Dear Editor

One day, neuroscientist Dr. James Fallon accidentally discovered he’s a psychopath

At the time, Fallon was at the forefront of researching the brains of psychopathic serial killers. He found that the PET scans of psychopathic serial killers all displayed similar brain damage, notably in the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain responsible for many functions, including decision making, morality, and impulsiveness. At one point, he noticed a serial killer’s scan mixed in with the wrong study, and when he went to file it, it was his own name on the scan. He later discovered that he was directly related to seven murderers, including his cousin Lizzie Borden, and his great great great grandfather who committed the first ever act of matricide.

his ted talk

his appearance on “the moth”, which is a storytelling podcast where people get on stage in nyc and tell a story of their personal experience, and where i first heard his story

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On Wednesday, Amazon announced a new service called “Amazon Key.”

The new product works with Amazon’s new Cloud Cam, an Amazon Key app, and a smart lock, to allow delivery drivers to drop off packages inside Prime customers’ homes when they aren’t around.

The kit costs $249.99.

Amazon says the delivery drivers are “thoroughly vetted.”

14-year-old John Hron had no time for bullies or racists. The teenager from Sweden went to school with several people that would fall into those categories. He was a keen canoeist and enjoyed playing the guitar.

On the afternoon of the 17th of August, 1995, John and his friend, Christian, were camping by Ingetorpssjon lake near Kode, Sweden. Shortly after they set up camp, four neo-nazis approached their tent. Ranging from 15-years-old to 18-years-old, John recognised one of the reprobates. It was Mikael Fjalljholm, a ruthless bully in his school. John and Mikael had bashed heads beforehand. John was horrified by his racist and cruel behaviour and was known to stand up to him when pushed. But now, Mikael had three friends with him, Daniel Hanson, John Billing and BM, as he was only referred to in the media.

They approached the tent and started to senselessly beat John. They told him to say that he “loves nazism” to which he staunchly refused and received another beating. They kicked and punched him in the head and smashed beer bottles over his head. The sadistic group would beat him for hours and every now and then, would pretend to be apologetic and offer him a drink before starting the attack again. It was a cat and mouse type attack. They burnt him in the fire and burnt his neck with a piece of burning wood.

At some point during the attack, John managed to break free and jump into the lake. However, the group started hollering that they would murder Christian if he did not return. Barely clinging to life, he swam back and the torture continued. When John fell unconscious, they threw him into the lake where he drowned. Christian hitched a ride back home and called police and named John’s killers. When his body was retrieved, it was said that his injuries matched those to somebody who had been hit by a train.

So the FBI just released 1,500 pages of documents on Sandy Hook. They mostly consist of documents on Adam Lanza’s life prior to Sandy Hook. I’m not sure what’s already known about the case I’m just gonna put it all here.

The information consists of school information and medical records. There are also accounts of the websites he frequented. He had been taking some online language and college courses and also sold National Rifle Association safety qualifications after visiting shooting ranges with his mother, who had been described as a “gun nut.” Some blame her for her son’s mental health and for having weapons in the house at the time.

Above: An image believed to be Lanza as child

In addition to these, there are also records of his relationship with his mother as he only communicated with his mother via email as he does not leave his room for three months prior to the shooting, some neighbours even said they had not seen him in years. In these three months, he did very little, mostly listening to Japanese techno music and playing video games. (Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty, Doom, Left 4 Dead, Pikmin, Paper Mario, Shin Megami Tensei, Lego Star Wars, Kingdom Hearts.) The police discovered a number of gaming devices and computers upon searching the Lanza household which had been “significantly damaged by force trauma” and “scratched with an implement.”

Above: Lanza’s home

In his medical records, it stated that he was a vegan who did not like the texture of food, he was only 111lbs (50kg) when he died. In addition to this Lanza adopted “strange behaviours” such as preferring to sleep on the floor instead of the bed. He also liked to go on walks but avoided bright and natural light. It is also worth noting that Lanza was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome (which is on the autism scale) though he had a hard time accepting this and refused to take his perscribed medicine. 

In regards to his mother, it detailed that his mother once worked at a school, which Lanza also attended and he felt as though “his mother loved the students more than she loved him.” A witness told an agent that Lanza had been bullied at school though “not excessively” due to his “social awkwardness” and appearance. Also, when Lanza was in ninth grade he hacked through two levels of security to an undisclosed government computer. It was also reported that Lanza threatened to kill his mother sometime around December 2008.

Above: Lanza in 9th Grade

An online friend he met on a website dedicated to Columbine said he was the “weirdest person online.” Lanza also used screen names based on Tim Kretschmer and Kimveer Gill. It was said in an interview that Lanza “was singularly focused and obsessed with mass murderers and devoted almost all his internet activity to researching and discussing mass murderers and spree killing.” 

He also had an online relationship with a woman, whose identity was protected for privacy reasons whom he met through a website where players adopt the roles of the Columbine shooters. She noted that it was clear that he was depressed and viewed the world negatively. He expressed occasional suicidal thoughts but she did not think he was capable of killing himself nevermind others.

Despite this, the FBI concluded that Lanza had done “careful, methodical planning and preparation.” and could have possibly been planning the attack since March 2011. She also told authorities that he had gone into details about his sexuality, he also hinted at the fact he might’ve been asexual. She mentioned that he composed “at least one lengthy email” on his views about paedophilia. In which he expressed his hatred of it but also said it could be “possibly beneficial to both parties.”  FBI agents found a file on Lanza’s computer ‘advocating paedophiles’ rights and the liberation of children’ as well as a screenplay about a relationship between a 10-year-old boy and a 30-year-old man.