In discussing my martial arts profiling guides with another online discussion participant, I once wrote, "Nothing seems to get people more upset than refusing to take them as seriously as they take themselves, I guess."

Michael Ryan wrote to me to tell me this:

I'm not sure if you've ever studied psychology, but the most prominent one I've seen in the martial arts community is Narcissistic Personality Disorder. In order to compensate for an inferiority, they have to imagine huge ego-inflated perceptions of themselves and accomplishments, and anyone who doesn't believe in this "idealized self" that they've created causes huge "narcissistic injury" to their ego, to use psychological terms.

So yes, in their minds, you Phil are an evil, evil person. A person with NPD has a World that revolves around themselves, and as such, they believe everyone else should revolve around them too. I know you're a fan of rational egoism, well this would irrational egoism. When John Nash proposed the Nash Equilibrium, one of the key parts was that acting in self-interest meant taking your own consideration and other people's as well into consideration. Unfortunately, in irrational egoism seen in NPD, the person doesn't consider other people, so they actually act against their self-interest by being so self-centered. C'est la vie.

Also, when speaking of people who are unskilled and unaware of it, my favorite piece of research is this:

"People tend to hold overly favorable views of their abilities in many social and intellectual domains....This overestimation occurs, in part, because people who are unskilled in these domains suffer a dual burden: Not only do these people reach erroneous conclusions and make unfortunate choices, but their incompetence robs them of the metacognitive ability to realize it."

"Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One's Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments," by Justin Kruger and David Dunning, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology December 1999 Vol. 77, No. 6, 1121-1134.

It's available online at:

http://www.apa.org/journals/psp/psp7761121.html

Read the article, it'll sound as if they just wrote it for internet Tough-Guys and Fraudulent instructors...

...According to the DSM-IV, (this is a short-hand abbreviation for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, the psychologist/psychiatrist Bible) Narcissistic Personality Disorder is identifiable by five or more of the following characteristics:

• Has grandiose sense of self-importance, (in fantasy or behavior), greatly exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements.

• Is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love.

• Believes him/herself to be special and unique, and can only be understood by a select elite as equally worthy as he/she is.

• Has a strong sense of self-entitlement, things should be unreasonably favor[able] towards them, and automatic compliance with his/her expectations.

• Exhibitionist need for attention

• Lacks empathy, and is unwilling to identify with the needs of others.

• Is convinced others are envious of him/her.

• Shows arrogant, haughty behaviors and attitudes.