Archive for February, 2009

Play A Sucker To Catch A Sucker - Seem Dumber Than Your Mark

I admire with this next law of power, Play A Sucker To Catch A Sucker - Seem Dumber Than Your Mark. Do you willing to seem dumber than your mark. Yes, just if you wish power. But here is a good story from the Observance of the Law:

In what was the biggest diamond scam of the century, prospectors Philip Arnold and John Slack fooled the biggest financiers of the time, Asbury Harpending, Baron Rothschild, and William Ralston into investing their millions in a fake mine site. The two men played up their small town, scruffy image; convincing the sophisticated tycoons that they would easily be bought out for their discovery of the mines. In the end, after the legal pay-off was made to the two men, the investors realized the mine had been salted with uncut gems by Arnold and Slack. Since all the business had been legal, and experts had inspected the mines, there was no way to go after the two men.

We can take these wisdom from this law:

Intelligence is an important part of people’s vanity. Subliminally reassure your opponent of his superiority.
Playing naïve lets you see opportunities to deceive others.

Read the list of 48 laws of power, here.

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Read the law of power 11