Have you ever heard this statement before:
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result
I’ve heard it time to time from different sources. Sometimes, people will begin it with “The definition of insanity is…” Well, I just read it on a popular blog, and I can’t help but think that it’s the dumbest statement in history. It doesn’t even almost make sense.
Let’s look at the actual definition of insanity (from Answers.com):
- Mental illness or derangement. No longer in scientific use.
- Law.
- Unsoundness of mind sufficient in the judgment of a civil court to render a person unfit to maintain a contractual or other legal relationship or to warrant commitment to a mental health facility.
- In most criminal jurisdictions, a degree of mental malfunctioning sufficient to relieve the accused of legal responsibility for the act committed.
- Extreme foolishness; folly.
- Something that is extremely foolish.
Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result, that’s called PRACTICE, and practice certainly doesn’t sound nearly as bad as insanity.
July 17th, 2006 at 8:27 pm
The legal definition I found interesting on court tv today. They are running the retrial of andrea yates (who had a long history of mental illness).
The psychologist for the prosecution says she is not insane since she committed homicide after the devil was talking to her.
This same psychologist testified in another case of a woman (without a history of mental illness) that she was insane because she committed homicide after G-d was talking to her.
His justification in the matter is that if someone commits homicide after hearing the voice of Satan, they are NOT insane because Satan is bad. But you are insane if you hear the voice of G-d telling you to commit murder because he is good.
**Now maybe its just me, but the whole idea of voices telling you to commit homicide sounds a bit insane. Whether it is Buddha, G-d, Satan, or your cat.