From: Bryan Moss (bryan.moss@dial.pipex.com)
Date: Thu Jul 02 1998 - 07:30:14 MDT
Anders Sandberg wrote:
> [...] outside B-movies few people are really out
> to destroy the world. Psychologically speaking,
> one should maybe look at people with
> persecution/revenge complex combined with severe
> megalomania, but that usually tends to result in
> mailbombs rather than anthrax epidemics.
> However, the group dynamics and memetics of the
> Japanese doomsday sect should instill some
> caution - it would make a perfect study object
> of the kind of crazies to look out for.
I think the Japanese doomsday sect (Ohm?) is
particularly interesting. AFIAK it was
co-ordinated by one man (the leader, forget his
name) who used some quite ingenious "brainwashing"
techniques. Japanese investigators found that he
used a system of voice synthesis to alter his own
voice in a way that "imprinted" ideas on his
followers. I don't know the specifics, or quite
how feasible this is, but along with the drugs and
electroshock therapy it seemed to work.
BM
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