Con Artistry of Malevolent Intentionality
Randy Gonzalez
Professor of Criminology, Author, Artist, Law Enforcement Consultant
As to con artistry, there is no limit to the deliberate and willful instigation of purposeful malevolence. From the perspective of classical criminology, the perverse sense of malicious recrimination toward others is the self-willed motivation of every person. People make choices. It is characterized by malice aforethought, premeditation, and subsequent intentional motivation. In the classical framework of criminological analysis, the introspection of cause-effect ideations, from neural instigation to fantasy creativity, the free will within speculates the cost-benefit analysis of self-gratification. Of course, others in the "social studies arena" realm will disagree. Such oppositional speculation is certainly a reasonable consideration. About the "social studies arena" as such, the investigative realm referred to here includes schools of thought in the domains of criminology, psychology, sociology, and theology. These are philosophical assessments of human behavior. Warnings are essential as to bogus claims of alleged scientific efficacy.
???? Undoubtedly, there are many 'schools of thought' in the diversity of inquiry. In the various fields of social studies, including criminology, psychology, sociology, and theology, the role of pseudo-scientific validation plays a crucial role in the philosophical effort to understand human behavior. In spheres of higher education, sometimes known as academia, are where such explorations generally unfold by contrast, science, scientific validation, and eventual lawful authenticity of proof concern areas such as astronomy, biology, chemistry, and physics. These refer to the ‘human species' in the physical, natural, and organic world. Scientific methodology insists on the relevancy of severe rational, logical, and evidence-driven applications.
???? Problems arise when analysis of human behavior, thinking and actions, perpetrations, and deadly consequences invite cause-effect analysis. People's most mysterious and greatly misunderstood aspects relate to their thinking processes. When manipulated by con artists, these thinking processes lead to actions that are not easily codified or defined by metaphysical diversity. Organically, materially, and physiologically, science can establish certain delineations regarding medical science. Yet, the explanation becomes exceptionally complicated from a near-mythic perspective of thought to action. As to con artists, such people offer particular points of interest. Where artists, for example, as cited by one researcher, are captivated by the wholeness of the moment for the amative satiation of creativity, so is the criminality of the schemer. Red flags signal the early warning of specious “cherry-picked” data that lacks authentic evidence.
???? The trickster, the swindler, and the charlatan are everywhere in every institution. Daily, across the expanse of telecommunications, in the upper echelons of wealth and power, to the foundational realms of a diversity of workers, the con artists apply similar ingenuity. As to the former, the artistic adventures of the writer, the musician, the photographer, or the filmmaker, the motivation is prosocial inventiveness, which is an amative desire to contribute positively to society. Yet, the latter, the inclination toward social hostility, the intent rationally pursues counterproductive eventuality. Con artistry is everywhere. The potentiality resides in the individual's personality, from academia to corporate commerce and political arenas. Regarding the complexity, no ultimate delineation explains the intricacy of the thinking processes.
???? Likewise, caution is always warranted regarding objectivity and observational bias for the investigative adventure. As such, bias typically influences the conclusion of an inquiry. Ensuring neutrality is challenging. While each person is evolving or devolving, depending on their particular "mindset", and generational aspects tend to regress from historical frames of reference, evidentiary validation is critical. To leap unsubstantiated conjecture to cause-effect consistency often amplifies the further inspection of specious notions. Snake oil salesman enjoys the bogus allusions to their sleight of hand. Some are more skillful than others and rise to positions of power in business and government. Where growth and maturity are expendable for the satiation of na?ve self-validation, individuality surrenders to status quo collectivism. By contrast, the inquisitor for higher realms of enlightenment, strengthened by mature intellectual capacity, fights for and insists upon the vitality of insightful freethinking. The credibility of the source is essential.
???? With its evil intent to erode individuality, Con artistry is pervasive in every aspect of human life. Perpetrators plot and scheme through various means to influence mass thinking processes. This prevalence of con artistry should be a stark reminder to remain vigilant and cautious in our daily interactions. Advertising and commercials bombard us constantly through social media and infotainment. Posters, billboards, flyers, announcements, and ads promote mindless consumption without hesitation in communal interaction. Social media, mainstream news reporting, and many apps inundate us with staggering amounts of information. As one researcher pointed out, America's openness to innovation also invites innovative fraud. Deception can be astoundingly clever and cunning, so remaining vigilant is crucial. The implausibility of a given scenario often leads to the belief in outrageous likelihoods by intentionally gullible individuals. Illogical fallacies are used to mislead others with appeals to emotional reactivity.
???? This phenomenon is a daily occurrence in the world of criminality. For instance, when we attempt to explain a rise in crime rates, we face many cause-effect conjectures. Even though the data used to report government crime rates is a broad interpretive generalization, the simplicity of interpretation often leads to juvenile perspectives. However, the bias of easily drawn hasty generalizations, conclusions, or oversimplifications stretches the illusion of implausible possibilities. Yet, for individuation in the liberation of personal transformation, many succumb to the false claims of con artistry. From business to politics, con artists are ubiquitous. In politics, especially at the national level, the sleight of hand is cleverly managed and calculated. In the higher realms of human existence, most voluntarily render themselves into various forms of modern-day 'enslavement'. It's crucial to cultivate critical thinking to navigate these complex dynamics.
???? Even outside the natural sciences, which is real science regarding human thinking and subsequent behavior, no single answer explains everything. No one has found the secret recipe or magic ingredient to know the absolute nature of human existence. Nevertheless, there are myriad belief systems. Theories, beliefs, philosophies, and any number of schools of thought or philosophies abound in an array of pseudosciences (i.e., the "social studies arena").? In the fabrication of mythic pretentiousness by fable, fairy-tale or allegorical implication, the salesmanship of every description hunts for the next "faithful adherent". Premeditated malevolent intentions, willful malice aforethought, endeavors to captivate the next victim. Every aspect of social intercourse, organizational framework, and institutional configuration contains those who desire to satiate their needs over those of others by any means possible.
???? Tragic, stupid, and stagnant, many people think more highly of themselves than nature would give credit. Betrayal of the "self" is one of the more fascinating adventures among philosophers. Authenticity requires a seriously profound analysis of an extraordinary critical nature. Investigative processes, as such, pursue the extraordinary dimensional framework of human behavior.? Being credible as a genuine human being requires a laborious investment of personal energy to self-evolve. Most people will not invest the time and effort to be distinctly faithful to changing themselves. The majority devolves to primordial states of mediocrity to find comfort in conformity, reassurance in herded consensus, and self-validation for cognitive bias. As philosophers noted, waking up to the "true self" demands ongoing introspection and critical analysis. One must be keenly aware of the surrounding efforts of many con artists. Vigilance is an academic necessity, as sophistry wears many masks.
???? In a general sense, the "con artist" is often defined as a criminal who uses whatever means possible to persuade a person to believe that which is not true. In falsifying the attendant assertions, the fiction is made to sound factual, and gain is achieved. Or, at least for the intention of the fraud, the perpetrator is of a criminal inclination. As such, the reference to con artistry is amplified here to a much broader framework of deception. Within this contrast, purposeful deception includes a wide range of social interactions. From the boardroom to the classroom, from alleyways to highways, and the cloakroom to the courtroom, deceivers are in every venue of human endeavor. The con artist wears many faces. Competing with his or her less crafty counterparts in society, the con artist runs the gambit from small deceptions to much larger, more dangerous inflictions. Known by different names, he or she is a grafter, a schemer, and a swindler. Activities encompass many realms of social engagement, and pseudo-experts are everywhere.
???? Con artists are often found in the ranks of pundits, politicians, and entrepreneurs of diverse sectors of society. And the list of the usual suspects does not end there. In a culture bent on fame, fortune, and frivolity, "celebrity gurus" of one place or another express the con artistry of foolish self-validation. The art of the con is deception, and many forms exist every day, especially in social media, mainstream media, and the psychobabble of commercial exploitation. In a major endeavor by an established research institute, investigators expressed concern about what they called "truth decay". It is the decreasing role facts and critical assessment play in modern society. An erosion of communal discourse devolved to disbelief in facts, evidence, and scientific validation in favor of "feel good" emotional reinforcement. The stagnation of intellectual ascension to higher states of enlightened reality degrades socio-economic and political processes. Of this, opinions, rumors, and gossip take on the false validity of factuality.
???? Considering that, the conceptual framework of con artistry reflects a more divergent range of intellectual regression. To this concern, the range of persistent beliefs in the unknown, the fake and the fraudulent, lend credence to the outlook that "dumbing down" hastens the demise of human culture. Schemes to defraud, misinform, and otherwise fleece others socially "mutate" in various disguises. Ideological stagnation infiltrates individual and intuitional interactivity to the detriment of prosocial creative problem-solving. In addition, such an atmosphere of overly simplistic rationalizations, not particularly rational or reasonable, brings to mind the issue of "stupidity" in mainstream society. There are too many to discuss here, but suffice it to say there are many aspects regarding the debilitating effects of idiotic behaviors on society.
???? Conning and being conned are potential points of interest for further exploration of the infantile degradation devolving in the social context. In modern mainstream media, for instance, disinformation is extraordinary and often laced with a meanness of self-serving condescension. If one chooses to dissent or otherwise evade pretentious normality, then accusations foment attack individuality. Aside from the limited intellectual capacity of pundits and politicians, the contrivances to manage the collectivism of status quo consent become various forms of social tyranny. While there is no perfect means to measure the scope and intent of social stupidity, suffice it to say there is a growing atmosphere of insidious dumbing down. Speculative discourse suggests an ongoing evasion of truth; as such, matters of reality mutate into illusions of magical thinking. As such, there are evil intentions among the craftier individuals and groups to ensure the myriad manifestations of con artistry. Scams are in every niche of human activity.
???? Commercialization of nearly everything advertises the insidious nature of human purposes to maximize the advantage of one over another. For the skeptic, it is probably a reasonable assumption to view everything as potentially deceptive and, thereby, a scheme to defraud. From the shaded glare of the latest fashion in cell phones to the blaring of laptop screens, a blur of hazy superficiality invites believability. An arrogance of debasing hubris animates the power and control antics from big tech to political bastions of career politicians. In an article in a national magazine, one author writes about the mutation of the "truth" and the bending of reality. Whereas once upon a time, say two generations ago, the truth meant the reality of rational analysis steeped in evidentiary validation. Facts, certainty, integrity, and the vitality of scientific validation devolved to feel-good political correctness, where the lines between right and wrong blur to the illusions of myth, magic, and simplistic metaphor. Foolishness pervades the social nexus.
???? In addition, from the reference mentioned above, the line of demarcation between the rational and irrational became easy to erase. Feelings overshadow logical processes of deduction and the efficacy of data-driven discourse. A "post-truth" America is one in which whatever a person desires is the "new reality", then that is the reality, regardless of factuality to the contrary. Along the lines of the passing of time, an enterprising academic will likely invent a "mental health" designation for such deceptions. Adherents to one ideological framework or another cover the gambit of the supernatural to the paranormal. Surveys indicated that over three-fourths of the population share beliefs in otherworldly and mystical things, including a range of "conspiracy theories". Fiction favors quick fixes, miraculous results, and secret knowledge.
???? Making things even more complicated is the issue of an intellectually devolving society. While facts, relevant data, and essential realities of reason and logic are necessary for the viability of truth, much is blurred by emotionally charged self-interests. A public self is a mask for social interaction to satisfy personal insecurities. To be a real, authentic, self-revealing, and honest personality is dangerous. Far too many people are scared. In the cowardice of faltering selflessness for real expression, the fakeries of self-defense" hide behind the masquerade. With pretense, coverup, and deception, the ruse resides in the charade of many faces. Con artistry, the personal disguise, is already prevalent in concealing the real personality. As such, cons are everywhere at every moment. For that, a Swiss psychiatrist of a century past proclaimed the compromise between the individual and society. Social concession imitates what is perceived to be the obligation of conformity. Some are more adept at using the camouflage for less than honorable intentions.
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???? Cover stories evade factual evidence in favor of opinion. Between "necessity and desire", or what is real or made-up, the art of the con reflects a culture of greed. According to an article in a major national magazine on history and politics, the author addresses this reflection of several centuries of marketing distortions. From pre-19th century portrayals in classic works of literature to flimflam bluster of circus entertainment, the deception capitalizes on the public's "desire to be conned". Clever anti-heroes exploit the outer edges of human perception to promote gluttonous excesses. Cunning, slippery, and selfish, they represent the rest of society, who likewise have their means of self-indulgent fraud. Moving across the state play of the social spectrum, one character after another offers his or her version of the fa?ade. Politicians, pundits, and proselytizers of diverse ideologies copy, mimic and impersonate the "sales promotion" of their egotistic "commodity". Meanwhile, scientific consensus weighs the vitality of validity.
???? For the more daring souls, individuality is the treacherous path of personal growth and maturity. As some self-evolve to higher states of transformation, most will not defy contrived conformity. To the conformist or individualist, the character reflects cowardice or bravery. Choices can always be made in favor of the rebellious sorts who defy the salesmanship of manufactured consent. Exceptional wisdom, discernment, and insightful perception learn to distinguish the moments where individuality claims independence. For the salaciousness of group acceptance, many will not risk the terrors of individualistic abnormality in self-serving validation. The uniqueness of individual personality possesses the potential for profound identity transformation. Yet, higher unabashed authenticity strains the needed discipline of personal liberation.
???? Moving toward a well-differentiated, non-anxious persona as an authentically mature adult requires constant acts of social courage. In reflection upon the research of one "psychic" analyst or behavioral investigator, the criminality of thinking invests from the incentive to maximize personal gain. Whether such thinking eventually manifests into a reality of perpetration, the contemplation of evil intentions nonetheless resides close at hand. For the courage of authentic selflessness for creative interactivity, exceptional effort individually remains extraordinarily exhaustive. No matter the circumstance or the setting, the heroic ones strive to overcome the con artistry of malevolent intentionality. And yet, every thought and action are about self-promotion in the persistent validation of private relevance. To use the metaphorical reference regarding a "warrior mindset", it is the warning of strenuous perseverance to transform exponentially.
???? A fighter, a lifelong combatant of soldiering the resilience to overcome selfishness, invites face-to-face realizations of power and control over individuation. Growing up is challenging. For a warrior's quest, a hero's adventure, a work of discovery in constant. Of which, there is no room for incompetence. Stupidity must be avoided whenever possible since its host is notoriously present in every social engagement aspect. Peering into the human enigma, the reflection masquerades as many faces as possible to fool the foolish. Where animosity rages the divisiveness of selfish intentions, the bleak landscape of ideological shortcomings fails to enlighten the shadowy paleness of biased proclivities. To assert the divinity of individuality in the liberation of diverse personalities, a trek of dangerous adventure frightens the many who cowardly hide from themselves. As such, the con artistry of cunning perpetration, willfully deployed in many places, knows no boundaries upon which there is trespassing.
???? By connection, a researcher at a major U.S. university writes about "cognitive bias". Even among real scientists, people who ought to know better, there is the probability of deception. Subjective validation to the distortion of data analysis remains constant in the equation of many research-oriented investigations. Meanwhile, as many nurse and nurture the succulence of electronic devices, social media ensures the bland superficiality of magic and myth. A stake in the outcome, competition for success, the notoriety of works cited, etc., and so on, the list is endless in the effort to claim personal relevance despite the evidence. Now, the dark figure of skepticism enters the stage of the endless circus acts. A healthy, mature sense of sober analysis, steeped in self-evolving differentiation, avows the efficacy of proactive suspiciousness. Uncertainty about any assertion warns constantly about the con artistry of malevolent intentionality.
Con Artistry of Malevolent Intentionality: 8 Key Warnings
About Bogus Theories from the “Social Studies Arena”
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1.??Overreliance on Anecdotal Evidence- Four Factors: First, be wary of all theories. Second carefully investigate theories that lean heavily on anecdotal evidence, statistical templates, one-size-fits-all, and superficiality of statistical references. Third, focus on the evidentiary authenticity backed by science rather than reliance solely on “pseudoscientific research”. Fourth, con artists often cherry-pick personal stories, appeal to pseudo-experts, or isolate singular incidents to support their claims, creating a misleading narrative lacking scientific rigor and provability by diverse solvability factors. Such are appeals to emotion over evidence.
2.????? The Crucial Role of Scientific or Forensic Science Review: Distinguishing between authentic and bogus theories often hinges on the rigorous scrutiny they undergo. Authentic theories remain flexible while they undergo rigorous laboratory review and are supported by scientifically authenticated scholarly work. Bogus theories, on the other hand, often circulate in echo chambers, avoiding the scrutiny and validation that comes from the academic community. Always check for peer-reviewed articles and reputable sources backing the theory.
3.????? Use of Pseudoscientific Jargon: Con artists often use complex jargon and pseudoscientific language to create an illusion of credibility. This obfuscation makes the theory seem legitimate to the untrained eye. Pay attention to whether the terminology is used correctly and consistently within the context of established sociological concepts. Two essentials: the observer influences observations, and the designer influences the design of the investigative project.
4.????? Confirmation Bias and Subjective Validation: In the pseudosciences, “social studies arena” schemes often rely on confirmation bias to satiate subjective validation. Self-promoting information supports claims while ignoring contradictory evidence. These theories often thrive in egoistic settings where dissenting opinions are dismissed or ridiculed. It is crucial to assess a diversity of perspectives and critically analyze the facts in evidence to foster a discerning and cautious thinking process, thereby developing your critical thinking skills.
5.????? Appeal to Emotion: Con artists often exploit emotional appeals and encourage emotional reactivity to gain advocacy for their theories. Alleged “peer review” in the liberal arts encourages this practice. They may use fear-mongering, funding, tenure, political correctness, or sensationalist rhetoric to manipulate various points of view. ?Be cautious of theories that incite strong emotional reactions without providing substantial, objective evidence, facts, data, etc.
6.????? Simplistic Solutions to Multifaceted Problems: Behavioral phenomena are inherently complex, multidimensional, and organically intricate by many factors. Bogus theories offer oversimplified solutions, simplistic justifications, and convenient alibis in response to these complex issues. Promising quick fixes that seem too good to be true fail to scrutinize whether the proposed solutions are realistic and supported by thorough analysis.
7.????? Financial or Ideological Motives: Consider the motives behind promoting a theory. What do the facts say? Where is the evidence? Con artists may have financial, political, or ideological incentives to propagate bogus theories. Be skeptical of theories promoted by individuals or groups throughout mainstream society, news media, social networks, and those who stand to gain significantly from their acceptance.
8. ??????Overall: Situational awareness is a psycho-physical tactical process. Of these key warnings, liberated individuality is part of becoming a well-differentiated person—mature, grownup, and self-evolving. Therefore, it is crucial to critically evaluate every theory and take responsibility for protecting oneself from falling prey to the con artistry of malevolent intentionality.