Thank you, this is interesting and important. I worry that it overstates similarity of different points on a spectrum, though.
in a certain sense, you are doing the exact same thing as the more overtly irrational person, just hiding it better!
In a certain sense, yes. In other, critical senses, no. This is a case where quantitative differences are big enough to be qualitative. When someone is clinically delusional, there are a few things which distinguish it from the more common wrong ideas. Among them, the inability to shut up about it when it’s not relevant, and the large negative impact on relationships and daily life. For many many purposes, “hiding it better” is the distinction that matters.
I fully agree that “He’s not wrong but he’s still crazy” is valid (though I’d usually use less-direct phrasing). It’s pretty rare that “this sounds like a classic crazy-person thought, but I still separately have to check whether it’s true” happens to me, but it’s definitely not never.
Thank you, this is interesting and important. I worry that it overstates similarity of different points on a spectrum, though.
In a certain sense, yes. In other, critical senses, no. This is a case where quantitative differences are big enough to be qualitative. When someone is clinically delusional, there are a few things which distinguish it from the more common wrong ideas. Among them, the inability to shut up about it when it’s not relevant, and the large negative impact on relationships and daily life. For many many purposes, “hiding it better” is the distinction that matters.
I fully agree that “He’s not wrong but he’s still crazy” is valid (though I’d usually use less-direct phrasing). It’s pretty rare that “this sounds like a classic crazy-person thought, but I still separately have to check whether it’s true” happens to me, but it’s definitely not never.