I just saw 48 Laws of Power in the bookstore.

[Kai]

I need to read it now, after I finish The Selfish Gene, of course.

The contents make me feel both wise and dirty.

[Cramulus]

48 Laws of Power is a seductive, charismatic book of evil and villainy.
READ IT AT YOUR OWN PERIL

"GOOD" people will take 3d6 damage from handling it.

[Kai]

48 Laws of Power is a seductive, charismatic book of evil and villainy.
READ IT AT YOUR OWN PERIL

"GOOD" people will take 3d6 damage from handling it.

I guess you can pick and choose those aspects that best suit your morality, and discard the rest.

[Cramulus]

To be clear: I LOVED 48 laws of power.
In retrospect, it helped me become more manipulative

but it's all about getting what you want, right? 


I was in a bookstore, flipping through the 30-some-odd Laws of Seduction. There was a section which basically said, "Note: keep in mind this book is about seducing people, not forming healthy relationships. If you're trying to find a wife, disregard almost all of this advice." IMPORTANT TO NOTE, and there's definitely a correllary when it comes to the 48 Laws of Power.

[Elder Iptuous]

Once you are already in a healthy marriage, would it have good advice to continue the seduction, though? 

also, must check out 48LoP....
does it have the same timeless feel as the prince and art of war?  Do you think it will become a notorious classic?

[Kai]

Cain has talked about it here before, but I haven't found a thread about it alone, so I made another one. Hes also talked about the 33 laws of war and the art of seduction.

[Kai]

To be clear: I LOVED 48 laws of power.
In retrospect, it helped me become more manipulative

but it's all about getting what you want, right? 


I was in a bookstore, flipping through the 30-some-odd Laws of Seduction. There was a section which basically said, "Note: keep in mind this book is about seducing people, not forming healthy relationships. If you're trying to find a wife, disregard almost all of this advice." IMPORTANT TO NOTE, and there's definitely a correllary when it comes to the 48 Laws of Power.

Like I said, its a completley amoral book. The tools are things to note about power, and how you can get it. Its a toolkit of ideas. You could use it for good or evil, depending on how you pick and choose. It will also help you notice these laws in the MOs of other people.

[Kai]

I am now reading 48 Laws of Power and was just talking with a friend about it. Shes reading the same book, but she has more of a buddhist bent. She says that if your intent is to help people, you can still use the 48 laws; people still operate with the same jelousies, insecurities, and weaknesses as before, and having power means you can help them and change them, using power for good so to say. I'm not sure I believe all of it, but some of what she is saying is interesting. Would any of you be interested if I posted her stuff on here?

[Elder Iptuous]

Sure, why not? it'd be interesting to hear various takes on this book.
I just went with the boy to B&N to get the monthly copy of small arms review and picked a copy of 48LoP while i was there.  interesting.
I like the red text in the margins giving notes and examples.  Makes it kinda look like that's the parts that Jesus said.

[Cain]

Did you guys get the hulking big version, or the tiny pocket version?

Also, I would not say the book is entirely amoral.  It exemplifies Machiavellian virtù, as opposed to Judeo-Christian virtue.  For example, read his part on despising the free lunch, and his explanations of money as a weapon.  He clearly has no liking for the sadist personality, though his reasoning is somewhat different from the normal.

[Kai]

Sure, why not? it'd be interesting to hear various takes on this book.
I just went with the boy to B&N to get the monthly copy of small arms review and picked a copy of 48LoP while i was there.  interesting.
I like the red text in the margins giving notes and examples.  Makes it kinda look like that's the parts that Jesus said.

Yeah, I thought that too.

As an overview, she said that to help people you have to know how people think, you have to know about their weaknesses and insecurities, their shortcomings, and you need to know about how people struggle for power. To do good things with the 48 laws you don't have to cheat, steal, lie or anything like that.

First law: The people above you in power have jealousy  and insecurities. This doesn't make them bad people though they may do things that hurt others. If you are trying to help people in general, it ruins your work to build up their weaknesses. In general, if you are humble you will affect these weaknesses less and allow you to do what you need to.

Second law: Working with friends or having friends work for you means you may unknowingly cause them to feel jealousy or bitterness. If you want to cultivate good things in your friends its best not to work directly for them or over them. Keep your relationship with them outside your work. At the same time you are more likely to encounter enemies in your work. Move to befriend those people, as if you are trying to help people regardless. That way you can keep your friends and make new ones, without sacrificing either.

Third Law: Because intentions usually hold strong emotional charges, keep your intentions guarded. Speaking through strong emotions invariably leads to saying the wrong thing, or using wrong timing. Love is this way; if you tell someone you love them, even if you truly do, at the wrong time and place, revealing your intentions before the right time, it will hurt rather than help. If you are trying to help someone don't tell them you are trying to help them, because people don't want to be helped. You don't have to be dishonest or deceitful, rather, you just keep your caring guarded and your reasons subtle.

[Kai]

My version is the pdf from bookchan, which looks just like the large version.

A note: I'm summarizing what she said so some of it is probably not right, just remembering her points.

[Cain]

My version is the pdf from bookchan, which looks just like the large version.

A note: I'm summarizing what she said so some of it is probably not right, just remembering her points.

Yeah, that is the large version.  I have the small one in print, which loses a lot of the detail and stories he tells.

[Elder Iptuous]

The one i just picked up is about 7" by 10" and 452pp.
is this the full sized version? is there content difference?

[Cain]

If you cannot fit it in your pocket, its the full sized one.  And yes, the smaller one lacks some content you get in the full-sized one, which is why I advocate gettin the latter, though it does not seem to be a problem for you or Kai.