Nathan Russell <frussell@frontiernet.net> wrote:
> I reserve the term 'nuts' or insane for those who take an idea
> too far and retain their opinion in the face of overwhelming
> opposition and who in addition were not raised in a misguided
> culture or could have been reasonably expected to question their
> culture.
I will pass on my own distinction meme in these cases: I think that
"insane" should properly be treated as the opposite of "sane", that is to
say, in contradistinction to the attitudes/beliefs of the culture.
Crazy, on the other hand, literally means mentally fucked up... as in, some
physical thing wrong with the brain, or chemical imbalances, or what have
you.
In a Christian society, an atheist is insane, but certainly NOT crazy. By
the same token, a Christian in an atheistic society is insane, but NOT
crazy.
It is my contention that half of the time, the insane people are the most
important ones... especially so if their views are backed up by some
evidence.
ERiC