Allen was, but that the patient knew he was faking--a real possibility that must be suspected whenever there is an alleged "psychosis". The patient couldn't keep up the pretense because, in fact, he was actually living in reality. He took pleasure in fooling others, which gave him a degree of personal autonomy that he felt he needed to conceal from others--especially because his work was top secret and was probably closely monitored. True psychosis would not "permit" transitioning from a world of sheer fantasy back to a world of reality that required extremely astute cognitions that are reality based.
I’m confused. Why would the man’s delusional story be published as a sci fi with his actual name as the fantasy character? In the scenario where he copied his fantasy from John Carter, why would his fantasy name necessarily be John Carter? Why would his fantasy name even be related to his real legal name?
Here's the idea: "Kirk Allen" was a pseudonym for John Carter. In the 1930s, young John Carter was living on an island and came across Edgar Rice Burroughs' Mars books, which were written years before. John (the boy) was excited to see that the main character in the books was named "John Carter." This is just a coincidence, of course, but John (the boy) thought that the books were describing his life in the future.
I really enjoyed this.
Thank you David. I hope you like the subscriber-only issue coming out tomorrow, since you are in it. :)
Can't wait!
What was the outcome of Lindner's patient?
My conceptualization of Lindner's case:
The key to this case is not "who" Kirk
Allen was, but that the patient knew he was faking--a real possibility that must be suspected whenever there is an alleged "psychosis". The patient couldn't keep up the pretense because, in fact, he was actually living in reality. He took pleasure in fooling others, which gave him a degree of personal autonomy that he felt he needed to conceal from others--especially because his work was top secret and was probably closely monitored. True psychosis would not "permit" transitioning from a world of sheer fantasy back to a world of reality that required extremely astute cognitions that are reality based.
I think you might be right, Robert!
I'm going back into the archives and I am enjoying this issue! 😊
I’m confused. Why would the man’s delusional story be published as a sci fi with his actual name as the fantasy character? In the scenario where he copied his fantasy from John Carter, why would his fantasy name necessarily be John Carter? Why would his fantasy name even be related to his real legal name?
Here's the idea: "Kirk Allen" was a pseudonym for John Carter. In the 1930s, young John Carter was living on an island and came across Edgar Rice Burroughs' Mars books, which were written years before. John (the boy) was excited to see that the main character in the books was named "John Carter." This is just a coincidence, of course, but John (the boy) thought that the books were describing his life in the future.