> Hi,
>
> 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
>
I dunno. Sometimes an entire culture can be nuts (the classic
examples being Nazi Germany and Pol Pot Cambodia). In those
circumstances, the only sane response is to reject their norms.