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Comment by ourmandave | Hacker News Reader

Is this what happens to 007s if they actually live to retire age?

Pretty much - look at Frank Abignale the "Catch Me If You Can" con master. Even Mitnick fits the role. Once you've mastered a craft and somehow get out from under "the system" which punishes or has caused stress, well, education is fun. Story telling is how we grow. Oral histories and all that.

Normally these type of folks are not allowed to write about their experiences much due to there being potential collateral damage in print, but talking? Much smaller radius. Plus you get to size up your audience!

in the case of Frank, it might have all been storytelling

>but talking? Much smaller radius.

I don't think this adage is true now, or won't be for much longer. Fewer and fewer things are read, but everyone is watching videos now. That's the current trend at least. However, written text does have the potential for long out lasting whatever digital video/audio anything, so to that point I concede the original sentiment

Frank Abagnale exaggerated his exploits as a con man as a… con. You almost have to admire how ballsy that is.

True dedication to the craft

If you're listening to Frank Abagnale tell a story... well, just don't be the guy who raises his hand and asks "Did that really happen?"

To tag on to the others, the former 'chief of disguises' for the cia does interviews[1] all the time, I think also on the board for the Spy Museum (and featured quite a bit in it about both disguises and being a woman). Depending on their personality, why not play up the 'former cia/fbi/nsa' thing to educate/entertain/lend legitimacy to their business?

[1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUqeBMP8nEg

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