4 ms·

The author is a classic case of a smart person who has not quite cracked how humans work and why and is as a result frustrated. The psychiatrist did what he/sh

The author is a classic case of a smart person who has not quite cracked how humans work and why and is as a result frustrated. The psychiatrist did what he/she did to cover their own ass. Those questions are mandatory procedure and if someone is potentially going to hurt themselves and you knew and decided 'ah probably not', then it is YOUR fault. Nobody's going to take that chance. That's simply knowing how the game works - the same way you're supposed to pretend you've gotten along with every workplace you've ever been in during an interview to avoid raising red flags. There are many many more examples of unspoken social rules you simply have to learn. Being smart has the advantage of having the capacity to catch up and make up for traits you naturally aren't good at. An average person does not have that luxury - if they're born unattractive, they have almost no way to overcome that as one simple example.

kpil 11y ago
I am convinced that 'smart' is something else entirely. There is an awful lot of brainpower dedicated to skills like walking into a party where you know noone, meeting with annoyed customers, or even polite conversation, etc.
- socket0 11y ago
  A lot of people (most people?) seem to have that built into their BIOS. Or at least the most basic functionality needed to do that. That's not to imply they all like those situations, just that they don't freeze up and experience the human equivalent of a BSOD when confronted by one.
  - tribune 11y ago
    Some certainly do, but I highly doubt it's "most" people. There's probably a significant self-selection bias for people who frequently end up in these situations.
- alexashka 11y ago
  I think you're making the point that there's different kinds of smart - I couldn't agree with you more. What I meant by smart and what I got from the original article is someone who is a systemic thinker who likes to categorize things. That's a very valuable skill. Learning to get along with people who don't naturally do that (most people) is a skill you can expedite by using systemic thinking and figuring out how emotion-based conversations go :)
anon4 11y ago
Nah, the author was just under the impression that councellors are for anything other than terminally crazy people. There's a difference between my friend asking me "are you hurt" and the doctor asking me "are you hurt". Your friend doesn't need to know that on every third step your knee hurts, but that's exactly what you're going to the doctor for, so it would be really silly saying it doesn't hurt when it does, even if the pain is not yet severe. Similarly "are you absolutely sure you will not hurt yourself today?" -- you and I know that means "are you going to take a knife and slice your wrists or put your face in the flames to see how they taste or something", but it can also mean "are you going to kick a table by mistake?". A person not familiar with the severe psychological issues councellors see each day can very easily not even think that "are you absolutely sure you're not going to hurt yourself today?" refers in to them stabbing themselves voluntarily with a sharp object to make the voices go away.
- DanBC 11y ago
  This is a bafflingly bad description of mental health problems and counselling. Mental health problems exist on wide spectrum of different types of from things like schizophrenia or bipolar or borderline personality disorder through to eating disorder, anxiety disorders, OCD, or depression. Some of these are very treatable. People with a mental health problem should be able to seek help from that problem without being inappropriately sent to hospital for an asessment. In this example the professional could have checked OP's understanding of the question. Modern guidance is to avoid questions like "do you intend to hurt yourself" and ask more direct questions such as "do you self harm?" and "do you have thoughts of suicide? Do you plan to kill yourself?" A college counsellor is absolutely there to provide treatment and advice for the so-called "mild to moderate" end of mental illness.
DanBC 11y ago
I agree with you but here "hurt yourself" is a euphemism for "are you having thoughts of suicide? Do you plan to kill (or try to kill) yourself?" I have no idea if OP had those thoughts or not, but it doesn't sound like it.

kpil 11y ago

I am convinced that 'smart' is something else entirely. There is an awful lot of brainpower dedicated to skills like walking into a party where you know noone, meeting with annoyed customers, or even polite conversation, etc.

socket0 11y ago
A lot of people (most people?) seem to have that built into their BIOS. Or at least the most basic functionality needed to do that. That's not to imply they all like those situations, just that they don't freeze up and experience the human equivalent of a BSOD when confronted by one.
- tribune 11y ago
  Some certainly do, but I highly doubt it's "most" people. There's probably a significant self-selection bias for people who frequently end up in these situations.
alexashka 11y ago
I think you're making the point that there's different kinds of smart - I couldn't agree with you more. What I meant by smart and what I got from the original article is someone who is a systemic thinker who likes to categorize things. That's a very valuable skill. Learning to get along with people who don't naturally do that (most people) is a skill you can expedite by using systemic thinking and figuring out how emotion-based conversations go :)

anon4 11y ago

Nah, the author was just under the impression that councellors are for anything other than terminally crazy people. There's a difference between my friend asking me "are you hurt" and the doctor asking me "are you hurt". Your friend doesn't need to know that on every third step your knee hurts, but that's exactly what you're going to the doctor for, so it would be really silly saying it doesn't hurt when it does, even if the pain is not yet severe. Similarly "are you absolutely sure you will not hurt yourself today?" -- you and I know that means "are you going to take a knife and slice your wrists or put your face in the flames to see how they taste or something", but it can also mean "are you going to kick a table by mistake?". A person not familiar with the severe psychological issues councellors see each day can very easily not even think that "are you absolutely sure you're not going to hurt yourself today?" refers in to them stabbing themselves voluntarily with a sharp object to make the voices go away.

DanBC 11y ago
This is a bafflingly bad description of mental health problems and counselling. Mental health problems exist on wide spectrum of different types of from things like schizophrenia or bipolar or borderline personality disorder through to eating disorder, anxiety disorders, OCD, or depression. Some of these are very treatable. People with a mental health problem should be able to seek help from that problem without being inappropriately sent to hospital for an asessment. In this example the professional could have checked OP's understanding of the question. Modern guidance is to avoid questions like "do you intend to hurt yourself" and ask more direct questions such as "do you self harm?" and "do you have thoughts of suicide? Do you plan to kill yourself?" A college counsellor is absolutely there to provide treatment and advice for the so-called "mild to moderate" end of mental illness.

DanBC 11y ago

I agree with you but here "hurt yourself" is a euphemism for "are you having thoughts of suicide? Do you plan to kill (or try to kill) yourself?" I have no idea if OP had those thoughts or not, but it doesn't sound like it.