Jason Thorne
asked:
"...There seems little doubt that he was insane, but much of his writing at the time indicates that what was driving him insane was this hostile opinion of him. Unusual behaviour tends to produce estrangement in others which tends to further the unusual behaviour and thus the estrangement in self stoking cycles...." (Robert Pirsig). Surely there is a word for this?�
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Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values,
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Jeanne
Everything about the book made me think he was the on the autism spectrum. He sounded to me like he had Aspergers. He is definitely obsessive compulsive (machining his own motorcycle parts? Really?) More than a little paranoid (everybody looks at him funny. Motorcycle repairmen are not to be trusted. College administrators are out to get him. It seemed like everybody was out to get him). I see this as the "unusual behavior." People on the spectrum behave oddly but don't realize it.
LB
You could call it Consensus Trance or Normality Fascism - on behalf of the society who estranges those, who are too critical (even if qualified, like Pirsig).
Reinier Post
The guy has an IQ of 170. His brain works in a very unusual way. He says he feels alone all the time, even in company.
Miles
It's a form of a feedback loop.
kyle e whitney
In what world is machining your own parts weird?? You are the problem, Jeanne. its you..
Fastasleep Isnotpunkrock
it makes me think of "learned helplessness"
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