(KEOAAAID 9—Greek)
He uses statistics as a drunken Man uses lamp-posts… For support rather than illumination.
Andrew Lang (1844-1912) AN OVER-VIEW: PROBLEMS OF THE MIND Because the mind is so elusive about telling us its secret, we cannot precisely list all of its problems.
With a car or computer, diagnostic work is relatively easy because we have the blue prints. We created them. God, Darwin, or Aliens created our brains, and whoever did it, they made the divining difficult. We have developed some as-built drawings of the ole gray matter, but mostly it remains a mystery. No one has learned the inter-workings well enough to tell you or me what makes up a single thought.
Listing and examining the misfires of the brain is a little better. These misfires are often enough and alike enough that we can attempt to define them.
The IQ definition of Dumb and Bright: One way to define misfires is to rate the ability to memorize and logically apply the memory. This is the Intelligent Quotient syndrome. (I jest.) For example, a low IQ is measurable. We can find a mean mark and rate very good IQ and set a mark for the dumb and the genius. But this is not an end in of itself. By doing so, you have only gone half way to wisdom or full intelligence. Wisdom is a combination of IQ and common sense. To see how little common sense has been studied, and how enamored we are with IQ simply search the Web for either. Having spent days and days researching this issue, I can tell you most of the so-called IQ tests are not well done. Those found on the internet are pathetic. The many, so called Common Sense, tests I found were IQ tests. Besides, there is a great ego thing that goes with IQ. Most dummies might believe that if they have an over average (90 to 110) IQ, they are superior. Superior over what pray tell? This is so, even if they flunk out in social gatherings and cannot pick their nose the same way twice. This ego trip is why there is a Mensa International which is a grouping of people who have scored high on an IQ test.
As I stated elsewhere, I have known several and too many of them would score low on a comparable Common Sense test. No one has come up with a way to measure Common sense, but I will attempt to do so before this book is out.
The major listing of brain misfires. T here is a general division between misfires. One is defined as Psychiatric disorders and the other is Disorders of Neural Development.
You will not read this any place but here. Understand the line between the two is not discernable by measurement. It is somewhat arbitrary. It seems to me that being severely autistic is just as much of a concern for family and friends as someone with sleep disorders or someone who is schizophrenic.
Psychologists and Psychiatrists have done their darnedest to categorize all these problems. The list is an ongoing effort by the American Psychiatric Association (called the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders---DSM).
You have to take your hat off to them for their effort. I, for one, believe grant searching and ego boosting motivates much of the listing and proposed listing. Do not forget mind reading has yet to be proved and each of us is different. Gad Zooks!! the variables are out of this world. It is a given that we do need categorization if we are going to be able to treat and otherwise handle the misfires. Obviously, the health and wellbeing of those not so inflicted is dependent on some degree of control.
So far the DSM states there are the following categories of disorders. (not disorders of neural development) Adjustment Anxiety Dissociative Eating Impulse-control Mood Sexual Sleep Psychotic * Sexual dysfunctions Somatoform Substance Personality *Under Psychotic disorders fall the better known problems of Manic Depression (now called Bipolar so as not to offend anyone); Obsessive Compulsive, Schizophrenia and enough special sleep and sexual disorders to wake the dead.
What you discover is that there are many misfires which seem to be pushed to one side.
For example, Narcissism (major ego problems) does not rise to Psychotic levels; the confidence person (AKA con-man) does not; and Autism does not make the list either.
These latter are loosely called defects in neural development. Sorry, I personally do not see the difference, but then my doctorate is in law and I need glasses to read. In my simplistic way, a misfire is a misfire is a misfire .
You know another misfire which gets very little attention is being dumb…..having a very low IQ. Now, obviously, if it gets too low we have categories for that, such as imbecile, moron, half-moon etc. For example, besides being the former name of the City of Taft in California, (and a slew of other towns around the world) Moron is the psychiatric world‘s word to describe someone with the intelligence of an 8 to 10 year old. An imbecile is one with an intelligence of a 3 to 7 year old. The question of Retardation or low IQ has many identified and unidentified causes. Obviously, low I.Q. is a concern of the person afflicted and their families. Today, there are many cover words such as ―mentally disadvantaged‖, ―developmentally disabled‖.
Somehow, if you change the name every 10 years it makes the problem better. You understand. Yesterday it was divorce, and now it is dissolution of marriage. Name games for the faint of heart.
Does the obvious thought differences between a Leftist and a Conservative rise to the level of a psychotic aberration?
Should it be left to the level of a neural disorder? Is it simply honest differences between thinking men and women? From all the prior chapters we have explored the differences. I hope you agree, the differences are Grand Canyon like. That is, a Leftist is over here mentally and a Conservative is over there, at least on the issues of politics and government. Said another way the differences really are a warp in the way the mind perceives how to cope in society. Just on gun rights, a Conservative wants to follow the law and a Leftist does not. Isn‘t that a pretty basic problem? In some places, we arrest people who will not follow the law, but somehow this, and the other Leftist avoidance of the law slips by. Why does it slip by? Because this difference has been considered a matter of opinion and not a brain misfire. In the next chapter, I will try to explain why it is not and can no longer be considered a mere opinion problem. It is a mental problem.
I am not alone in believing Leftists were behind the door when common sense was handed out. Others have seen the problem as psychiatric as well One is Dr. Lyle Rossiter.
The Dr. in front of his name means he is a physician/surgeon or otherwise known as a Medical Doctor. He is board certified in general and forensic psychiatry. He has over 36
years of experience in his field. He also is known as a Psychiatrist. He wrote a book with this title; ―The Liberal Mind: The Psychological Causes of Political Madness.‖
In this book, he describes that the liberalism (Leftist madness) displayed by President Barack Obama and the present Democrat party leaders can simply be described as a psychological disorder. He then reviews how those views are destructive of a free and ordered society. He sees them as the head chopper of the virtues of self-reliance, self-direction, selfdetermination, altruistic (he should have said autistic) concern for others, charitable care for others etc. Dr. Rossiter did not go where this book goes. He goes on to write how the Leftist agenda preys on weakness and feelings of inferiority to divide the people by: (a) creating and reinforcing perceptions of victimization, (b) satisfying infantile claims to entitlement, indulgence and compensation, (c) augmenting primitive feelings of envy, and (d) rejecting the sovereignty of the individual, subordination him to the will of the Government.
He could have compared the President to a Super Confidence Man (Con Man) or he could have said he is acting just like a person with autism.
Another person with courage is a self-proclaimed recovering liberal. She is a psychologist in Berkeley. Her name is Robin. You can learn more about her at
―robinofberkeley@hotmail.com‖.
Her focus is on President Obama, but it could have been on his appointed advisors, Speaker Pelosi, Senate Big Guy Reid, Waxman, Watters, Dodds, and on and on. All the so-called leaders of this menagerie of Leftists now running the United States of America.
Not one of them understands the significance of …United States. Doesn‘t ―United‖ have a common meaning?
Doesn‘t ―States of American‖ have a common understanding? In combination their joining must mean something special.
Anyway, she points out how even some liberals, like James Carville and Maureen Dowd have questioned President Obama and have asked, ―What in hell is going on?‖ She points out how little we know about this man. This man who acts strangely.
She acknowledges his ego, but feels Narcissism (being in love with your own reflection) does not fit. She wonders about his strange outbursts and giggling and statements like he wants to know whose ass to kick. She notes that so many things he does seem inappropriate. He does not even appear to know it. (Little lady it is called being autistic) She even asks the question, is something wrong with his brain? Does he have Asperger‘s Syndrome? She just asks the question, but discounts it as a full blown syndrome because she does not know if he suffers repetitive behavior. In this book, we answer her question.
She even wonders if he is schizo-typical in nature. She comes up with no answer, but just a lot of questions.
This book answers the questions and we will discuss the Doctor and the lady Robin more.
Read on.