---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <noozguru@...> wrote :
I'm not sure anyone here would want to be sane. Sane as defined by the psychological community these days is the "norm." IOW, if you behave like that average bumpkin then you are sane. Do you want to be an "average bumpkin"? Well if you put it like that, I guess not ;-) Most of us can recall the days when the psychological community jumped on the Maslow bandwagon and defined "sane" as a person who is self-actualized. IOW, one who is enlightened. Then there was a pouring out of magazine and newspaper articles about how everyone was crazy because very few by that definition could attain enlightenment. I'm guessing that made the psychological community redefine "sane". I'm not sure what the definition of sane would be. Over here Insanity is a legal term that means "responsible for one's actions" basically if you knew what you were doing at the time you did whatever you did you get to go to jail instead of a secure hospital. But that leaves a vast majority as sane. I think psychologists describe you as psychologically healthy if you are productive, can realise goals, make long term plans and form healthy relationships (no jealousy or violence etc) None of which helps me and Wonko....It's all relative. On 09/28/2014 03:14 AM, TurquoiseBee turquoiseb@... mailto:turquoiseb@... [FairfieldLife] wrote: From: salyavin808 <no_re...@yahoogroups.com> mailto:no_re...@yahoogroups.com I don't know about you but I feel more like Wonko the Sane as the days go by. Just a few of us outside the asylum now, with only the mad scratching from the inmates to distract us from the real world. This is really worth revisiting, especially for those who don't know who Wonko the Sane is: http://hitchhikers.wikia.com/wiki/Wonko_the_Sane http://hitchhikers.wikia.com/wiki/Wonko_the_Sane I understand your feelings. My eyes hurt from rolling so much lately, not only here on FFL but on a Rama-related forum that's grown more active lately. If you think FFL is out there, you should hear some of the things *they* believe. :-) I love the concept of "The Asylum" and "The Outside of the Asylum" as Douglas Adams defines them: "The Asylum was set up one day after Watson came across a set of detailed instructions on a set of toothpicks. Watson, distressed and fearing for the world's sanity, built 'The Asylum' to put it in and help it get better. The Asylum is a four-walled house turned inside out. That which one would be inclined to take as the door into the house opens into a lawn with benches and walking paths. This is the area that Watson calls Outside the Asylum. Thus, the inside of the asylum contains the entire world, save for that small area. Within that small 'outside' area, Watson has mounted the instructions for the toothpicks, in order to discourage himself and others from going back into the asylum, i.e. returning to the mad world." It does seem from time to time as if you and Xeno and Curtis and Bhairitu and myself and a few others are trying to create an "Outside the Asylum" space here in the FFL Madhouse.
