Discuss Definition of insanity

[HollandBlue]

They say insanity is "doing the same thing over and over with the same result". I think this is what the author was referring to and not actually true insanity.

[sarahmarlowe randomeducator]

The direct quote from Einstein: "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." The author may not have been aware of how close it was to his (or he did, and chose not to cite it).

I wondered about that, too. So many people have quoted Einstein on this. Certainly Wdowiak knew this??

[fernsmom]

I don't really think that means you are insane. Maybe misguided, stubborn, or unimaginative. We all do it though at times, so are we all insane? No, I don't think so. Maybe the "things" we have done in the past has worked before as well so you expect the same result.

[charmperit]

I think this line was meant to show that sometimes it is easy to keep making the same mistakes over again. So I will say yes, I do agree that this is a good definition of insanity by the author. As far as real life is concerned, I don't know if it will be that easy for me to truly change my habits. I could try, but I think it would take a lot of self monitoring in order for me to be able to truly change the mistakes I keep making. I would almost need to look at myself from an outsiders perspective, which is hard to do because not everyone has my best interest in mind.

There really are things that are easier to think of than done. Sometimes, people keep on choosing the the wrong thing even with the knowledge of the right thing to do. It may take lota of mistake to actually choose the right thing.

[Sharill Rasowo]

As someone who has suffered from this form of insanity on occasion, I wholly agree with this definition. Humans have a tendency to delude themselves into thinking that things will improve without any tangible effort on their part. This is why this adage is ancient, our ancestors had the same disease.

[Julie Green]

I think this is too narrow a definition - I think there are many forms of insanity. For example, it might involve not expecting any result at all.

[Ashley Cremer]

Yes, I do. I feel that if you keep doing the same thing but expecting to get different results then you have to be insane to a point. You have to be able to realize that in order to get different results then you must be willing to change the way that you do things.

[daydreaming reader]

The direct quote from Einstein: "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." The author may not have been aware of how close it was to his (or he did, and chose not to cite it).

I unconsciously credited it to Einstein without realizing the author didn't...

[daydreaming reader]

I don't really think that means you are insane. Maybe misguided, stubborn, or unimaginative. We all do it though at times, so are we all insane? No, I don't think so. Maybe the "things" we have done in the past has worked before as well so you expect the same result.

I agree. There are many reasons why people may do things without results, sometimes it is simply because they are not aware that there is another, more productive way to do it. This does not mean that they are insane, just unaware.

[MKRichards]

The direct quote from Einstein: "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." The author may not have been aware of how close it was to his (or he did, and chose not to cite it).

I unconsciously credited it to Einstein without realizing the author didn't...

The author also borrows quite a bit of language and ideology from different steps of popular rehabilitation programs without credit either!

[MsTri]

I do not intend to read this book, but I have always heard that the definition of insanity is to 'keep doing the same thing while expecting different results', so I'd have to say that I do agree.

[Poppy Drear]

I feel like this adage is over-used, by now. It's a lot of hand-waving (and a way for people to feel better about not being "insane", I suppose!)

[Radiant3]

I agree with this definition. If we aren't getting the results that we want from doing things a certain way, then something isn't working, so why keep doing it? We may need to change something to get a different outcome.

[Sunday diamond]

I agree with that notion. Though some words have denotative and connotative meaning, likewise the word insanity. The author actually give this word a connotative meaning, which can not be proved wrong or absolutely right.

[David Koreas]

Definitely, I wish not to add anything to the author's definition. Do you want to live a life of torment? Keep doing what you're doing and you will keep getting what you're getting.He hit the nail on the head.