The Psychopath Test Essay

The Psychopath Test
The Book, The Psychopath Test, by Jon Ronson is about Jon Ronson trying to learn and discover the inside and out of a psychopath. Jon is a journalist who is drawn into the world of psychopathy through a mysterious book that was delivered by an anonymous person to many different types of people. This prompts Jon to look deeper and he comes out thinking that the person who wrote this book is a psychopath. As his story matures he comes across a man named David Shayler. David has been categorized as a psychopath, but not a dangerous one. This allows him to live in the sane world. David shows an enormous amount of passion towards what he is pursuing or trying to get people to believe, but what he is trying so hard for people to believe is not often taken as truth. He is first thought to be a completely normal, great man but later found to actually be a psychopath. He is also certain that this woman was a government worker trying to cover up a government mandated bombing. Finally he is certain that he is the next Messiah and

that all should come praise him. The Psychopath Test demonstrates that although full certainty may be illustrated by one person, others may have a large amount of doubt in what that person is trying to convey.
Absolute certainty does not always mean there is no doubt.

This starts with a man named David Shayler. Everyone who knew or knew of David Shayler believed that he was a great man. They believed that he had few to no flaws, and they were certain that he wasn’t a psychopath. David was an MI5 spy, code-named G9A/1, “He had been at an interagency meeting where an MI6 officer, code-named PT16B, had announced a plan to covertly assassinate the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group. (Page 187)” David was an esteemed spy for the British. If he had been presumed as a psychopath, he would not have been in that position. This shows how although someone is certain of something, there is a lot of doubt that comes along with it. David was later found to be a psychopath based on the Bob Hare checklist. The Bob Hare Checklist is a list of twenty items that are scored from 0-2 and added up. If your score is 30 or above then you are deemed a

psychopath.
Another example on how certainty can be doubted is by a woman named Rachel North. Rachel was on a tube train when it was bombed in a terrorist attack. She had been one of the few survivors on her train. She began blogging about it, and was attacked on her blog by people who believed that it was a hoax. These people believed that the bombing was one by their own government. Rachel decided to “fight back” and she ended up going to a meeting they held to tell them how the accident actually happened. The ring leader of these conspiracy theorists was David Shayler. He was absolutely certain that the bombing didn’t happen at all. He went up to the podium and began saying how, “7/7 never happened. It was a lie. The world was fooled by a brilliant lie. (Page 188)” This shows how he is certain that it didn’t happen, even though it did. There was doubt by Rachel, and many other people in London, for what he was saying. Actually Rachel knew it had happened. She was in it. This shows in tremendous amounts how although someone can be so certain and have such strong beliefs, but still be wrong and still have people doubt them.
The final example on how The Psychopath Test shows that although someone has strong certainty, there is still much doubt that lies with that person is when David Shayler announces that he is the next Messiah. David claims that, “There is ancient evidence to show that the Messiah is phonetically called ‘David Shayler.’ When added to recent signs which have appeared independently of me—including a Messianic Cross of Saturn, Mercury, Venus, and the Sun in the skies on 7/7/7, the day I was proclaimed Messiah—it has become inescapable that a higher power is in indicating that I am the anointed or chosen one who has come to save humanity. (Page 200)” This exert is a quote from David Shayler in an interview after he announced for the first time that he was the Messiah. He is completely certain that he is the Messiah. Although all his certainties lie with being the Messiah, almost everyone who is hearing this, reading this, or seeing this is doubtful of him. No one believes he is actually the Messiah, they all just think he is crazy.
The book, The Psychopath Test, shows that even though full certainty may be illustrated by one person, others may and often will doubt that person. Although the quote, “If you develop the absolute sense of certainty that powerful beliefs provide, then you can get yourself to accomplish virtually anything, including those things that other people are certain are impossible.” By William Lyon Phelps says that absolute certainty can bring along the impossible, it may only apply rarely because David Shayler, although in full certainty, was not considered the Messiah to anyone besides himself.