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A certain amount of this boils down to, "Don't be mentally ill or have an otherwise disordered mind." I've known people who were the sort of crank he's talking
by JasonFruit 9y ago
A certain amount of this boils down to, "Don't be mentally ill or have an otherwise disordered mind." I've known people who were the sort of crank he's talking about, and they were generally — though not always — unhealthily isolated people who had difficulties managing their personal lives. Most had a tenuous grasp on reality, especially the motivations of other people.
There are cranks who could respond to these rules, but I believe (though I am not a mental-health professional) that many would be unable to.
- captaincrowbar 9y agoWell, I don't think the article was really aimed at actual cranks (who are, more or less by definition, immune to this kind of advice). It feels more aimed at scientists, or people of a scientific turn of mind, who may have found a genuine flaw in some widely accepted result but might not have the communication skills to get it across to the scientific community.
- zaphar 9y agoI think we can let our emotions get away from us whether we suffer from mental illness or not. Many people exhibit the behavior in the article despite being of perfectly sound mind.
- JasonFruit 9y agoCertainly true as well.