Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Law 12: Use selective honesty and generosity to disarm your victim

Some say that there are two kinds of people in this world, those that deceive, and those that are deceived. In an extremist point of view you have to make a choice. If there are only two kinds of people in this world; would you want to be manipulated, or the one in control of things?

According to this law, these are the steps on how to deceive people:

a. Pick a potential victim (preferably the meek).

b. Build up your disguise. You should have a reputable name because the people will not fall for the trap otherwise. Be honest, generous, and sincere. You must not be transparent at all costs to avoiding jeopardizing the risk of your cover being blown. (Keep in mind that your objective is to break down your victim’s barrier so that he/she may be vulnerable for your advantage.)

c. Device a plan that will give you the most gains. Make sure that is feasible and fool proof. Since you can only go so far with this plan, the plan should be flawless.

d. Take your time. Set up everything and process into the plan.

e. Once your potential victim trusts you and you have completely deceived them into giving in (with a big amount of money, promise of promotion, etc.), execute your plan.

f. Enjoy the fruits of your deception (money, pride, etc.)

Does this work in our world today? Where there is too much hostility and people distrust each other by default, is there any room for even the chance of planning this scheme or would there be a failure right away? Also, imagine yourself as the corrupt person. Given a choice in deceiving people, would you risk building a rapport for a long time for a bigger reward (but a bigger risk of blowing your cover) or push through with small time deals (will give small but guaranteed rewards)?

Mara Liboro
Hi18 - K

33 comments:

Anonymous said...

in the kind of world we live in today, the success of this law can greatly be determined by the people you are deceiving and by the way you present yourself. you must choose the people to deceive very wisely. you must find out if they are people you can surely fool, people who will easily trust you. they must easily believe in you and see how they can benefit from the situation but in reality, they are being used for your own goals. as for the second factor, the way you sell yourself to others matters too. you must really sound convincing and genuine in order to gain the trust of others. your offers must seem tempting hard to pass up on. that is why it is really important to plan your actions carefully and see to it that you have everything under control. when you have any doubts, you must have back-up plans that can help you improve and be more sure.

i think that it is better to make small time deals with guaranteed rewards because you already know what you are getting. however, i also think it will be good to get involved in risks every now and then because if you come out successful, you will have learned so much from the situation. getting involved in risks also makes one tougher, stronger, and wiser.

-Philip Albert T. Verde
Hi18 K

Anonymous said...

I don't think I want to be the deceiver or the deceived. I mean it's just difficult to choose one. I don't want to be the deceiver because I don't want to take advantage of people, or worse, make a fool out of them. That's just wrong and mean. I also don't want to be deceived, who wants to be used and fooled, right?

I don't think that it will be easy to device a plan nowadays. People will always find out what you are up to because of technology and whatnots.

Clarice Manuel
Hi18 K

Anonymous said...

In the modern society, I think there are really two kinds of people. People like to be better than other people, and they
sometimes deceive people and benefit from them. The only victims are the innocent people who believe everything that is said to them. Although steps on how to deceive people were mentioned in this law, it didn't give me much interest. I think it is because I accept / comprehend the word "deceive" as something negative. I wouldn't like to risk
my career and relationships with other people for some benefits (earned by deceiveing other people) because those benefits can be earned by other means too. I personally think that the benefits that I am likely to get by deceiving other people are not worth selling my conscience.


Yu Chin Hong
Hi18-K

Anonymous said...

Being the deceiver seems to resemble scam artists in a certain way. I think that this law revolves around the idea of controlling others and benefiting at their expense. With this in mind, i think that the concept of the deceiver and the deceived is an illusion that causes people to either be dominant or insignificant. One must hold a mutual relationship between two or more parties in order for them to benefit. Of course it is to your advantage if you have the upper hand of the deal. The point is that when one exploits others, it resonates a for of abuse towards the other party.

Richard Hahn
L

chiocebrero said...

While I don't necessarily believe that you can categorize people into two extremes (deceiver & deceived), the author does make good points with the execution of the law. Point B (building up a disguise) is essentially what manipulation is about--leading everyone to think that you're someone who can be trusted.

The Americans used the power of false generosity to manipulate us Filipinos during the colonial era. They gave us the impression that letting them take over, building schools, and reforming our society would make us a better nation after the Spanish colonization. We were given a false sense of freedom and independence. The sad thing is, we Filipinos believed the Americans during those times.

A man who falls into the traps of false generosity allows himself to be puppeteered and conquered.

Chio Cebrero
Hi 18 L

Anonymous said...

This approach certainly works in our world today. People who are power-hungry would do whatever it takes for them to reach the top.

I think it's an imprudent schema though. None of it (power, money, pride, etc.) would be worth it if relationships would eventually be damaged. It would take a merciless individual to do such a spiteful act. It's just distressing that there are actually a lot of depraved people. To me, their existence is of no relevance to society. Those kinds of people are not worthy of any form of power.

Monica Copuyoc
Hi18- L

Anonymous said...

it's more like exposing only what needs to be exposed or getting the answers you want requires asking the right questions. it's a difficult law to pull of. you have to know what or what not to say. it's like buttering them up, but not too much to make them suspicious.

ocampo 18-k

Anonymous said...

On Yu Chin Hong’s comment, the steps I made were based on the law and how it is supposed to be executed... again, based on the law. It was not a step-by-step guide so that people would follow it. Basically, I chose to write it that way so people can identify with those steps. I just presented it by showing the negative side of things; I found it more interesting that way.

Anonymous said...

On Richard’s comment… Yes, that’s precisely the point. Like what the other comments say, it is hard to pull this law off in the kind of world we have today. I think scam artist have mastered this law and worked their way around it.

Anonymous said...

Chio, you said that you can’t categorize people into two extremes, your last sentence say otherwise. A man who all falls into the traps of false generosity whoa allows himself to be puppeteered and conquered is the deceived person. :)

Unknown said...

These laws of power sometimes can be dehumanizing. It's like everyone is at each other's throat. I like to think of the end of the road. What happens when one has reached the highest spot of power, what now? Most likely some other power hungry dude will take him down and the cycle continues.

Reading this law I imagined Wiley Coyote and Roadrunner, Wiley puts devises all sorts of schemes to get Roadrunner but never really pulls it off. Perhaps he needed to hear this law first. lol

Denis Flores
hi 18k

Miguel Galvez said...

The manipulator doesn't necessarily have to be reputable in my opinion. To be most effective, I think the most important thing to keep in mind is to be as convincing as possible. That way, the manipulated will totally be oblivious to the manipulator's plans at any time.

- Juan Carlos Miguel M. Galvez
Hi18 - L

Anonymous said...

Denis, I agree. It’ll just go around and around until someone finally stops and surrenders. I guess that’s why these laws are made to be these forceful. You really have to rise against someone in order to gain power, thus... “the 48 laws of power”. These laws are too aggressive but it makes sense, especially with how the world is today.

Anonymous said...

At Miguel:
Being reputable is part of being convincing. Most often than not, people would try to pry from your past and see what kind of person you really are. Also remember that people talk. Sometimes, an identity can be changed or even formed by word of mouth.

Anonymous said...

Does selective honesty necessarily mean doing selfish things? More so, does it have to be deceiving altogether? What if it is done out of a certain good? What if there is no malice in the intentions of a person just wanting to give someone a gift - to only make the other feel special perhaps? Does this seem such a selfish act to prove one's superiority over the other?

I guess i just mentioned these to highlight the fact that these laws aren't so one sided after all.

-Filbert Tan
Hi18-K

danaceline said...

Wow, this one's very much used in politics. When campaign time comes, politicians start to pick their potential victims (the poor people), build up their disguise by earning the people's trust and making them believe that they only want what's best for the people, then they win the people's votes and finally sit in their throne, then of course, execute their corruption schemes and enjoy the fruits of their deception -- money, cars, mansions, etc.
I don't know if I'm too negative about the government, but this is what first came into my mind when I read this law. And sadly, regarding the two kinds of people, we end up being the ones deceived.

Dana Cammayo
Hi18-L

Sean said...

I do not like this law at all. Compared to the other law, this law has the great potential to harm people. While reading through the article. The first thing that came to my mind was con artists and how they use that trick to deceive and lure their victims in. Then they take advantage of them.

Sean Co
Hi 18 K

Unknown said...

Ah yes - guile. The con man's preferred M.O. It takes a one with great acting skill to be able to really pull it off. Coming off naturally to your prey is the important part when doing the deception. If at the on-set you've gained trust of the unsuspecting, the deal is pretty much sealed.

Joey Palma
Hi18-K
P.S. Even if I know it's wrong to steal, those Ocean's 11 guys do it with such flair that you can't help but want to be them.

Anonymous said...

It's sad that in this law we are given the choice between two not-so-good choices, and both have consequences, moral and practical. I guess the best thing I learned from this law is keeping myself from those who beguile me with generosity, as nothing material can be taken for granted.

Alan Ortiz
HI18 K

Anonymous said...

This law is way too negative. It actually bluntly promotes deception as the "winning" tactic for one to gain power. This poses a risk of having power-hungry leaders who would keep on manipulating the people.

Rhea Entuna
section L

Anonymous said...

I’m not entirely certain about what applications this law can have. What are you deceiving people for? Is the person going to give you information or something?
As answer to the question in the post, yes, it can still work, but not without difficulty of executing the plan. People do distrust each other, and maybe that is why the steps given stress that the plan should be foolproof. You have to completely deceive.
I’m surprised, though, that though this law tells you to deceive others, it doesn’t tell you to LIE. It just said selective honesty and bribery or “generosity”.

Chris Macalinao
Hi18 – L

Anonymous said...

Since you put it in an extremist point of view of "deceive or be deceived", it's just about the same thing as "eat or be eaten," and i would rather eat. I wouldn't go for the big meals though, not for the sake of avoiding weight gain, but simply because it is too tedious a process to go through those four steps before enjoying the benefits. I don't think i can be rational and objective enough to manipulate my way all throughout the game and leave these poor unfortunate deceived souls as leftovers. Because of the time it takes to execute this plan, emotional connections would be incredibly difficult to avoid. I would much rather stick to small snacks. ;)


Elise Noelle Anne Lim
Hi18 Section L

Anonymous said...

Dana, I like your example. It’s exactly how this law works and look where those politicians are at now. In the seat of government, and enjoying that power they have over the Filipinos. I guess they really invested in this law to have that long time benefit. Mara

Anonymous said...

Sean, I guess it’s up to you how and in what cause you can use this law. I put the steps here bluntly and highlighted the negative things to be cautious that this can be done to us. More than doing this law (even for the good), I think I am more worried that this law is being practiced on me.

Anonymous said...

Chris, I may have been a bit harsh on my blog but like I mentioned in the previous reply, I am concerned with others practicing this law to us. Reading this law made me a bit paranoid on those people around me. Think about it. It’s possible that someone maybe doing this to you right now. I guess this is just me giving everyone a heads up.

Anonymous said...

I guess Elise saw what my point was in my blog. I did put it in an extremist point of view that it came out a bit too harsh.

Anonymous said...

Duping someone is usually an easier act--instead of building up one particular person's trust, I think you can get the same benefits of this law by cultivating a reputation and letting others believe what they hear about you. Though in a sense, concentrating your energies on one person probably works because no one else will believe them when they cry wolf.

Peep Warren
Hi18-L

Anonymous said...

Politicians all over deceive people. This law is very much prevalent in our society because politics is tricky and therefore requires a tactic. Erap Estrada was the man of the masses, that was his target and that was what made him win. He disguised himself to be an effective to the leader when clearly he wasn't.

I agree that there is a point of default distrust because a lot has happened in our society. Still, it is very effective form of control as there multiple issues on corruption and inefficient leadership. I don't think that this will ever change.

Czarina Kathryne Masagca
Hi18-L

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