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Boaki t1_jci2389 wrote

disagree. would much rather be up against competent malevolence. that's the guy that feels compelled to tell you his master plan while you're tied up, giving you a chance to get away.

the incompetent one ends up murdering all your loved ones while intending only to papercut you.

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jubilant-barter t1_jci5sy0 wrote

This would be very funny in a subreddit about fiction or memes.

But when we're talking about scientific research into harmful behaviors, we shouldn't let storytelling genre conventions color our expectations.

They're not meant to reflect reality, they're just there to entertain.

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BasileusBasil t1_jcj3vag wrote

Competent malevolence might explain its plan, but in an Ozymandias way of doing it. They might explain their reasons and how they pulled it off, but only when everything it's set in motion and nothing can prevent it anymore.

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FwibbFwibb t1_jcj8ix2 wrote

> that's the guy that feels compelled to tell you his master plan while you're tied up, giving you a chance to get away.

You watch too many movies.

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jdragun2 t1_jcjdk2w wrote

Sir, that is the incompetent ones. The competent ones won't say a thing until it's over and they have no chance of taking a penalty or hit. The. They will hint at their own involvement to those close to the victim or the victim themselves without ever giving enough to prove a thing.

A competent malevolent being doesn't care for gloating until the deed is done. Long monologues in front of a hero aren't really a thing. Especially not as often as Hollywood would have you believe. An anonymous letter to the hero's family or group that explains how they died without saying who did it in vague ways that implicates tons of OTHER people, including the same family or group: that is the sign of a malevolent being who is competent and intelligent.

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