OrangeSkin Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 Everywhere I turn, I hear someone saying "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." I don't know who started this, but I'd like to smack the hell out of them. This IS NOT the definition of insanity, tell this to any lawyer, psychiatrist, or professor of psychology and they will pat you on the behind and send you to bed with your honey milk. The misuse of the word insanity has become my #1 pet peeve. Per The American Heritage Dictionary, the definition of insanity is as follows: in·san·i·ty (ĭn-sān'ĭ-tē) n. pl. in·san·i·ties Mental illness or derangement. No longer in scientific use. Law Unsoundness of mind sufficient in the judgment of a civil court to render a person unfit to maintain a contractual or other legal relationship or to warrant commitment to a mental health facility. In most criminal jurisdictions, a degree of mental malfunctioning sufficient to relieve the accused of legal responsibility for the act committed. Extreme foolishness; folly. Something that is extremely foolish. Extreme foolishness; folly. Something that is extremely foolish. Ok first of all, insanity isn't even a psychiatric term, it never was. It is a legal term, so shut up. And it has nothing to do with doing the same thing over and over again. So shut up with that too. Hopefully I'll never see or hear that crap again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raub Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurd Cudins Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 I don't really know what to say. Was this really necessary? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurd Cudins Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 Was this necessary? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurd Cudins Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 I don't really know what to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enter Apotheosis Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 This thread sucks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrangeSkin Posted January 5, 2007 Author Share Posted January 5, 2007 This thread sucks It might suck, EA, but I had to get that off my chest, and I hope someone agrees with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prosperity Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 I hear that line in a movie, don't know which Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaceman Spiff Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 OrangeSkin must have seen Glenn Beck on tv tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrangeSkin Posted January 5, 2007 Author Share Posted January 5, 2007 OrangeSkin must have seen Glenn Beck on tv tonight. :laugh: As a matter of fact I did not, SS. I'm just an angry angry man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaceman Spiff Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 :laugh: As a matter of fact I did not, SS. I'm just an angry angry man. Ah...he whipped out that definition earlier this evening when on a rant. What set this off? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enter Apotheosis Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 It might suck, EA, but I had to get that off my chest, and I hope someone agrees with me. I dunno... you're decrying a philosophical saying because it doesn't match up with a dictionary definition. Hard for me to understand how anyone feels the same way you do, which is to say going beyond just saying that you dislike the phrase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrangeSkin Posted January 5, 2007 Author Share Posted January 5, 2007 Ah...he whipped out that definition earlier this evening when on a rant.What set this off? Ah, I don't know...I've just seen it in many different places. "The definition of insanity" has become more of a pop psychology buzzword type of thing, and now people think they know the actual legit legal definition of insanity when really they're just repeating what some 15-year-old dope came up with on a message board. Just gets under my skin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raub Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 Must have watched the Orange lose to Pitt tonight. I'm crushed too, but we'll be alright. At least the 10th year senior Carl Krauser finally graduated from Pitt. :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrangeSkin Posted January 5, 2007 Author Share Posted January 5, 2007 I dunno... you're decrying a philosophical saying because it doesn't match up with a dictionary definition. Hard for me to understand how anyone feels the same way you do, which is to say going beyond just saying that you dislike the phrase. Yeah, it is a PHILOSOPHICAL saying, not the DEFINITION. I don't go around saying "Kant's Critique of Pure Reason is the definition of Reason." It is a philosophical definition of reason, not the dictionary definition. And any Joe Schmoe who throws that insanity definition out there honestly believes that's what they'd find in Merriam-Webster's. :doh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoony Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." I think that fits the definition for stupidity, not insanity. I agree. ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrangeSkin Posted January 5, 2007 Author Share Posted January 5, 2007 I think that fits the definition for stupidity, not insanity. I agree. Thank you very much, zoony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enter Apotheosis Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 Yeah, it is a PHILOSOPHICAL saying, not the DEFINITION.I don't go around saying "Kant's Critique of Pure Reason is the definition of Reason." It is a philosophical definition of reason, not the dictionary definition. And any Joe Schmoe who throws that insanity definition out there honestly believes that's what they'd find in Merriam-Webster's. :doh: In that case your problem is using the dictionary definition of definition. :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 No, the definition of stupidity is ranting on a football message board because you don't like a cliche that's been part of our language for decades. And expecting any results. (And the quote I've heard, attributed to Einstein, is "Insanity is a medical condition characterized by . . . ") (Feel free to point out, with references to the DSM, that insanity isn't a medical condition. Maybe you'll get different results.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoony Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 And expecting any results Larry, I don't think he was expecting results, just expressing an opinion. Part of what makes the Tailgate fun are the many rant threads. Or did you miss nelm's gem about the elections this past year? :laugh: But why am I in here defending him? I don't know, but I agree... I hate that definition too :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 Oh, I don't know if I "hate" it. But I will admit that I think of it often, when examining the lives of people around me, and of myself. It really irritates me when I know darned well that I'm living up (down) to that cliche. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumbo Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 Best stay out of NA/AA 12-step programs OrangeSkin :laugh: That phrase is an old homily in those circles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeanCollins Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 Everywhere I turn, I hear someone saying "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."Hopefully I'll never see or hear that crap again. that saying is popular around 12 step programs. is the judge requiring some meetings for that little run in on the way home from the game last month? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drums and skins Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 "insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results" accredited to Einstein, most likely in reference to his field of work & experiments thereof. The problem I have with this rant is I do not believe that people who say "insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results" actually believe that is the definition of insanity. I think you underestimate peoples' knowledge and that the phrase is merely a saying and not the book definition. Conversely, I probably overestimate peoples' interpretation of the phrase. I wouldn't be suprised in the least if many people did believe the saying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrangeSkin Posted January 5, 2007 Author Share Posted January 5, 2007 :mad: I am currently even angrier, because after a short trip out, I pulled over to accomodate a cop and I ended up with my car stuck in a ditch and an 85 dollar towing bill. This is just not OrangeSkin's night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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