What becomes of old 'friends'..

[Chew]

Well, strictly speaking you can't logically disprove solipsism.

I just decided long ago that it's not very useful.

The best way to handle a solipsist:

[gillianren]

I've read that delusions and psychoses aren't limited to schizophrenics. There's a milder disorder called "Delusional Disorder" in which the person is "high functioning"; he can actually function pretty well as long as it doesn't have to do with their delusion.

Pretty much, yes.  One of the reasons I am hesitant to diagnose schizophrenia online, come to that.

[DataCable]

The best way to handle a solipsist:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmC2lz3FPY4

Exactly the first thing that popped into my head when the 's' word was mentioned.  The synchronicity of that response looks so well-choreographed, but I saw that show live as it aired, it was purely spontaneous.  Matt & Jeff: Great minds, indeed.

[Count Zero]

I prefer this approach, but that's me:

[Echnaton]

Subtle, but to the point.  I like it. 

[Noldi400]

Deedle deedle dee, deedle dee.......

Gee, I've gotten so bored with the lack of HBs to have fun with (and being tired of Hunchy's nonsensical videos) I've lately taken to amusing myself by baiting the remaining 9/11 Truthers over on YT.

[Trebor]

Deedle deedle dee, deedle dee.......

Gee, I've gotten so bored with the lack of HBs to have fun with (and being tired of Hunchy's nonsensical videos) I've lately taken to amusing myself by baiting the remaining 9/11 Truthers over on YT.

You could always try visiting Youtube, there is no shortage of stupid there.

[ka9q]

You could always try visiting Youtube, there is no shortage of stupid there.

But that's where Hunchbacked is. He's actually one of the more agreeable hoaxers in that he rarely censors his critics, nor does he get downright abusive as so many others do. Oh, he constantly accuses me of never listening, of only parroting what my NASA masters pay me to say, blah, blah. He's utterly incapable of even conceiving that he could ever be wrong, so he simply can't accept that I actually do listen to what he says and then conclude that he's wrong.

But he actually seems genuine even if he is totally misguided, and he doesn't seem to have that meanspirited streak that's so common among many other hoaxers.

[Noldi400]

Hunchy still claims to be (among other things) an aerospace engineer, and he seems to be so absolutely confident in his supposed knowledge that it's a real puzzle. I'm still convinced that he has some kind of physical or mental condition - he evidently can look right at an image or video and knot know what he is seeing; even after it's explained to him, he insists that his interpretation is correct, usually based on the "if I ran the zoo" basis.

Oh, and he recently flatly stated that "No real aerospace engineer disagrees with me." You have to wonder about the ones who worked on the Apollo project...

[JayUtah]

Oh, and he recently flatly stated that "No real aerospace engineer disagrees with me." You have to wonder about the ones who worked on the Apollo project...

I'm real, and I strongly disagree with him.  Not only with him, but with the claim that he's an aerospace engineer.  Or an engineer of any kind.

But I suspect this is the "No True Scotsman" fallacy.  As soon as someone disagrees with him, he'll say that disqualifies him as a "real" engineer.

[ka9q]

Oh, and he recently flatly stated that "No real aerospace engineer disagrees with me." You have to wonder about the ones who worked on the Apollo project...

He actually has an answer for that. He claims that the engineers who worked on Apollo were competent and aware that Apollo was a hoax. They resented being 'forced' (by the CIA, natch) to design systems that would never be used, so they deliberately made the designs unworkable and planted hundreds of 'clues' to this effect that he is the first to discover.

And yes, his definition of a real engineer excludes anyone who disagrees with him. Especially me. He waves his French aerospace diploma to claim credibility, but ignores others' credentials in fields closer to whatever he's finding "incoherences" in today.

Jay, what do you know about Institut Supérieur de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace? He claims to have a diploma from there but I know nothing about French universities, nor much about aerospace schools in general. (I'm an EE so I mostly know American electrical engineering and computer science schools plus some physics departments). I know from my own experience in industrial engineering recruiting that brilliant engineers can come from schools you never heard of, and even idiots can sometimes slip through the cracks and get diplomas from well known schools, with very few exceptions; I don't think I've ever seen a bad candidate from MIT. I could probably say the same about Caltech but I haven't interviewed nearly as many from there as from MIT so I don't have enough of a sample set.

I know some object to amateur armchair psychoanalysis over the net, and that's all this is, but I agree with you that he must have some sort of condition. It all looks too much like "A Beautiful Mind" without the pre-illness brilliance.

[Noldi400]

I know some object to amateur armchair psychoanalysis over the net, and that's all this is, but I agree with you that he must have some sort of condition.

Yeah, a person's on very shaky ground trying to assess someone's mental state from their internet postings, but it's just hard for me to fathom the reasoning behind the things he says. I frequently wonder if he isn't just playing a running joke, seeing what outrageous thing he can come up with next.

One thing in particular always strikes me as odd about his notions - he always presents his reasons as "absolute proof" or the equivalent. Folks I have known who have a scientific background, when reasoning something out from evidence, almost always use terms like "seems to indicate" or "supports the conclusion that...". His absolute certainty in his conclusions just seems unusual. Of course, it could just be his usage of English - heaven knows he uses some strange phrasing.

But who knows, maybe he does have an engineering degree. There are nuts in any field - Architects & Engineers for 911 Truth^TM does have 1700 members, after all.

Anyway, I really don't find debating Hunchy to be much fun - he's just so sincere in his beliefs. The 9/11 Truthers are much more entertaining - they get so piiisssssed, especially when you call them sheep for following along with the Truther crowd

[gillianren]

But do the "truthers" actually confirm anyone's credentials?  Just because they're in the group doesn't mean I believe they're actually architects and engineers.

[Chew]

But do the "truthers" actually confirm anyone's credentials?  Just because they're in the group doesn't mean I believe they're actually architects and engineers.

IIRC, someone at the JREF did a spot check on a few score of the names. About half were actual architects or engineers and about half of those worked in their field.

[twik]

Remember, a good education does not guarantee someone will not go off the rails. It just gives them a greater source of things to become a crank about.