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Comment by shin_lao | Hacker News Reader

We are dealing with a person with mental illness, because nothing is coherent. It's all made up. That's why you don't answer that kind of mail, the goal is to trigger a reaction from you.

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> It's all made up.

I think its the opposite, I think its an unqualified contractor writing code he doesn't understand for complex systems and was subsequently hacked. I see this a lot with people bidding on contracts then hiring staff/developers after it's awarded to duct tape a system together that barely works and is full of holes.

I'm personally not very well-known, but I work for someone who is, and on a project that gets quite a lot of attention because of it. It's surprisingly common that people show up with extraordinary and incoherent stories. Given the author's name and email address are plastered all over, it is not surprising that such people would find him too.

An article was shared here a while ago that went into that as well: https://tim.blog/2020/02/02/reasons-to-not-become-famous/

(Discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22280753)

This. The world is full of incompetent people winging it, and the competent ones are busy putting out the fires they left behind. It takes 3000 years to build a Ming-vase, but only a kid playing soccer to destroy it. Making a mess is a low effort endeavour. Cleaning it up, might as well be 1/99 of your lifetime. Tech projects are asymmetric warfare between the business side supporting the "cheapest" project approach and engineers allowed to clean it up properly only after the sunken cost fallacy trapped the clueless.

^--- This. Every word of it.

Two words went through my head reading the response. "Crystal Meth".

Likely not, really, but having more-or-less lost an old friend to meth I can't help but compare the similarities (... the "identicalities" actually):

- the desperation and paranoia

- a solid (but wildly misplaced) basis in reality

- the overwhelming externalization of blame

- the need to lash out and draw someone else in

- the completely nonsensical evidence

Bottom line is regardless of the reason, "Al" is extremely unstable. I agree that the lesson here is to not engage these types.

> - a solid (but wildly misplaced) basis in reality

can you explain this more ? I recognize some traits of these in me and siblings but we're not on meth at all.. so I find the psychological flaws interesting.

sorry about your friend too

You bet, and thanks for your condolences. In short, almost certainly this doesn't apply to you.

The pattern is that in these scenarios, usually the people are quite intelligent and often accomplished. This gives them a repository of valid phrases and concepts to draw upon to breath legitimacy into their boogeymen. The evidence they present, however, is completely benign. That person, however, has quite the story they think is proven. It's literally as if they're showing you a basic electronic device w/ the cover removed and that proves all sorts of maliciousness.

Attempting to argue back is completely ineffective and even if you "win" one point, they'll quickly shift to another and nothing sticks, especially not the next time you talk to them.

I wouldn't even remotely compare this to more commonly contested topics like differing religious/political/social views, even at the extreme. This involves a visceral fear that >you< are actively being attacked, not some nefarious, shadow with a grand plan.

In my experience... a characteristic of this type of condition is a tendency for the brain to make connections too eagerly, and to jump to conclusions. His computer did something weird, therefore it must have been hacked. He heard about the Solarwinds breach in the news, therefore it must be related. He opened some files and saw Daniel's name, therefore he must be responsible. And so on.

It really is what my father does. We're very analytical in his side of the family. We're also prone to narrow view when we have 'attacks' we make huge amounts of logical connections that explains (or try to) what we suppose is happening and it's near impossible to deal with us until the storm is over. A kind of paranoid burst. Maybe not to the extent of your friend but from your words it's really similar.

Have you ever spoken to a professional? Even if you don't feel like anything is wrong, it can be a good to know yourself better. And if anything, potentially face an aspect of yourself that may otherwise surprise you later in life.

I have a very clear idea of what spectrum we're talking about here, but maybe it's better left unspecified to not influence too much (:

They are all also behavioral attributes of Jehovah's Witnesses and antisocial/Narcissistic personality disorders.

This is the sort of magical thinking that can be a symptom of paranoia, the unfortunate combination of extreme anxiety and a disengagement from realistic thinking. The person clearly does not know what Curl does and simply lashed out like a wounded animal at the first thing that caught his attention.

I would take this threat very seriously.

Bingo! It reads very similar to the GitHub repo of an insane person that was posted here about a year ago. The one where I think he/she talks of special agents and has a bunch of random files with random stuff in them.

>We are dealing with a person with mental illness, because nothing is coherent. It's all made up

Seem like the average person to me :)

Have you ever sat down and had a long, and deep conversation with someone suffering from severe paranoid schizophrenia after they've experienced a psychotic break?

I assure you, you will quickly understand the difference.

Especially if that someone is your previously un-diagnosed friend and business partner.

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