Hey, cool, material for a psychological case study! Let's apply some
of what we learned in our abnormal psych. classes to what's been
quoted!
On Tue, 16 Jan 2001, Paul Braun wrote:
[re: B. Gates]
> and always will be, to win at everything. Doesn't matter how he
> does it, but he has an uncontrollable need to win.
Hmmm... must win at any cost, uncontrollable... scribble, scribble.
Sounds like antisocial personality disorder (a.k.a. psychopathy,
formerly known as moral insanity), perhaps. Do the following common
characteristics of this sound familiar?
- inadequate conscience development
- ability to impress and exploit others
- irresponsible and impulsive behavior
- rejection of authority
Typically, such people as "unprincipled business professionals,"
"high-pressure evangelists," "crooked politicians," and other various
criminals [Carson, Butcher and Mineka] fit into this category.
Dangerous, to himself and others? Hey, isn't that the main criteria
for an involuntary trip to a place where the men with white coats and
nets take one to, where one can sit quietly in a room and weave
baskets once the medication takes effect and the straightjacket can be
removed?
[please note: I'm not being insensitive to mental illness, which is
truly not a joking matter; however, in this case, I feel compelled to
to add a little levity due to the seriousness of the matter at hand,
to help combat the problems which we've had to put up with as a result
of someone's possible illness.]
> "We've determined that it's inconsequential, so we're not going to
> waste any more time on it." That way, he still appears to have
> conquered.
Hmmm... absurd, illogical and changeable delusions... scribble,
scribble... a touch of paranoid schizophrenia it seems. This can
result in occasional dangerous behavior... scribble, scribble.
> Goes back to his days at Harvard. He knew he sucked at math, so
> instead he played a lot of poker, which he knew he could win at.
Hmmm... a learning disorder perhaps... scribble, scribble... learning
disabled?
> I've talked to a couple of guys who have known him since the old
> days. His character, at it's core, hasn't really changed from the day
Hmmm... aversion to change; scribble, scribble... possible adjustment
disorder.
> Paul Allen brought that copy of the Jan '75 issue of Popular
> Electronics back to the dorm room and he was frantic that
> someone else might have already started writing software for the
> Altair.
Hmmm... possible obsessive-compulsive personality
disorder... scribble, scribble.
> warm, fuzzy, Mr. Rogers look on the TV commercials covers up a
> pretty focused, ruthless mentality.
Hmmm... combatativeness, exploitiveness, predation... scribble,
scribble... wolf in sheep's clothing, able to impress and exploit
others... scribble, scribble... again, appears to have an antisocial
personality disorder; a psychopath.
Yes, appears dangerous to himself and others. Now, all we need are
two doctors to verify what we already think to be the problems and
tell it to a judge. It should be obvious that the poor man needs
help. Dang, perhaps easier and less expensive to handle it this way
than to fool with the time and expense of the antitrust hearings! :-)
--
Copyright (C) 2001 R. D. Davis The difference between humans & other animals:
All Rights Reserved an unnatural belief that we're above Nature &
rdd_at_perqlogic.com 410-744-4900 her other creatures, using dogma to justify such
http://www.perqlogic.com/rdd beliefs and to justify much human cruelty.
Received on Wed Jan 17 2001 - 21:01:38 GMT