How do you really tell the difference between someone who's sane vs someone Insane?

[the_bob_delusion]

Go. 

[iapetus_rocks]

Bob said:

"So if you believe a person turn water into wine, or believe in a talking donkey or snake or believe a person born of a virgin you're sane. 

If you believe Elvis is still alive, you're insane. 

Is that the gist of what you said? If enough people believe it, you're no longer insane?"

Well yes, if enough (the majority) people believe in something, that becomes the norm (it is normal and not at all insane to believe it).

Even if it's a patently crazy and impossible  idea.

[the_bob_delusion]

---

@iapetus_rocks wrote:

Bob said:

"So if you believe a person turn water into wine, or believe in a talking donkey or snake or believe a person born of a virgin you're sane. 

If you believe Elvis is still alive, you're insane. 

Is that the gist of what you said? If enough people believe it, you're no longer insane?"

Well yes, if enough (the majority) people belive in something, that becomes the norm (it is normal and not at all insane to believe it).

Even if it's a patently crazy and impossible  idea.

---

By your definition, Sanity or insanity is a mere popularity contest then. 

[iapetus_rocks]

By your definition, Sanity or insanity is a mere popularity contest then. 

No, it's an artificial distinction. Sanity is a comparative state of mind (compared to in-sanity) and it's the majority of the people who decide what is a normal state of mind (and they are instructed in their perception by the power-elite who decide for us what is normal behaviour and normal thought.

[iapetus_rocks]

"If sanity and insanity exist, how shall we know them?"

"This is the first sentence of the article On Being Sane in Insane Places written by famous American psychologist David Rosenhan. He is famous for his Rosenhan Experiment which led him to hospitalize several pseudopatients in 12 different hospitals in the United States.

The pseudopatients were researchers who faked their mental conditions to seem insane. After being admitted into the hospitals, they acted like normal people, but none of the hospitals?staff noticed the pseudopatients were sane.

Those pseudopatients were already diagnosed with psychiatric disorders and that was the only thing the staff cared about. This brought to light how difficult it is to tell the difference between sane and insane people and how easily normal people were diagnosed with mental disorders."

http://www.hanyangian.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=296

from memory, the only people to spot the pseudo-crazies were the other (insane) patients.

"If sanity and insanity exist, how shall we know them?

The question is neither capricious nor itself insane. However much we may be personally convinced that we can tell the normal from the abnormal, the evidence is simply not compelling."

http://www.bonkersinstitute.org/rosenhan.html

[softail-joanie]

polksaladallie wrote: Or get shot by police

HEY!!! That's Joanie's line 

No, thats John T William's line. If it were beten to death, it would be Kelly Thomas's line. Both lucky by my account, If I were to coin a similar line it might be, ,, ,,,

If they kill me, then their fun would be over.

as would my suffering. They have no reason to kill me, i'm not a threat to them, they know i won't fight back, they know people will believe what they say about me or at least go along with their account.

Some may answer yes, some may answer no to this, but, if you knew that you could do anything you wanted to me, that i wouldn't fight back, and othes would take your side over mine, or at the very least go along or play it down, as if i brought it on myself. would you abuse this power?, would you have fun with me at my expense? Believe it or not but some cops wouldn't but they would still go along cover for and support those who would.

If those around here find out what they can get away with reguarding me, then things for me will get worse than they already are. I only hope when or if that happends that dad isn't around, i don't want him going to jail.