Truman Syndrome

[LarianLeQuella]

http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/1296512,truman-show-jim-carrey-mental-illness112408.article

(First link from Google, I'm sure you all could find better articles on this.)

*sigh* While I do not doubt that there are genuine cases of Mental Illness that have aspects of this, I am more inclined to think that there are just some people more susceptible to wooism that this is what they latch on to. Or, should wooism be classified as yet another form of Mental Illness? Hmm, hadn't really considered that.

[Vic Vega]

I don't see how this has anything to do with woo. Assuming the people inflicted believe what they are saying, it just sounds like a new type of paranoid deslusion that happens to correspond with the plot of a movie.

[LarianLeQuella]

Sorry, didn't put in enough sarcasm, my fault. While it correlates with paranoid delusions, I think one of the factors for naming this the Truman Syndrome was that it was showing up in people without the clinical diagnosis of paranoid delusion. Of course, we all know how accurate clinical diagnosis can be. :p

Yeah, I'm just having one of those days... Local theists are sending me "hate email" for posting pictures of exoplanets on a local web blog... Does wonders for ones mood when you read some of the things they say...

[Jimbo07]

Local theists are sending me "hate email" for posting pictures of exoplanets...

OT:

Why?

:confused:

[T.A.M.]

I am not sure that this should qualify as a new illness. It seems, as other have said, to be a form of current affair based delusion within a pre-existing illness, rather than an illness unto itself (as the title of the OP article implies).

TAM:)

[INRM]

I think this is actual proof that the extreme presence of surveillance in our daily lives is actually not psychologically healthy and has adverse side effects.

Regardless, It's my opinion that Truman-Syndrome is nothing new. I could be wrong of course.


INRM

[LarianLeQuella]

OT:

Why?

:confused:

Not sure you would believe me if I told you.

[blutoski]

I think this is actual proof that the extreme presence of surveillance in our daily lives is actually not psychologically healthy and has adverse side effects.

Regardless, It's my opinion that Truman-Syndrome is nothing new. I could be wrong of course.

It's not new. As other posters have indicated, it's an artefact of psychosis.

Old presentment; new nickname.

[Jozen-Bo]

Can't they come up with a better name?

[athon]

Or, should wooism be classified as yet another form of Mental Illness? Hmm, hadn't really considered that.

That's a really interesting question I'd like to comment on.

We're very quick to view illnesses, diseases or conditions of any sort as clearly defined abnormalities, as if there is a pool of 'normal, clean' people and any deviation from that means you have a disease.

The truth is that pathology of any sort is not clear. Here's how I see it;

Picture a population of 100 people. No two are identical, although they all share characteristics. In their differences, some are taller, some shorter, some have different microbes in their system, some have brains wired subtly differently, giving different mental attributes. They all had small differences in the environment they developed in - some ate slightly different foods, or more or less of them. Others interacted with different people, had different educational experiences, or sat in the sun for different amounts of time, or simply had different amounts of exercise. These in turn impacted on their biology in subtly different ways.

Given all of their characteristics - physical and behavioural - some are going to 'cope' better in their environment. What do I mean by 'cope'? Essentially I could look at the word in one of two ways - in an evolutionary context, I could see it as a competition in energy resources, where some people expend less energy as a result of their variation. Or two, in terms of behaviour, we could see it as an impact on their wellbeing. In other words, how happy they feel.

A third way which I've been considering of late is the social impact of variation - how the variation makes other people feel.

What we have is a spectrum of variations which impacts on how we as individuals and we as members of a community cope in our environment. If a variation (genetic, congenital, developed, behavioural, microbial ...whatever) helps us cope less with respect to the way others feel, or how we could feel if such factors weren't present (harder to discuss that part...might need another thread), we might be inclined to describe it as a disease.

Is 'woo' a disease? Well, it is a variation in how people think. But finding how it reduces one's wellbeing in today's environment is a little tougher. But I think 'woo' needs better defining before we can determine what aspects of it might equate a mental disease.

Going on a definition which presumes 'woo' to be the tendency to believe in things without first objectively evaluating the evidence, we need to ask what variations in thought lead to this. In my experience and research, I've found it's actually the default way our brain works - we rely primarily on 'social evidence' over empirical evidence. We'll defer to others we trust and like in our social group before we'll evaluate our own observations. We also do this with senses that we trust implicitly, in spite of the problems this can cause.

The thing is, in the environment in which we evolved as a species, this basis for 'woo' thinking worked damn well. In fact, it worked better than critical thinking, for the most part. Critical dialectic only developed once the social and economic factors changed about 2500 years ago.

However, if the social environment changed, does that mean those individuals who don't employ certain critical thinking skills are deficient, or won't cope in some way? Do they impact negatively on society?

I believe so. Information is a resource we currently depend upon to cope in our modern world. Make a poor decision, and you're worse off financially, or with your health, or mental wellbeing. Since 'cope' is relative to the communal standards - as it was back with our imaginary population of 100 - good, objective information has established a new environment, which has required individuals to possess skills which weren't necessary in our evolutionary past.

I apologise for the long discussion here, especially as it doesn't have a lot to do with your link. I should make it clear that I'm being extremely denotative in my defining of woo as a disease - the emotional connotations are slightly different, and I would hesitate before going around calling anybody who believes in homeopathy as having a mental disease.

Athon

[Dr Adequate]

Not sure you would believe me if I told you. Now I'm intrigued.

Can I see?

[LarianLeQuella]

EXCELLENT POST ATHON! That's really what I was hoping to drag out with my little flippant post. BRAVO! :)

Dr Adequate, as I PMed to Jimbo (all hail the perfection of tigers named Hobbes):

I posted a blog showing those exoplanet images on the local paper, and I am getting nasty messages and emails about spreading Satan's lies and damning me to hell (or worse). Apparently they take exception at hinting of science and that there may be other things out there aside from what their bibles tell them. Although Michael Shermer has an interesting post about that over at Skepticblog. http://skepticblog.org/2008/11/25/modern-patternicity-in-ancient-wisdom/

[Jimbo07]

I posted a blog showing those exoplanet images on the local paper, and I am getting nasty messages and emails about spreading Satan's lies and damning me to hell (or worse). Apparently they take exception at hinting of science and that there may be other things out there aside from what their bibles tell them.

I thought the "Satan's lies" crowd was only a very small group amongst the religious. Are you sure you're not getting bent out of shape over a small, but vocal, minority?

[LarianLeQuella]

This area that I live in (Panhandle of Florida) makes the bible belt look progressive. There are more churches here than there are schools, hospitals, gymnasiums, and grocery stores combined. So far this year, we have had several book bannings, cure they gays rallies (followed by driving out the gays that didn't want to be cured), TEACHERS making an acronym out of the word change (Come Help A Ni**r Get Elected), Principals expelling students for being gay (as well as expelling students for supporting the gay student), etc. The area here is about 99% christian, with about 70% identifying as Young Earth Creationists (judging by the church denominations and attendance). I could go on and on. So far I have already had bible verses scratched into my car (I may be the only known atheist in the region, and I do have a personalized plate that says Larian), I get daily emails, and numerous PMs from folks telling me that I will go to a lake of fire, hell, or whatever their flavour tells them. Judging by the usernames of those folks, it's a rather substantial number compared to the people who actually post on the paper's site.

I think this town makes up for any progressive people that Florida may have. This is the worst area I have ever lived in in that regard (and I lived in Wichita, KS. a mere stones throw from those Westboro crazies).

[Jimbo07]

and I do have a personalized plate that says Larian),

Ever consider not having a personalized plate? :covereyes


I think this town makes up for any progressive people that Florida may have. This is the worst area I have ever lived in in that regard (and I lived in Wichita, KS. a mere stones throw from those Westboro crazies).

Is this job-related, or due to some other circumstance? Otherwise, why would one choose to to live in that situation?

[LarianLeQuella]

Yes, I have considered not having a personalized plate, but then I would feel like they "beat" me. ;)

It is a job related move. And even though this area has some of the worst examples of humanity that I have had the displeasure of encountering (and I've lived in some horrible areas), the nature and beaches here are stunning! Maybe I need to build a "compound"? I could call it "Outside the Asylum" perhaps (with apologies to Douglas Adams).

[Jimbo07]

Yes, I have considered not having a personalized plate, but then I would feel like they "beat" me. ;)

I meant... I make fun of people with personalized plates, and I'm not religious! :p


Maybe I need to build a "compound"? I could call it "Outside the Asylum" perhaps (with apologies to Douglas Adams).

LOL!

Personalized plate, don't share the religion, joking about the asylum... you're not setting yourself up as an outsider to your neighbours at all! :cool: