Every time I read one of these things, I wonder at what motivates someone to make up an entire career, a whole set of credentials. Part of it is almost admiring, since I'd never have the chutzpah. But more of it is just curious. Why do it? Is it the middle-class equivalent of a fourteen year old kid stealing a minibike--unable to conceive of getting the credentials through legitimate means, they simply help themselves to the unearned when no one's looking? Or is it something more sinister, some positive enjoyment of the fraud?
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I have a little saying, "You'll never go wrong betting on the incompetence of people."
Once a person realizes this is the case, it's a short leap from "Why am I banging my head against this incompetent system?" to "Why don't I use everyone else's incompetence for my own benefit?"
Well, the motivation is pretty clear. WHat's harder to imagine is the absence of the...dismotivation, or whatever you call it.
"Psychopaths", I'm told they're called.
I think the very audacity to start something like that, is a driving force over time. That's why they "don't stop" at a decent level, but always push more and more. They started by not stopping. I dunno if that raises to the psycho level in every case... but in retrospect it always seems the implosion is inevitable...
Put "Catch me if you can" on your netflix list - a great movie on this subject.
Me too. Whenever I read one of these things.