TL:DR TRP seems to have a hard-on for dark triad traits, and for misusing the term. Here to set that straight.

Body: First off, you don't become dark-triad. You're either born with it, or you emulate it like the rest of us.

The triad consists of:

  • Psychopathy: Decreased inhibition, empathy and remorse, increased boldness.
  • Narcissism: Egotistic, Prideful, Grandiose
  • Machiavellianism: Immoral and duplicitous. Seeks self-interest and gain.

Why do we care about these traits?

People with these traits (who don't make it obvious they have them) can go far and succeed. 1% of people have these traits and 4% of CEOs do.

I have a friend who I'm fairly certain is a psychopath, he fits the traits above to the bill. Lack of inhibitions and increased boldness translates to no approach anxiety. Lack of empathy and remorse means he's not going to apologize, and means he's better at holding frame. He's excellent with women and has taught me a great deal as well. He approaches all the time, even in his LTR and keeps her in constant dread. If she denies him sex, he'll even pretend to flirt with girls on the phone.

I can attest to the success of being narcissistic (funny how that statement is narcissistic as well). It's always helped my mindset, and I had internalized "I am the prize" from a very early age. I was not good with women though. I didn't approach, had subpar social skills, and was awkward af. Once I got rid of my approach anxiety, my self-confidence really shined and helped me get girls.

Lastly Machiavellianism, it's essentially playing chess with conversations. You maneuver and say what needs to be said to achieve some sort of gain or work towards your self-interest. Most people have a basic level of tact. If your professor is a feminist, you're not going to write a paper on why the wage gap is a myth. Machs however can manipulate situations in their favor. Say that promotion is coming up, a Mach will figure out how to knock the others out of the ranking without drawing suspicion to himself.

Since these are considered illnesses, I wouldn't brag about having them since the general population won't see it favorably. I also want to state that if you have one of these traits, it's not necessarily a silver bullet. A psychopath who doesn't say the right things will come off as a weirdo. A narcissist (like me) with no game, won't get any. A Mach may come off as mechanical or cold. Because to him people are pawns.

That's all folks.