LauraABJ comments on That other kind of status - Less Wrong

71 Post author: Yvain 29 December 2009 02:45AM

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Comment author: LauraABJ 29 December 2009 04:44:23PM 1 point [-]

Well put! To add some anecdotal evidence to your model, an older psychiatrist friend of mine described an increasing prevalence of the delusion that a person was the only real thing in the world, and everything else was either an illusion like the matrix or that everyone else was a type of p-zombie. I suggested that the movie The Matrix might be the source of these delusions, but he said the delusion seemed to be gaining in popularity even now, much after the movie's release. I guess the idea is just generally floating around our culture, and it appeals to people as an explanation for their feelings of being an outsider. It's much nicer to think you are privy to deep truth no one else is capable of than that you are mentally ill.