The Carpenter's Laboratory

Carpenter holds passion for his art. He manufactures a cupboard for a friend and a usual trade sequence escapes attention, almost. There is no bill to the beneficiary. Incidentally, his occasional altruism is featured in other examples which his friend is aware of. Carpenter is aware that his position reduces his own strength while increasing the vigor of the one he aids. He is programmed to expect no reciprocation, not because recipients of his aid are not inclined to wood-working, but because they are specimens in his laboratory.

Carpenter has another passion. He observes the plethora of responses his specimens manifest in maligning the benefit they receive.

Some of the gems, carpenter has observed:-

“You know, the reason he is passionate about carpentry is because he is an egoist that pursues self-interest. The other day, he offered build a teak cabinet for me without charge and I accepted. I guess, wood-working simply makes him happy.”

“Why doesn’t he charge? I think he feels fulfilled when he works with wood, but then again, he must be using stolen timber, but in any case, what do I have to lose. I get my cupboards built free of charge, yeah!”

“He wants the opportunity to help himself to my jewellery. I have lots of trinkets lying about. Who knows if he had helped himself to some”

January 19th 2012: Sometime last year carpenter repaired a box for a lady friend that needed nails which he supplied without informing or charging the person. Carpenter then inducted her into the laboratory, not because she was ungrateful when she denounced the nails without which the box would falter, but because Martha C. Stout (in her book The Psychopath Next Door) recognized her guilt. 

Last month this person asked me to help her with another box for which I asked her to supply the nails required to do the work. Carpenter was obliged to lock her in his laboratory for a full evaluation, not because she ranted that I was not prepared to help with the second box, but because Stout recognized the debri of her guilt from the previous encounter. 

Words – Tommy Peters