There are two really good links to videos that I post in this discussion

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44467685

which is supported by my commentary. In one you see Mamdani speaking for himself (if he keeps his cool like that while his enemies go apeshit... he wins!) [4] and in another some good analysis from people who are skeptical of his policies (as am I) who are still impressed with how he communicates.

You might say "couldn't a high D (dark traits) person mask as a low D person, as a wolf in sheep's clothing?" I don't think so, or at least they usually won't.

Contrast that to corrupt New York politicians like Cuomo, Adams, Clinton and such who don't know enough to be ashamed of their own behavior.

Narcissism in particular is considered to be an underdevelopment of the personality, as an absence rather than a presence. [1] [2] High D people don't understand Low D people and would have a hard time passing. A High D person who was successfully Machiavellian in a Low D culture (say Utah [3]) would probably have to pass but if you're in a culture where folks like Trump and Musk and the above New Yorkers are perceived to be successful if not "genius" you're not going to understand why you need to do that hard work.

As they say, "you can't cheat an honest man". There's that famous movie The Sting where they set up a trap for a crime boss based on his greed which has the same structure as those advance fee scams where they get somebody to (allegedly) pay to help an African general launder money. High D people victimize other High D people, Narcissists seduce other Narcissists. A person who presents as Low D is really Low D, particularly in a high D place like New York [3]

I found [3] lately and I've been doing a lot of reading about the calibration and implications of that scale, particularly how it relates to other tests

https://www.npr.org/2019/06/20/734141432/what-dropping-17-00...

where the highest D country in the world (China) had the lowest rate of people returning wallets.

[1] Kohut Analysis of the Self

[2] Kernberg Borderline Condition and Pathological Narcissism

[3] https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2500830122

[4] Note there is no "billionaires shouldn't exist", no impugning the character of people who vote for someone else, and none of those weird words like misgynoir that make minorities and working class people run, not walk away

Disdain of Genius Is a Problem for the West