What is Insanity?

I thought my posting Why We Crucify Truth Tellers (and Why They Deserve It) was particularly interesting. But, also, it buried an insight that hadn't occurred to me until I typed it. I'll extract and replay it below, and will label/tag this under "Definitions" (a collection of mostly short postings offering fresh-baked and thought-provoking definitions for squishy terms).


You see someone really suffering in the audience at a horror movie. You tap his shoulder and remind him "It's just a movie, buddy. You're okay!" And he replies the way most people would reply (either in this scenario or in the wider universe of scenarios for which this serves as a parable):

HOW CAN YOU SAY EVERYTHING'S OKAY WHEN THE MONSTER'S IN THE NEXT ROOM?

It's an obvious framing error. Some people have less pliant perspectives. Insanity is the inability to reframe despite clear environmental cues.


All postings labeled "definitions"