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flaw in Brain
Archie has been posting crazy nonsense to this newsgroup for years. He is a
rather harmless kook and he makes an easy whipping boy because he is such a misinformed delusional fool. Because this is a science group, I would like to explain "Archie" to those who are new here. (If you want my credentials, I am a retired psychiatric social worker). As far as I can deduce, he is a schizophrenic. In schizophrenia, the neurotransmitter dopamine (& possibly others of less importance) is not distributed normally in the brain. There is too much of it in some areas, which causes delusions & hallucinations. There is often not enough of it in other areas, which causes depression and lack of motivation. Schizophrenics have great difficulty processing information both from within themselves & from the outside world. This leads to distorted impressions and poor social skills. We generally only hear about those schizophrenics who develop violent behavior, which is a small percentage. The majority are harmless, albeit functioning on the fringes. Newer methods of physical diagnosis, like PET scans, have determined that parts of the brains of schizophrenics use too little oxygen. There have long been medicines, starting with Thorazine, which control the excess dopamine, reducing psychotic symptoms, but only recently we have developed medicines like Abilify, which also increase dopamine in the weak areas. However, medication has to be accompanied by social sructure, counseling, and case management for these people to function normally. Of course I have no way of knowing, but I suspect Archie does not have any good family supports, and lives alone. In this modern day & age, some of these people, especially those who are educated, have found their way to the Internet & live in their own little world, which is more comfortable than trying to navigate reality. I strongly suspect that Archie's contact with plants is very fragmented & sporadic. I think his farm and orchard are figments of his imagination. He sees this or that tree in a park or nursery & asks questions. He also probably frequents the library & reads up on gardening & evolution. However, his disorder prevents him from integrating this knowledge or connecting any dots, so he is left with his questions. There are probably thousands of such people. It is a sad waste of human potential, but there is nothing we can do except ignore him when he gets too silly. The only other thing we can do is to pressure our legislators to enforce adequate medical insurance for mental health treatment, and adequate community mental health services. "A mind is a terrible thing to waste." Iris, Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40 "If we see light at the end of the tunnel, It's the light of the oncoming train." Robert Lowell (1917-1977) |
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