The hypersane are among us, if only we are prepared to look (2020)

aeon.co

10 points·deesep··6 comments

Hafta look hard: they know that any deviation from "normal" can lead to their persecution.

They rarely advertise. "Wonko the Sane" was asking for trouble with his neighbors.

"Wonko the Sane" could afford a sizable coastal property on the California coast.

I look in my circle of friends. Some people consistently fall for stupid things and some people consistently get things mostly right.

The article starts to get its teeth into something, but then never bites down. In particular, I don’t think the author has a clear idea of who he thinks the hypersane people are. How can someone who believes in all sorts of superstitious nonsense, such as the Dalai Lama, be “hypersane”?

A reasoning mind can accept two equally contradicting ideas at face value and not be destroyed by it.

Someone secure in their philosophy can ponder the philosophy of others as if it were gospel truth and their own the ravings of a madman and yet not be swayed.

Someone secure in their religion can learn the religion of others as if it were the only path to salvation and yet not commit apostasy.

Hypersane people must therefore be able to accept and believe that their hypersanity might be madness in the eyes of others, and yet not descend from their peak.

The members of any social species are subjected to balancing the interests of the self with the interests of the group. In such a condition sanity and/or hypersanity is not consistently possible.

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