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Maria Konnikova is the author of two New York Times bestsellers: The Confidence Game , winner of the 2016 Robert P. Balles Prize in Critical Thinking, and Mastermind: How to[…]
The con artist is more of a psychologist than a thief, explains Maria Konnikova. If fact, con artists will never actually steal anything from you; they’ll convince you to hand it over freely.
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The history of the term “con artist” illuminates some essential traits of this lamentable profession. Maria Konnikova explains that the first con artist was a Manhattan watch thief who would prey on the goodwill of his victims, asking to borrow their watch until the following day. Of course the watch was never returned and the confidence invested by the victim in the thief was also lost. Indeed the con artist is more of a psychologist than a thief. Con artists will never steal anything from you, says Konnikova, they’ll convince you to hand it over freely.


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