11-08-2011, 08:45 AM | #1 |
GURPS FAQ Keeper
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Kyïv, Ukraine
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[SE] "Your child is a sociopath? Fear not, we will take care of this!"
Greetings, all!
In the super-soldier template thread, one forumite noted that psychological traits can be those that define a super-soldier too. So, this got me thinking (in the line of remaking ÆS):
So, I guess it would be quite logical for such a state to have a somewhat-expensive [re]education program aimed at potentially dangerous children (and former criminals, though with less focus). What I'm wondering now: just how logistically straining such a program would be for the city-state? Things to consider:
So far, it seems that such a system will plausibly 'reeducate' 6 super-soldiers/agents/abnormally motivated workers per year per reeducation specialist, giving those specialists about a day off per year per day of work in it (remember, this is a highly-stressful position for highly-educated people with an almost nonstop 16-hour workday). Now, I'm not sure what the other logistic overhead would be - I suppose another Comfortable income spent on accommodations and equipment and chemicals and security and occasional medical checks per target. That comes out to roughly Average Income × 4 (Comfortable×2 == GURP$3.6k×4 == 14.4k) highly-loyal 'agent' each month. Make it GURP$18k, including the brainwasher's paid vacation (see above). Is $20k a reasonable price for a government to get a guarantee of high motivation and loyalty, or even fanaticism, out of their élite soldiers/officials/diplomats/whatever, but only when paid many years in advance? Am I missing anything while adding up those numbers? If something doesn't match up, how can the estimate be improved? Thanks in advance! * == Progenitor AI. BTW, the assumed population of the state is 25-50M people. |
11-08-2011, 09:04 AM | #2 |
Ceci n'est pas un hyperlien
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Iceland
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Re: [SE] "Your child is a sociopath? Fear not, we will take care of this!"
My question would be, how much does the individual cost? Is 20k$ worth it if the individual only costs 500$. And we are talking about 20k$ with maybe 15 years of compact interest.
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11-08-2011, 09:10 AM | #3 |
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Forest Grove, Beaverton, Oregon
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Re: [SE] "Your child is a sociopath? Fear not, we will take care of this!"
Are you sure you aren't confusing sociopaths with psychopaths?
Most sociopaths aren't criminals. They aren't any more impulsive or reckless than anyone else. They make excellent businessmen, and for other occupations in which rational skills work better without excessive empathy and worrying about non-personal consequences. |
11-08-2011, 09:24 AM | #4 | |
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Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Kyïv, Ukraine
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Re: [SE] "Your child is a sociopath? Fear not, we will take care of this!"
Quote:
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11-08-2011, 09:32 AM | #5 |
Join Date: Mar 2008
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Re: [SE] "Your child is a sociopath? Fear not, we will take care of this!"
I thought there was an age below which you can't diagnose a sociopath. All children are almost totally self centered and don't really think of other people having their own motivations until they grow up a bit.
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11-08-2011, 09:42 AM | #6 | |
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Forest Grove, Beaverton, Oregon
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Re: [SE] "Your child is a sociopath? Fear not, we will take care of this!"
Quote:
I know someone that had schizophrenia before age 5, no matter what the DSM says. Understanding that others have different desires and dislikes is gained at a very early age... so unless child means under 5 to you, we may be misunderstanding each other. |
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11-08-2011, 09:45 AM | #7 | |
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Forest Grove, Beaverton, Oregon
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Re: [SE] "Your child is a sociopath? Fear not, we will take care of this!"
Quote:
A sociopath may feel affection for another, but purely in a selfish manner. They may have internal sets of rules and guide lines. They won't all go crazy, any more than atheists do for not having religious eternal hellfire rules. Bad analogy, but the best I could come up with at the moment. |
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11-08-2011, 10:19 AM | #8 | |
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Vermont
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Re: [SE] "Your child is a sociopath? Fear not, we will take care of this!"
Quote:
You have to take it on a case by case basis, certainly, but you should give kids some benefit of doubt while they're still figuring out who they are. Especially during the all important Neuropath pruning stage (~ 12 - 25) when the brain is incredibly plastic.
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11-08-2011, 10:22 AM | #9 |
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Vermont
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Re: [SE] "Your child is a sociopath? Fear not, we will take care of this!"
I highly recommend The Sociopath Next Door for a nonfiction treatment of this topic by an experienced psychologist.
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My ongoing thread of GURPS versions of DC Comics characters. |
11-08-2011, 10:59 AM | #10 | |
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Forest Grove, Beaverton, Oregon
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Re: [SE] "Your child is a sociopath? Fear not, we will take care of this!"
Quote:
I just have trouble seeing lacking empathy completely as anything other than an innate trait rather than some kind of late blooming of such an intrinsic feature of a social animal. It's like saying that oh, little Petey hasn't grown his right arm yet; he's just a late bloomer. Strengthening a weak mental aspect, yes, but growing a feature from nothing, I just don't believe is possible. |
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Tags |
brainwashing, justicariate, social engineering, supersoldiers, æthereal sun |
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