Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
That’s a stupid quote. The fact that it’s often attributed to Ben Franklin is even more ridiculous. Insanity (psychological problems) rarely includes that as a symptom, and even when it does it’s only a small part of the problem. (OCD doesn’t count, because the compulsion doesn’t include a belief that this time will be any different.)
Replace “insanity” with “stupidity” and the quote isn’t quite as stupid.
I have a particularly nasty relationship with that particular quote. And, an even more toxic relationship with the group that seems to popularize that quote. Seems that they are the bastion of an acutely massive amount of crazy themselves, yet seem to be blind to that fact.
Oh, it’s not so bad a quote. If we define sanity around here as being more Bayesian (that’s the waterline we’re trying to raise, right?) then defining insanity as refusal to update when more data comes would make sense.
That’s a stupid quote. The fact that it’s often attributed to Ben Franklin is even more ridiculous. Insanity (psychological problems) rarely includes that as a symptom, and even when it does it’s only a small part of the problem. (OCD doesn’t count, because the compulsion doesn’t include a belief that this time will be any different.)
Replace “insanity” with “stupidity” and the quote isn’t quite as stupid.
I have a particularly nasty relationship with that particular quote. And, an even more toxic relationship with the group that seems to popularize that quote. Seems that they are the bastion of an acutely massive amount of crazy themselves, yet seem to be blind to that fact.
Oh, it’s not so bad a quote. If we define sanity around here as being more Bayesian (that’s the waterline we’re trying to raise, right?) then defining insanity as refusal to update when more data comes would make sense.