Lets discuss the social dynamics of the movie "Fight Club"

[Minion5]

It basically shows the basic dependency that people have for their property, usually the things that they do not need.

It also breaks down the media and how it basically dictates our lives...how we should look, what we should wear, what we should buy, what we should eat (which is usually garbage at that), how our "fellow citizens" will think of us if we do what these advertisements tell us. In this, we eventually become subject to impressing the world.

Girl: Where is my new hair pin? I need my new hair pin!
Awakened Person: And WHY do you need it?
Girl: Because it makes me look cool...

This movie, if studied, can reveal a lot of things that the governemt...and big-time cooperations do NOT want you to know about.

:D

[megalomania]

Fight Club is a deep introspection as to the consumer driven aspect of our lives. Don’t imagine for a second that all these companies have your health, welfare, or social status at heart when they sell their products. All commercialism is designed to make people rich. Almost every venture in human history is about making some sort of profit. The advertising executives know every psychological trick in the book to get you to part with your money.

At the root of a consumer driven economy is a lack of happiness. A prerequisite for “happiness” in many peoples estimation of the word is not “wanting” anything. You want, you buy, you are happy. Of course there is always a newer, faster, better model just around the corner, so that same must have gadget we bought last year is now magically trash because… because… well, I can’t give the reason, because it isn’t trash, advertising just tells us so. Being happy and content is the worst thing in the world for marketing types.

The guys in Fight Club were happy because they found what they were looking for in sense of fulfillment. They also had the gall to not charge for it. No admission fees, no membership dues, no signing wavers or legal documents, no lawyers, just contented fulfillment of masculine aggression.

Why do you think I have never turned The Forum into an advertisement laden infomercial like almost every other website on the Internet? Sure The Forum costs money, and it could make money, but I have learned from the social message of Fight Club and adopted a philosophy of building a website in the image of what I would want all other websites to be like.

Free and open to all is the way to go. Sure, there are rules, but it doesn’t cost you anything.

[jellywerker]

Amen. Do you take donations?

Also interesting is his other personality's view of simpler/more medieval being better. For the most part I would agree, with few exceptions. I like electricity, along with the light and communication it provides, and in the way he proposed to bring the world into simpler times, they would be left, something that makes his view appeal to me even more. Not that I would not forego electricity for a cause, but why if you must not?

And as for ad media, you can't step out the door, nor even open a magazine or a website without being gagged by it, with few exceptions. We are programmed from childhood by this society that we always need more, bigger, better. Not what works or what we are happy with. Example: Razors. It started out with one blade in a form somewhat like a knife. Then it switched to a more comfortable and easy to use handle. Then they added a blade, then two, then 4, then a gel strip, a vibrating head, aeronautic styling, etc... and we are told by advertising that each new reincarnation is better and that we should dump our 2 bladed razor and get it. Same with shaving cream. What had formerly worked for centuries (a bar of lathering soap and boar hair brush) is now giving way to myriad options of gels and creams, all with the same purpose, for a higher price and resource drain. Do we need that?

Can you tell that that is one of my pet peeves? :)

[Sausagemit]

One of my favorite quotes from the movie/book.

"It's only after you've lost everything that you're free to do anything."

The Narrator embodies this quote buy Chuck Palahniuk as Tyler Durden in the movie and book. The Narrator is completely lost untill the very end of the movie. And untill he looses everything he has ever owned and gets rid of Tyler that he found himself and is free from everything.


This has long been the philosophy behind Zen Buddhism, anihilisim, and a couple of other religions.

[Lewis]

I agree that the media is very good at selling needless crap, but capitalism does have its benefits.

For instance, take the iPod. Mac designed a generally good product there. I'm not saying one needs to get a new one every time they increase the disk space by a power of ten, just that it's a handy thing to have.

If you can keep a certain amount of possesions that are useful to you, but not get suckered into buying needless crap, then you can benefit from corporations competing for your business.

Do I enjoy being force-fed shit about what tampon is better and why, when I just want to watch T.V.? No.

But it sure beats shivering in the dark all winter long because people rejected central heating systems because they were 'needless crap'.

I guess my point it that there has to be balance in consumer decisions.

[nbk2000]

The man who has nothing to lose, has everything to gain, and nothing to fear. :)

This is why societies shun the 'loners' and 'drifters', because they don't have anything to hold over him, neither fear of isolation, nor being exiled from home, for the loner craves the isolation, and the drifter is home wherever he may be.

:p :D

[jellywerker]

Is that you or a quote? If so, I want to read the book!

It reminds me of some of my own issues. Whenever something happens that other people might go to a counselor for, etc... I simply shrug it off.

People keep telling me that I can't do that and that I need to talk to someone about it, or that it is a defense mechanism that will come back and haunt me later, but I certainly don't feel like that, I feel more like that it has already happened and I needn't dwell on it any longer other than to see what I can learn from it.

I get really annoyed at people who get hung up on something that has happened to them that jarred their emotions, and usually see it as a weak will.

And I mean really, who the fuck can dictate how my mind works? In my opinon, most therapy and phsychology is the biggest load of bull to hit America. Libera Mentis!

[anonymous411]

"I get really annoyed at people who get hung up on something that has happened to them that jarred their emotions, and usually see it as a weak will."

I agree, but it's worth remembering that if you are what society labels a clinical "psychopath", you're no more capable of understanding what it's like to be "normal" than it is for an average person to understand you.

I certainly don't mean that in a derogatory way and I'm not being careless or flip with my use of the term. There's a whole body of research that proves discrete differences in brain chemistry and neurological responses between those who have a conscience and those who don't. Look up "psychopathy" on PubMed for lots of interesting research. Fascinating stuff.

Better yet, read Hervey Cleckley's groundbreaking magnum opus: "The Mask of Sanity: An Attempt to Clarify Some Issues About the So-Called Psychopathic Personality." www.cassiopaea.org/cass/sanity_1.PdF

Not only will you learn more about yourself, you'll be highly entertained-- the anecdotes are awesome. If you don't laugh out loud in every chapter, I'd be surprised. :)

Cleckley's Checklist

1) Superficial charm and good intelligence
2) Absence of delusions and other signs of irrational thinking
3) Absence of "nervousness" or other psychoneurotic manifestations
4) Unreliability
5) Untruthfulness and insincerity
6) Lack of remorse or shame
7)Inadequately motivated antisocial behavior
8) Poor judgment and failure to learn by experience
9) Pathologic egocentricity and incapacity for love
10) General poverty in major affective reactions
11) Specific loss of insight
12) Unresponsiveness in general interpersonal relations
13) Fantastic and uninviting behavior with drink and sometimes without
14) Suicide rarely carried out
15) Sex life impersonal, trivial, and poorly integrated
16) Failure to follow any life plan.

[nbk2000]

Jellywerker:

That's me. :)

411:

Ah...the psychopathic personality. A topic of much research on my part, being that I'm one myself.

Failed to mention that like with almost anything else in life, there are shades of grey in the scale of psychopathic behavior.

A highly-functional one is able to blend in well, with such traits that do show being attributed to egotistic or assertive traits.

Such a person would be 'The Iceman', Richard Kuklinski. Married, family, businessman...and stone-cold killer of dozens.

Another one would be Dennis Rader, the BTK killer. Church leader and Boy Scout troop leader.

Low-functioning ones are the impulse killers like Henry Lee Lucas, who are traveling vagrants who kill at whim and don't even care about getting caught.

'Joe Pesche' types (his character-type, not the man himself) are the middle-ground. Able to plan a bit, but sometimes impulsive too.

And not everyone has all the traits to equal degrees.

I'll leave it to my fans and foes to point out which apply to me. :)

And in the book "On Killing", the very traits that make a psychopath an undesirable citizen during peace-time are described as making him an excellent soldier during war.

[Sausagemit]

Me and a friend were talking the other day at a resturant and we both came to the conclusion that we both fairly psychopathic.

When ever either one of us walks into a building, we both look for the best weapon to grab and the quickest way out just in case something goes wrong.

I don't think its a bad thing, and in fact might save our lives some day or it might get us killed. But while the rest of the sheeple are standing there terified we might acctually defend ourselves or have the knowledge to make it out alive while the rest of the sheeple perish.

BTW: he chose a fire extinguisher and I chose a loose table leg.

[anonymous411]

NBK: Great points about shades of grey. You may have noticed this yourself, but one of the main problems with the clinical literature on high-functioning psychopaths is that it lacks nuance. Why? Because the most brilliant and best-functioning among them never make it into the sample.

For example, if introspection specifically counterindicates the diagnostic criteria, perhaps it's because "lack of insight" is entirely characteristic of the low-level scum under observation. Given that I've met at least a dozen philosophically-minded people who meet the criteria in all other respects, there must be some other character type the "normals" are failing to capture in their research.

It's not that these HF psychopaths don't have a painful awareness and complex understanding what's going on. They have insight into their own motivation, but on some level, are simply incapable of giving a fuck about wanting to change it. In fact, I'd go so far to say they take a perverse pride in learning everthing they can and wearing it as a badge of honor. Can I get an amen here? Heh.

Likewise, researchers face the same problem when psychologically profiling people who commit espionage. The only people they're studying are the ones who suck at it enough to get caught! You might get in the general ballpark of creating a useful model, but there may be some traits exclusively common to the successful you'll never capture.

Moving beyond the Cleckley/Hare criteria and specifically referring to spies, some studies indicate the most dangerous group shows a peculiar combination of three DSM-defined personality disorders. An unholy trinity, as it were:

Antisocial
Narcissistic
Paranoid

D'oh! (Three great things that go great together...LOL!) I once presented that little nugget to one of my Defense Department think tank research scientist colleages. His response was to blanch, pause for a second, and then blurt out "Jesus Christ! That sounds like everyone here!"

Funny because it's true.

Which brings me to your comment about psychopaths being great for war: I'd say not just the soldiers, but the STRATEGISTS. One of the greatest high-functioning, brilliant, and influential psychopaths of all time has to be Herman Kahn, author of the strategy masterpiece "On Thermonuclear War":

"Herman Kahn was the heavyweight of the Megadeath Intellectuals, the men who, in the early years of the Cold War, made it their business to think about the unthinkable, and to design the game plan for nuclear war—how to prevent it, or, if it could not be prevented, how to win it, or, if it could not be won, how to survive it. {...} He was a jocular, gregarious giant who chattered on about fallout shelters, megaton bombs, and the incineration of millions. Observers were charmed or repelled, sometimes charmed and repelled. Reporters referred to him as “a roly-poly, second-strike Santa Claus” and “a thermonuclear Zero Mostel.” He is supposed to have had the highest I.Q. on record.

His response to his critics:

Why do so many people regard you as a monster?” a reporter once asked Kahn. “There are a lot of reasons, none of which derive from my actually being a monster,” he replied. “One of the most important and obvious is the feeling that anybody who is interested in these kinds of problems must be a monster.”

Something to think about!

[knowledgehungry]

Sausagemit, entering a room and looking for defensive weapons as habit does not make you a psychopath. I am always aware of my surroundings and looking for objects to give me the advantage when I am out and about. This does not make me a psychopath, it just means that I have grown up in an enviroment that forced me to realize that there are people out to hurt you, and that you have to be ready because the cops will not be there in time.

[anonymous411]

Yeah, the term for someone exhibiting the trait you described is "hypervigilant".

A psychopath would be more likely to have a habit of "thought experiments" involving scoping out the best method of placing explosives to blow up the room, where to stand to get the best shot sniping someone, the quickest way to take out the crowd, etc. :)

You can get paid to do the former as a "security consultant", and the latter as a "red team" penetration tester. Loads of fun! LOL

[megalomania]

Don't forget the other affliction, sociopathy. I fulfill nearly all of the requirements of a sociopath, except the most important, I still have something of a conscience left. Nbk2000 is working on that :) In layman’s terms I like to say a psychopath derives enjoyment from torturing and killing someone, and the sociopath derives enjoyment from watching the psychopath torture and kill someone. It’s a big distinction… Is it wrong I find the cries of an injured or recalcitrant child funny? So I have been told, angrily, by others, but that anger just makes me happier.

The psychopath would not be looking for weapons to defend himself, he would be thinking about how to use those weapons on those around him. He would feel the table leg in his hand slick with blood and brains, he would smell the distinctive odor of blood and terror, and he would revel in the terrified faces of the insignificant mice around him. The psychopath would only be able to feel these emotions because they are the only ones even remotely capable to him. The psychopath is never in danger, he can’t feel it. He may very well embrace the pain, seek out what others would fear, just to be able to feel anything. How can a psychopath fear danger since he IS danger?

I would think Tyler Durden, as played by Brad Pitt, is the psychopath, and the narrator, as played by Ed Norton is the sociopath. Brad did, Ed observed… Psycho, Socio…

[Minion5]

Yes, I tend to feel that I myself am a cross between a sociopath and a psychopath (leaning towards the sociopathic side. I can indeed get "down with the sickness").

Which brings me to your comment about psychopaths being great for war: I'd say not just the soldiers, but the STRATEGISTS.

This is true in a sense. Everyone that I know that is a good strategist, be it video games or planning for the next big raid on whatever building, tend to be a bit psychopathic. Also, megalomanias statement about Fight Club is true, in regards to the main characters. Tyler did most everything for Ed, while Ed sat back and learned. An example of this would be in the end of the movie, when Tyler breaks down the mere fact that (or tries to convince Ed that) Tyler IS Ed, in every nature.

Another good example would be the quote "self destruction may be the answer," in which we must destroy ourselves to find ourselves. This has been applied to my life in several areas, rather pleasent or not.

[nbk2000]

Actually, I believe the terms 'socio' and 'psycho' have the same meaning, it's just that 'socio' is the more PC-term, which is itself being replaced by some other term, something like 'affective personality disorder' or some such bullshit.

Kahn wouldn't have been thinking about Megadeath's in a thermonuclear war if it wasn't for the sick fucks of the general society that allowed such things to exist in the first place. If the people REALLY wanted rid of nuclear weapons, all they'd have to do is destroy them, like the Berlin Wall.

A city of people march could onto the airfields and missiles bases, and smash the things to bits. Think the troops would gun down thousands of the very people they have to live amoungst to stop it?

[darksim]

Do NOT quote whole posts! Only the relevant sentence or thought.

The sociopath can get along with other people and follow some rules.
A good example of this is the hells angels. Most are socio-paths who have no qualms about killing people who get in their way, but they still abide to their rules and have the capability of following them. These people can be quite manipulative and are prone to 'play the system', as thats what life to them is typically viewed as...a game or system.

The Psychopath on the other hand would not fit into the hells angels or any other group like that, not being able to follow any of the rules of the gang and would get kicked out.

[jellywerker]

Hmm, I do not believe I exhibit many characteristics of a psychopath, but a few fit me well. As for not having a conscience, well, I can sympathize with people for a few minutes when something happens, but I refuse to sympathize with them 2 weeks later when all that happened was their pet died or some other instance that is trivial in the long run.

[anonymous411]

Megalomania: interesting how popular use of the terms differ from the clinical definitions. I think what you're calling "sociopath" sounds a lot like what the psychiatrists call "sadistic personality disorder".

While many clinical sadists are psychopaths too, not all clinical psychopaths are sadists. A sadist would derive enjoyment from imagining gore and hearing someone suffer, while it's entirely possible a psychopath wouldn't care one way or the other, and merely see killing as a means to an end. In a sense, this is a less "human" response than enjoying it.

Here's a good test: if you've ever faced a life-threatening emergency and felt your autonomic nervous system slow down, i.e. become the opposite of aroused (lower blood pressure and heart rate, breathing slower, felt your features take on an absolute placidity and calm as you're on the verge of killing someone or beating them to death) now that's psychopathic. Hence the term "cold blooded killer". Sounds like you and NBK are describing "hot blooded killers"...LOL

You can be a full-blown sadist and still have a conscience, though you're right to say there's no sharp line. NBK is right, the terms sociopath and psychopath are used more or less interchangably, whereas "antisocial personality disorder" is the catch-all for diagnosis for garden-variety criminals in the United States. It's an interesting fact that most people who meet the diagnosis for APD don't fit the criteria laid out on the Hare PCL. (Research by Hare superceded the work done by Cleckley, though I find the latter far more interesting).

As you'll see, many of the traits common to all four are siphoned off into a separate diagnosis of "narcissistic personality disorder", a mindset all its own. These terms are getting re-defined by the psychiatric community all the time, and in the end it's all artificially constructed anyway.

Here's some more bullshit diagnostic criteria you may find interesting:

ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITY, SOCIOPATHY, AND PSYCHOPATHY
http://faculty.ncwc.edu/toconnor/428/428lect16.htm

***

ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITY DISORDER

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a widely used manual for diagnosing mental and behavioral disorders, defines antisocial personality disorder as a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others occurring since age 15, as indicated by three (or more) of the following:

1. failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest
deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure
2. impulsivity or failure to plan ahead
3. irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults
4. reckless disregard for safety of self or others
5. consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain steady work or honor financial obligations
6. lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another

The manual lists the following additional necessary criteria:

The individual is at least age 18 years.
There is evidence of conduct disorder with onset before age 15 years.
The occurrence of antisocial behavior is not exclusively during the course of Schizophrenia or a Manic Episode.

***

SADISTIC PERSONALITY DISORDER

This disorder is characterized by cruel, aggressive, manipulative, and demeaning behavior directed towards others. Abusiveness and violence are common in the sadist's social relationships, because the sadist lacks concern for people and derives pleasure from harming or humiliating others. There are similarities between sadistic PD and the more aggressive antisocial PD, however, the antisocial person does not generally hurt others just for pleasure. There may also be an association between sadistic PD and sexual sadism, in which the person derives sexual arousal and satisfaction from sadistic acts like beating and humiliating someone.

Maladaptive patterns of motivated behaviour, usually evident for at lease several years.

A. Enduring, pervasive, maladaptive patterns of behaviour which are usually recognised before or during adolescence.
B. It is long-standing and its onset can be traced to adolescence or early adulthood, but is not due to drugs (of abuse or medication) or to a medical condition eg head injury.
C.The behaviour pattern is inflexible across all personal and social situations and significantly impairs their social or occupational functioning.

1. Has used physical cruelty or violence for the purpose of establishing dominance in a relationship (not merely to achieve some noninterpersonal goal, such as striking someone in order to rob him or her).
2. Humiliates or demeans people in the presence of others,
3. Has treated or disciplined someone under his or her control unusually harshly, e.g., a child, student, prisoner, or patient,
4. Is amused by, or takes pleasure in, the psychological or physical suffering of others (including animals),
5. Has lied for the purpose of harming or inflicting pain on others (not merely to achieve some other goal)m
6. Gets other people to do what her or she wants by frightening them (through intimidation or even terror),
7. Restricts the autonomy of people with whom he or she has a close relationship, e.g., will not let spouse leave the house unaccompanied or permit teen-age daughter to attend social functions.
8. Is fascinated by violence, weapons, martial arts, injury, or torture.

***

NARCISSISTIC PERSONALITY DISORDER

pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:

1. has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements)
2. is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love
3. believes that he or she is "special" and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions)
4. requires excessive admiration
5. has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations
is interpersonally exploitative, i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends
6. lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others
7. is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her
shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes

PARANOID PERSONALITY DISORDER

A pervasive distrust and suspiciousness of others such that their motives are interpreted as malevolent, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by four (or more) of the following:
1. suspects, without sufficient basis, that others are exploiting, harming, or deceiving him or her
2. is preoccupied with unjustified doubts about the loyalty or trustworthiness of friends or associates
3. is reluctant to confide in others because of unwarranted fear that the information will be used maliciously against him or her
4. reads hidden demeaning or threatening meanings into benign remarks or events
persistently bears grudges, i.e., is unforgiving of insults, injuries, or slights
5. perceives attacks on his or her character or reputation that are not apparent to others and is quick to react angrily or to counterattack
6. has recurrent suspicions, without justification, regarding fidelity of spouse or sexual partner
7. Does not occur exclusively during the course of Schizophrenia, a Mood Disorder With Psychotic Features, or another Psychotic Disorder and is not due to the direct physiological effects of a general medical condition.

[anonymous411]

Interesting and informative studies on the neurological underpinnings of psychopathy from two perspectives...

Nature:
THE PSYCHOPATH'S BRAIN
http://www.cerebromente.org.br/n07/doencas/index.html

Nurture:
WHY THEY KILL
http://departments.bloomu.edu/crimjust/pages/articles/whytheykill.htm

[grendel23]

I have read "Why They Kill: The Discoveries of a Maverick Criminologist," by Richard Rhodes. This is a fascinating look at the work of Dr. Lonnie H. Athens, who discovered the process by which "Dangerous Violent Criminals" are made.
The book also covers some of Athens other insights, the "phantom community" and "self as soliloquy". These concepts gave me new insights into the working of the human mind.
Great book, highly recommended.

[sparkchaser]

Just a few comments on various points of view throughout this thread. Psychopaths do not make good soldiers, they frighten good soldiers. You never know what they'll do in bad situations, or what to expect from them when you should be depending on them. Psychopaths tend to roll grenades into friendly tents, and shoot innocent civilians for no good reason. As far as "therapy" being overused goes, good counseling from a trained psychologist can help some people. I know personally that coming back from a war zone with a nasty case of PTSD sucks, especially when you don't recognize it until someone says "this is what happens sometimes....", and then you think "wow, that's why I couldn't get it up for the past week!" :o among other things. Realizing some things are symptoms of a disorder and not just a loose screws can help sometimes. I do agree that too many people go for "therapy" for too many petty things. Fluffy died, it happens, get over it. There are the truly disturbed people that do need it, But that's been covered. And then there is the useless hang-up of materialism. Could that be considered a disorder? Why not? We have shopping addiction and porn addiction now, why not posession addiction?

[Minion5]

Psychopaths do not make good soldiers :eek:

I tend to disagree. The psychopaths tend to make excellent soldiers. Well, at least in my opinion.

Many psychopathic people are usually smart, can think on their feet, have no conscious (as mentioned recently)/ has very little of a conscious, and will do what they must to survive. Since many psychopaths would find a pleasure in death/killing others, the military would be the best place to do this (and since they get this general "gift" to end lives, they are bound to follow the rules).

[tdog49]

I think you are all forgetting the first rule of Fight Club.......

[Misanthropologist]

Well, minion, I truly hope that people can realize their idiocy without the aid of a mainstream movie, I myself have seen this truth since my early teens. Depending on my mood, I still either chuckle to myself or get sort of nauseous whenever I see some kid wearing FuBu jeans or whatever expensive "designer" clothes happen to label them as a member of their particular subculture at the moment.

Also, don't forget the other point of the book/movie- that a society that alienates us and contradicts human nature CREATES antisocial behaviour, whether psychopathic or sociopathic. I don't believe that people are born with these qualities. The chemical differences in the brain, in my opinion, are a reaction to your state of mind, not the other way around. To justify this theory, think about medications for extreme depression. The main proven effects of the chemical "imbalance" in the brains of clinically depressed people are sluggishness and fatigue. Now, what happens when we "correct" these imbalances? All of the drugs aimed at doing so have the same mental side effects- psychotic or violent episodes. Perhaps the sluggishness caused in depression is a defense mechanism itself to stop these from happening.

Off on a tangent for a moment, i'm back. I fit perfectly into the description for antisocial personality disorder listed by anonymous, also have been diagnosed with ADHD(bogus diagnosis), and I have a schizoid personality disorder(not shizophrenia-schizoids are marked by extremely detached and apathetic personalities). With the exception of ADHD, I see these as perfectly normal adaptations to the society in which we live. I'm very surprised there's not more of us-but then again you never know what's in someone's mind./

[knowledgehungry]

Many psychopathic people are usually smart, can think on their feet, have no conscious (as mentioned recently)/ has very little of a conscious, and will do what they must to survive. Since many psychopaths would find a pleasure in death/killing others, the military would be the best place to do this (and since they get this general "gift" to end lives, they are bound to follow the rules).

Many psychopathic people are smart, true, but so are many normal people. Intelligence is not needed to be a clinical psychopath, in fact low intelligence psychopaths are more violent than intelligent ones.

The idea that psychopaths will make good soldiers depends on what the purpose you want the soldier to fill. If you want a pure killing machine they may be what you are looking for, however as we have seen in Iraq soldiers also need to be able to NOT kill. Haditha and the rape/murder/arson incident in Iraq have proven detrimental to the U.S. overall goal in Iraq.

Psychopaths do not play by the rules, the military is ALL about rules. Psychopaths would not make good U.S. soldiers. They might make great SS officers but an American soldier has far more duties than killing.

[Minion5]

Taken From:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fight_Club_%28movie%29#Plot

Throughout the movie, there are several clues as to Tyler Durden's true identity before the revelation later in the film.

Two single-scene appearances by Tyler: In the first he's behind the Narrator on the moving walkway. In the second, he's in the union video on the hotel's TV farthest on the right.

Single-frame subliminal appearances by Tyler Durden.At the beginning of the movie, the narrator refers to the details of the controlled demolition, "I know this, because Tyler knows this."

There are several single frame images of Tyler in scenes where he does not belong. They are:
In the insomnia chapter, Durden is visible when the copier flashes.
In the doctor's office, Tyler appears behind the doctor.
In "Remaining Men Together", Tyler is shown with his arm around the group leader.

After Marla first appears in the movie, Tyler appears in the alleyway as she is walking away.

In the hotel room, after the airport scene, the narrator watches a welcome video with several workers saying welcome in unison. Tyler is the one farthest on the right.

When the narrator is at the airport, he delivers the line, "If you wake up in a different time in a different place, could you wake up as a different person?" The camera pans to Tyler as he glides past on the moving walk way. Tyler is not in the scene until he moves out from behind the narrator. This is interesting, since the conveyor is moving at a constant rate and Tyler should have been visible to the right of the narrator before passing behind him.
On the plane, the narrator is sitting with a woman to his left. After he fantasizes about a mid-air collision, Tyler now occupies the same seat. Both Tyler and the narrator have the exact same briefcase as well.

When the Narrator went to Tyler's home he said, "I don't know how Tyler found that house, but he said he'd been there for a year." He also said earlier that he had been doing support groups for a year.

After his first fight the Narrator notes that everything in life gets the volume turned down. The first punch thrown in the first fight was straight to Tyler's ear.

After having sex with Marla for the first time, the narrator says, "You won't believe this dream I had last night.” Marla replies that she could not believe anything about it either, giving him a look because of their shared experience. Her actions indicate disbelief and shock when the narrator kicks her out of the house revealing that they are not on the same page. When Tyler comes in to talk about it, the narrator says he already knew the story.

In the kitchen after Tyler and Marla have sex, the narrator says, "Except for their humping, Tyler and Marla were never in the same room"

As the narrator goes to answer the ringing phone, Tyler and Marla can be heard having sex elsewhere in the house. As soon as the narrator lifts the receiver, the sounds of sex are silenced.

When the narrator beats himself up to extort his boss, he says it reminded him of his first fight with Tyler (his first fight with himself).
When Tyler and the narrator are in the bathroom together, relating life experiences, they have remarkably similar pasts.

When the narrator is being stitched up after surgery, he says, "Sometimes Tyler spoke for me.” He repeats what Tyler says, even though he is in the same room with Tyler and this would have seemed odd for the nurse.
In the kitchen, when Marla is examining the narrator's burn, Tyler is feeding him lines to say to her.

The narrator walks in on Tyler having sex with Marla (this is the scene where Tyler is wearing the yellow gloves). Tyler talks to the narrator and Marla asks him whom he is talking to.

Before the car crashes Tyler asks the narrator "Why do you think I blew up your condo". This means that Tyler must've blown out the narrators pilot-light and planted dynamite weeks before they even met for the first time.
Before the car crash scene, the narrator is sitting on the right, in the passenger seat, talking to Tyler. After the car flips over, Tyler pulls the narrator out of the driver's seat.

When the narrator gets off the bus, just before he learns about Project Mayhem painting a smiley face and setting fire to a building, he is carrying a green folder. This is one of the same folders that are tacked up to the bulletin board for Project Mayhem's exploits.

When the narrator and Tyler get on the bus, the narrator pays fare for only one person.

When the narrator and Tyler are on the bus, a man pushes past Tyler and then the narrator, but says "excuse me" only to the narrator.

Bob tells the Narrator that he's heard all sorts of crazy rumors about the guy who founded Fight Club, one of which is that he "only sleeps one hour a night". The "Tyler Durden" personality takes over when the Narrator falls asleep, leading a double life at night to return home and "wake up" as the Narrator, resulting in almost no sleep and the true cause of the Narrator's insomnia.