Thanks, I liked the description of projection: that it only works if the victim projects their own sympathies onto the aggressor.

That is to say: when the victim starts to think “maybe that person is being honest and just wants the best outcome for both of us as that’s what I want” then the instigator has won.

This list is much more compelling, seeing that the article has devolved the comment section into shouting "fallacy!" to each other, while not recognising the irony is that they're also committing a fallacy (fallacy fallacy, or fallacy dropping as the lw list names) themselves.

Which list does "this" refer to?

On further examination, Thought Catalog (which I'm linking) doesn't seem to be the most robust of sources, having a dedicated astrology section:

https://thoughtcatalog.com/category/astrology/

Sorting signal from noise is frustratingly hard. Something of a trend across psychology.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/replication-crisis

Ya. To me, these guides are just describing the human condition.

Struggling for an analogy here.

We're basically stuck at the bottom of a sand dune. Irrational at the bottom, more rational as you get higher. Gravity always. Ever more sand being added at the top.

Being "smarter" takes a lot of effort. Few of us have the training, experience, or excess energy to do so consistently or well.

Maybe sociopathy is just weaponized irrationality, somehow exploiting these universal weaknesses, knowingly or not.