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The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > TV IV > Mindhunter: How do we get ahead of crazy if we don't know how crazy thinks?
 
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Alhazred
Feb 16, 2011




 It's a good show, but it's worth noting that the science isn't as sound as it seems on the show:
There is a deeper problem with F.B.I. profiling. Douglas and Ressler didn’t interview a representative sample of serial killers to come up with their typology. They talked to whoever happened to be in the neighborhood. Nor did they interview their subjects according to a standardized protocol. They just sat down and chatted, which isn’t a particularly firm foundation for a psychological system. So you might wonder whether serial killers can really be categorized by their level of organization.
Not long ago, a group of psychologists at the University of Liverpool decided to test the F.B.I.’s assumptions. First, they made a list of crime-scene characteristics generally considered to show organization: perhaps the victim was alive during the sex acts, or the body was posed in a certain way, or the murder weapon was missing, or the body was concealed, or torture and restraints were involved. Then they made a list of characteristics showing disorganization: perhaps the victim was beaten, the body was left in an isolated spot, the victim’s belongings were scattered, or the murder weapon was improvised.

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Alhazred
Feb 16, 2011

KyloWinter posted:

No they aren't.

My problem with the protagonist is basically how he's like ahhh yes, I have read the sparknotes for ~whatever~ now I am an expert and can apply these ridiculous profiles to catch the bad guy. And then it keeps working. gently caress him.
I kinda liked how the show sometimes criticize Holden for this:
:smuggo:I caught the bad guy because of my awesome profiling skills!
:rolleyes:No, you caught the bad guy because it's pretty obvious that the convicted rapist with easy access to the crime scene killed and raped the little girl.

* # ¿ Oct 28, 2017 10:36
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The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > TV IV > Mindhunter: How do we get ahead of crazy if we don't know how crazy thinks?