Human Capacity for Harm: Beyond the "Evil" Label

Resources

Books

• "Evil: The Science Behind Humanity's Dark Side" by Julia Shaw - This book explores the psychology of murder, sadism, and the concept of evil as a continuum of traits.
• "The Memory Illusion: The Hidden Psychology of False Memories" by Julia Shaw - Discusses how false memories are formed and how they can be manipulated, relevant to witness statements and legal proceedings.
• "Bi: The Hidden Culture, History, and Science of Bisexuality" by Julia Shaw - Explores the science, history, and culture of bisexuality, addressing common misconceptions and the experiences of bisexual individuals.
• "Green Crime: Inside the Minds of the People Destroying the Planet and How to Stop Them" by Julia Shaw - Investigates the psychology behind environmental criminals and explores methods for combating environmental destruction.

Videos & Documentaries

• "The Tinder Swindler" - Mentioned as a case study of a love scam where a perpetrator defrauded women of money by creating a facade of wealth and a future together.

Research & Studies

• "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male" by Alfred Kinsey - A seminal study that introduced the Kinsey Scale, suggesting that sexual orientation exists on a continuum rather than being strictly binary.
• "Stanford Prison Experiment" by Philip Zimbardo - An influential, though controversial, experiment demonstrating how situational factors and assigned roles can influence behavior, leading to guards exhibiting abusive tendencies.
• "Murder Fantasies Research" - Studies indicate that a significant percentage of men and women have fantasized about killing someone, which is suggested to be an adaptive mechanism for processing dark thoughts.
• "Bystander Effect Research" - Explores the phenomenon where individuals are less likely to offer help to a victim when other people are present, challenging the Kitty Genovese case narrative.
• "False Memory Research" by Elizabeth Loftus - A foundational area of research that demonstrates the malleability of memory and the ability to implant false memories.
• "False Confessions Research" by Saul Kassin - Investigates how individuals can come to falsely confess to crimes they did not commit, often due to coercive interrogation techniques.
• "Research on Bisexual Men" - Studies indicate that bisexual men are more likely to identify as gay or straight, often due to societal pressures and internalized homophobia within the queer community.
• "Research on Kinks and Fetishes" - Indicates that many people have kinks or fetishes, such as BDSM, which are more common than often perceived and are not necessarily linked to criminal behavior.
• "Research on Monogamy" - Consistently finds that a significant portion of people have cheated on a partner, suggesting that monogamy may be a social construct that many struggle to adhere to.
• "State Dependent Memory" - The phenomenon where memory recall is influenced by one's current emotional state, with sad individuals tending to recall more sad memories, and vice versa.
• "Aphantasia Research" - The inability to create mental imagery, which can impact memory recall techniques that rely on visualization.
• "Volkswagen Dieselgate Case" - A case study of corporate crime where Volkswagen intentionally manipulated emissions data to appear compliant with environmental regulations.
• "Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA)" - An organization that infiltrates organized crime groups involved in environmental crime, such as poaching.
• "Cognitive Interview Techniques" - A set of best practices for interviewing witnesses and victims to elicit accurate and detailed memories while minimizing the risk of contamination or false memory implantation.
• "N-Back Tests" - A type of cognitive training exercise used in brain training apps to improve working memory by requiring users to recall information from a specified number of steps back.

Tools & Software

• Shopify - A platform for creating online stores, mentioned for its robust infrastructure that can handle massive amounts of data and requests.
• BetterHelp - An online platform for mental health services, matching users with licensed therapists.
• Element - An electrolyte drink mix designed for zero sugar and optimal hydration.
• Ag1 - An all-in-one daily drink supplement for health and performance.
• Spot - A reporting tool for workplaces that uses a chatbot interface to administer the cognitive interview for compliance issues and important emotional events.

Articles & Papers

• "The Legendary Well-Documented Black Friday I believe in 2021 Shopify handled 30 terabytes of data every minute" - An article discussing Shopify's technical capabilities and infrastructure.

People Mentioned

• Julia Shaw (Criminal Psychologist, Author) - The guest of the podcast, discussing her work on criminal psychology, memory, bisexuality, and environmental crime.
• Aldert Vrij (Researcher) - A leading researcher in deception detection, whose studies highlight the difficulty of reliably detecting lies.
• Stephen Hart (Expert Witness) - An expert witness on the Robert Pickton trial who taught Julia Shaw during her undergraduate studies, influencing her career path.
• Elizabeth Loftus (Psychologist) - A prominent researcher in the field of false memory, whose work has been influential in understanding memory malleability.
• Fritz Klein (Therapist, Researcher) - Developed the Klein Sexual Orientation Grid, a more complex scale for assessing sexual orientation beyond the Kinsey Scale.
• Alfred Kinsey (Biologist, Sexologist) - Conducted early research on human sexual behavior and developed the Kinsey Scale.
• Havelock Ellis (Sexologist) - Mentioned as a historical researcher in sexuality.
• Phil Libin (Founder of Evernote) - Co-founder of Spot, a company focused on memory recording tools.
• Dylan (Co-founder of Spot) - Co-founder of Spot.
• Daniel (Co-founder of Spot) - Co-founder of Spot.
• T. S. Eliot (Poet) - Quoted at the end of the episode: "Most of the evil in the world is done by people with good intentions."

Organizations & Institutions

• Simon Fraser University - Where Julia Shaw studied for her undergraduate degree.
• United Nations - Mentioned for its research reports on international trafficking and wildlife crime.
• Interpol - Involved in tracking and identifying criminal vessels related to environmental crime.
• European Space Agency - Mentioned for its use of satellites to monitor environmental changes on Earth.
• The Bar Council (UK) - Uses Spot as a tool for its members.
• International Criminal Court (ICC) - Where Julia Shaw has trained people on dealing with collective memory in war crimes cases.
• University of Bonn - Mentioned for its involvement in developing the brain training app, NeuroNation.

Websites & Online Resources

• lexfridman.com/sponsors - Where listeners can find information about the podcast sponsors.
• lexfridman.com/contact - Where listeners can find contact information for Lex Fridman.
• shopify.com/lex - The URL to sign up for a Shopify trial.
• betterhelp.com/lex - The URL to check out BetterHelp and save on the first month.
• drinkelement.com/lex - The URL to try Element electrolyte mix and receive a free sample pack.
• drinkag1.com/lex - The URL to sign up for Ag1 and receive a one-month supply.
• talktospot.com - The website for the company Spot, a reporting tool for workplaces.
• Google Scholar - Mentioned as a resource for finding research papers, with a note that searching "bisexual" may yield confusing results due to other meanings of the term.

Other Resources

• "Evil" (UK Market Title: "Making Evil") - Julia Shaw's book, referencing a Nietzsche quote about the psychology of evil.
• "Piggy's Palace" - The nickname for Robert Pickton's farm, where he brought and killed victims.
• "Black Pill" - Title of a podcast episode on Bad People discussing incels and their dangerous views.
• "The Idiot" by Dostoevsky - A reference to Prince Myshkin, a character who sees beauty in everything, as a comparison to a scientist's perspective.
• "Ordinary Men" - A documentary about German soldiers in Nazi Germany, used to illustrate the power of social pressure and conformity in committing atrocities.
• Nietzsche Quote - "Gaze into the abyss and the abyss gazes back." Used in the context of studying "evil."
• "The Memory Illusion" (book title) - Mentioned in the context of the debate around what constitutes a false memory and its ease of implantation.
• "Bi" (book title) - Julia Shaw's book on bisexuality, which also served as her coming out.
• "Aphantasia" - The inability to create mental imagery, discussed in relation to memory and visualization techniques.
• "Memory Palace" - A mnemonic technique that relies on visualizing locations, which is difficult for individuals with aphantasia.
• "Cognitive Interview" - A script-based, neutral approach to interviewing that minimizes memory distortion.
• "Founders Forum" - A tech conference where Julia Shaw met Phil Libin.
• "Ted Talk" - Julia Shaw gave a Ted Talk related to her research on memory.
• "Nietzsche quote" - "Thinking evil is making evil." Used to explain that evil is a label, not an inherent quality.
• "The dark tetrad" - Psychopathy, sadism, narcissism, and Machiavellianism, discussed as a continuum of traits associated with dark personality.