fearful that he may poison my food or do something to me and try to get away with it.
Anyway, sorry to make a novel of it
. I just wanted to try and give a little insight into what I found with his thoughts and actions. They have a way of making you believe in their way of thinking.
I imagine Casey also believes she is SMARTER than everyone...including LE.
