Well, only somebody who sports such gesture will know what I'm talking about, no selfies to be found, does anyone want to share for Tryptamine?
Everyone wears "masks." Like when people are checking out at a gas station...80% chance the cashier's wearing a polite mask of their role, 80% the other person's doing the same thing. I wear masks, but I'm no sociopath.
Am I surmising correctly that you caught his face in the mirror, betraying an emotionlessness, at a moment where he should have been feeling something? And that with combined with your realization of the ways in which he manipulates has led you to the conclusion he's a sociopath?
I'm not entirely sure what I wanted to achieve other than get rid of the elephant in the room, I was hoping we could just go back to being about the day like anybody else, but I see what you mean, and yes, you are right about outsmarting, that's not even my objective because I don't want to compete, if anything I can let him win whatever he wants, I have other things that are important to me now ;)
In my opinion, the best "etiquette" while dealing with a sociopath is to be straightforward and open-minded, and avoid being rude or annoying. Or stupid... =)
But that, probably, should be true for any kind of people that you're dealing with.
And by the way, what exactly are you planning to achieve by showing him that "you're cool with that"?
I mean there is hardly a benefit in "befriending" a sociopath if you are not one yourself.
p.s. And use your caution. Don't think that you can understand him. Moreover, don't think you can outsmart him. It's naive.