[lbo-talk] the virginina university massacre

[Miles Jackson]

Matt wrote:
>
> I am sure psychologists have a lot to say about the sorts of behaviors
> that can be identified that are consistent with the type of psychotic
> break which leads one to mass murder and suicide.
>
>   
Here's the problem: we psychologists have plenty to say about suicide, 
anti-social personality disorder, and psychosis, but we haven't 
developed accurate methods for predicting the kind of rare deviant 
behavior that occurred at VU.  Sure, you can say socially isolated 
people are more likely to go off the deep end, but social isolation is 
not an accurate predictor of this behavior, because the vast majority of 
socially isolated people do not act this way.  I know it would be 
reassuring if these kind of events could be accurately predicted, but 
people are way more complicated than that.

Miles