Guest Thinkers — August 19, 2010

Compassion for the Cruel

Mikhail Lyubansky doesn't condone crime but feels compassion for those who rape or kill. He says being kind to the cruel does not imply cruelty for those deserving kindness.

bigthinkeditor

Mikhail Lyubansky doesn’t condone vicious crime but feels compassion for its perpetrators. “I believe that no one is born wanting to rape and kill (psychopathy may be a special case) and the fact that some person has done so — perhaps multiple times — means that his/her life has been filled with so much pain that rape/murder was preferable to just carrying on. I don’t condone his/her choices and I don’t want to do anything to compromise the safety of others, but I feel compassion for the person who experienced such pain.” The death penalty is about retribution, not safety, he says.

A pixelated image of a person in a white hoodie walking in the woods, with the person's face obscured by pixelation. The background features reddish handwritten text overlay.

Neuropsych

25 years since Columbine: We’re closer to decoding mass-shooter psychology

Public mass shooters almost always have worldviews shaped by the "3 Rs": rage, resentment, and revenge.

An edited image of elmo peeking out from a trash can, positioned among scattered multiple cartoon-like chat bubbles expressing humorous thoughts.

Thinking

Everyday Philosophy: “Is there anything wrong with trauma dumping?”

When does "oversharing" become an issue?

Bald man in casual attire sitting on a stool with a strategic diagram background in yellow.

Leadership

Adam Grant on how to identify and develop high-potential leaders

The ability to toggle between abstract and concrete thinking is a key differentiator of high-potential leaders.

A split image with a close-up of a blue eye on the left, and a classical painting of a woman resting her head on her arm on a sofa on the right.

Business

Want true success? Be more philosophical about “good” and “bad” failure.

Bob Dylan gave us the paradoxical gem "there's no success like failure, and failure's no success at all." He had a point.

Starts With A Bang

The idea that matter is mostly empty space is mostly wrong

Practically all of the matter we see and interact with is made of atoms, which are mostly empty space. Then why is reality so... solid?

Up Next

Politics & Current Affairs

Latin America Reshaping Global Order

Europe and North America may underestimate or trivialise its significance, but the emergence of an independent Latin America is helping reshape the global order.