"magical thinking"

Blackthorn wrote:You ever wonder what happened between that time you fell asleep and wake up

A lot.

Do we all move onto some other realm as religions would like us to think?

That'd be fun.

And, where is the "I"? Is it some ethereal globulous thing which exists outside of our perceived universe, or am "I" really dependent upon the chemicals and neuro-pathways swishing between my ears and down my back?

This is why the film A.I. had an enormous impact on me... Is there any difference at all between what we know as life and a very complex machine? — Or even with simpler entities. Is a virus alive or not after al??.. What. Is. Life?

If you analyse it, life is totally arbitrary. There's no clear distinction. But who is thinking about all this then? Doesn't it get a living being to think about it? If thoughts cease to exist, does existence still exist? How does existence exist if it's its own definition? How do you define definition? If nobody defines definition, are things still defined?

The whole universe is composed of vague semantical concepts that only exist in my head. Or do they? If my head doesn't exist anymore, what happens to these concepts? Is humanity any different from a bacterial colony? Or better yet, a multicellular organism? What is the difference between a multicellular organism and a bacterial colony? Are the bacteria in my stomach a part of me?

I think even more frightening than death is the idea that I didn't exist before I was born. How do people live with it?

There really is no end...

Blackthorn wrote:Or better yet, a multicellular organism?

I love this one. None of the cells of our body know that they are part of a bigger picture. Not even the neurons. But, yet we exist. Is there a consciousness sitting on top of societies which perceives through us. We do communicate back and forth a lot, much like the neurons in our brain. I mean just look at this fun map of where most connections on the net are.



Human connection may be more localized to land masses, but it's going to be much thicker. How do we know that saying high isn't just a part of this greater beings consciousness's will.

Like I said this one is one of my favorites to ponder these days.

Blackthorn wrote:None of the cells of our body know that they are part of a bigger picture. Not even the neurons.

Or do they? We know we are part of society. It's another name but it's analogous. Criminals are the cancer of society. Could cancer cells be the criminals of ours bodies?

http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2603

forthebirds wrote:I think the most important distinction is interpersonal. Schizoids have no interest in people, schizotypes are thought to avoid them out of discomfort.

Well I would say that someone with a disconfort in social situations without any magical thinking, paranoia and so on has a social phobia, but that's just me!

Why must everything be a personality disorder nowadays?

Jasper wrote:Well I would say that someone with a disconfort in social situations without any magical thinking, paranoia and so on has a social phobia, but that's just me!

Why must everything be a personality disorder nowadays?

Discomfort is different than a phobia. But yeah, people tend to break the magic because they are control freaks.

OneRinger wrote:Discomfort is different than a phobia. But yeah, people tend to break the magic because they are control freaks.

But how does someone meets the diagnostic criteria for schizotypal PD without any magical thinking or anything in this area?

I have a bit my problems when PDs are too fast diagnosted and I guess you just don't allways have a term for something and different doctors would probably give different diagnoses in such people.

Jasper wrote:

OneRinger wrote:Discomfort is different than a phobia. But yeah, people tend to break the magic because they are control freaks.

But how does someone meets the diagnostic criteria for schizotypal PD without any magical thinking or anything in this area?

I have a bit my problems when PDs are too fast diagnosted and I guess you just don't allways have a term for something and different doctors would probably give different diagnoses in such people.

I did not disagree with you on those points. But I guess some people are quite categorical in their approach, so it is in theory possible. If the person was to meet many of the other criteria then it might happen. I don't like it, but that is what happens in reality.

But in any case, I just wanted to point out that discomfort is not synonymous to phobia. Mosquitoes I find discomforting, but I would not say I have a phobia of mosquitoes. I might flee if there is some around though. I feel the same towards people.

In Wikipedia is written by StPD:

"Diagnostic Guidelines
This diagnostic rubric is not recommended for general use because it is not clearly demarcated either from simple schizophrenia or from schizoid or paranoid personality disorders. If the term is used, three or four of the typical features listed above should have been present, continuously or episodically, for at least 2 years. The individual must never have met criteria for schizophrenia itself. A history of schizophrenia in a first-degree relative gives additional weight to the diagnosis but is not a prerequisite."

It is still not clear how too define StPD from SPD exactly and the diagnoses StPD actually shouldn't be used if just one or even two criterias are present.

Well I kind of hate it if people are just been diagnosed with "something" because there is no real category the person might fit into totally.

But I understand your point OneRinger.
I misstrust the concept of Personality Disorders a bit, because in many cases they don't really seem to fit.

Jasper wrote:But I understand your point OneRinger.
I misstrust the concept of Personality Disorders a bit, because in many cases they don't really seem to fit.

You have to look at the whole picture. In my case, it fits pretty good. It is even surprising.
It is a good thing to mistrust them, they are not from divine inspiration. haha.
That is why they are switching to a more trait based approach, so the tendency to see personalities where there is none might be diminished.