# Meenie7's invisible friend **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 22, 2008, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meenie7s-invisible-friend/457409 "2008-07-22T19:38:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meenie7s-invisible-friend/457409/21 "2008-07-22T20:54:24Z")
[QUOTE=Q.E.D.] That was…odd. [/QUOTE] Yes, it was. And, like with **Meenie7** , it was **Polycarp** ’s long, non-insane posting history that caused me to be slow to call the Billy Goats Gruff for an intervention. And, as I recall, faster to gently suggest he talk it over with someone. Modern medicine can do wonders with these things. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meenie7s-invisible-friend/457409/22 "2008-07-22T20:57:49Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] There are only two options: Lying or crazy. There are no other possibilities. [/QUOTE] Wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Sinaijon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Sinaijon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinaijon)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meenie7s-invisible-friend/457409/23 "2008-07-22T20:58:19Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] I’ve known and worked with a few schizophrenics and he doesn’t give off the aura. [/QUOTE] It is kind a funny, though, that in the process of pitting somebody who believes in paranormal crap, that you claim to be able to detect a schizo ‘auro’ over the internet. ---
**Author:** ![meenie7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7993a0/32.png) [@meenie7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meenie7)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meenie7s-invisible-friend/457409/24 "2008-07-22T21:01:12Z")
Yay, my first pit thread! Do I get a toaster? 🙂 FTR, I’m a 28 yr old female. Diogenes, I can’t muster much upset about this. You are free to think I’m lying, since I don’t know you and so your accusation of lying has little impact on me. I told the story for the people who were interested in it. If you’re not one of them, feel free not to read it, the same way I don’t read political threads or threads about games I don’t play or movies I haven’t seen. Simple enough. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meenie7s-invisible-friend/457409/25 "2008-07-22T21:05:56Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] But Jesus _is_ a ghost. At least 1/3 of him is. [/QUOTE] Plus, he’s a reverse zombie. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meenie7s-invisible-friend/457409/26 "2008-07-22T21:07:26Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] I think **Poly’s** theory was less crazy because there was nothing overtly supernatural about it. It was a naturalistic speculation about how a new “Messiah” might arise. He was then excoriated by Christians calliing him nuts because everybody knows Jesus won’t just be born as a regular person, he’ll appear in a ball of fire in the sky with a bunch of angels. [/QUOTE] No, what was ridiculous about it was that a long rambling story ended with the GTM being quoted: “Dreams are like the future – they are what you make of them.” That doesn’t even sound like a future religious leader, much less a messiah. It was as weak as **spongemom’s** water droplet on the lens that was supposed to be her dead cat’s spirit. **Czarcasm** , I understand what you’re saying, but who besides **lekatt** is affirming her belief? ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meenie7s-invisible-friend/457409/27 "2008-07-22T21:09:24Z")
[QUOTE=Terrifel] Wrong. [/QUOTE] Just curious, why would you bother to post that you disagree with there being only two possibilities, but not list any of the others? ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meenie7s-invisible-friend/457409/28 "2008-07-22T21:10:05Z")
[QUOTE=Sinaijon] It is kind a funny, though, that in the process of pitting somebody who believes in paranormal crap, that you claim to be able to detect a schizo ‘auro’ over the internet. [/QUOTE] not that I give two shits about the issues in this thread or the poster being pitted or the subject - but this is just stupid. When **Dio** spoke (posted) about not getting that type of “aura” from the poster, he wasn’t claiming to have paranormal talents, detecting some visual ‘aura’ over the poster or whatever. It’s the same as if he’d said “I don’t get that vibe” ie, he’s saying that having dealt w/folks w/that particular psychologicgal condition, there’s patterns of thoughs expressed, types of connections, all sorts of indicators that would be similar. and that the poster in question doesn’t exhibit what **Dio** commonly sees in folks who have the condition. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meenie7s-invisible-friend/457409/29 "2008-07-22T21:12:50Z")
[QUOTE=Revtim] Just curious, why would you bother to post that you disagree with there being only two possibilities, but not list any of the others? [/QUOTE] I did list another possibility. “Wrong.” ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meenie7s-invisible-friend/457409/30 "2008-07-22T21:37:31Z")
Wow, she is serious? I gotta vote deluded. Of course she will never try to prove anything because we all know what she would wind up proving. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meenie7s-invisible-friend/457409/31 "2008-07-22T21:41:10Z")
[QUOTE=wring] not that I give two shits about the issues in this thread or the poster being pitted or the subject - but this is just stupid. When **Dio** spoke (posted) about not getting that type of “aura” from the poster, he wasn’t claiming to have paranormal talents, detecting some visual ‘aura’ over the poster or whatever. It’s the same as if he’d said “I don’t get that vibe” ie, he’s saying that having dealt w/folks w/that particular psychologicgal condition, there’s patterns of thoughs expressed, types of connections, all sorts of indicators that would be similar. and that the poster in question doesn’t exhibit what **Dio** commonly sees in folks who have the condition. [/QUOTE] This is exactly right. I was using the word “aura” figuratively. As I alluded to a little in that post, I meant that she does not exhibit the characteristics that I’ve seen in schizophrenic personalites. She’s too bright and sunny, too coherent. Too pithy. I don’t see the rambling, the non-sequiturs or the off the wall connections. Maybe she’s just having a good day. I don’t know for sure. I’m about 70/30 that she’s just making it up. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meenie7s-invisible-friend/457409/32 "2008-07-22T21:41:18Z")
It’s kind of pathetic and sad if she really believes it. Or evidence of some mental illness. It doesn’t seem like she has that many other friends besides the “ghost.” ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meenie7s-invisible-friend/457409/33 "2008-07-22T21:41:19Z")
[QUOTE=Terrifel] I did list another possibility. “Wrong.” [/QUOTE] :rolleyes: That’s right up there with “I know you are but what am I?” ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meenie7s-invisible-friend/457409/34 "2008-07-22T21:45:26Z")
[QUOTE=Terrifel] I did list another possibility. “Wrong.” [/QUOTE] If by “wrong,” you mean honestly mistaken, how would you distinguish that from delusion? ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meenie7s-invisible-friend/457409/35 "2008-07-22T21:54:17Z")
Personally, I find this thread quite hilarious, and one of the weirdest I’ve read here. I was very curious to know where it was going. I certainly didn’t feel the need to interrupt the flow, even though I was sure someone eventually would open a pit thread. It vaguely reminds me of the “pyjama girl” thread (though I was less tolerant of the pyjama girl, actually). ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meenie7s-invisible-friend/457409/36 "2008-07-22T22:10:35Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] If by “wrong,” you mean honestly mistaken, how would you distinguish that from delusion? [/QUOTE] I’m not a psychiatrist, so I’d hesitate to try. I was simply pointing out that there are other possibilities besides “lying or crazy.” It irks the crap out of me when people argue that way: “You are clearly wrong; therefore, you must be either lying or crazy. There are no other possibilities.” The wikipedia page on [“delusion”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delusion) seems to address the same general point: > [@](#): > > A delusion is commonly defined as a fixed false belief and is used in everyday language to describe a belief that is either false, fanciful or derived from deception. In psychiatry, the definition is necessarily more precise and implies that the belief is pathological (the result of an illness or illness process). **As a pathology it is distinct from a belief based on false or incomplete information or certain effects of perception which would more properly be termed an apperception or illusion.** My bolding. If you see a ghost or hear Jesus or whatever, you’re not necessarily deluded. The distinction seems to be whether you believe your perceptions or not. I think it was Sam Kinison who pointed out that, even if you hear your dog telling you to kill people, you don’t actually have to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meenie7s-invisible-friend/457409/37 "2008-07-22T22:16:46Z")
[QUOTE=Terrifel] If you see a ghost or hear Jesus or whatever, you’re not necessarily deluded. The distinction seems to be whether you believe your perceptions or not. I think it was Sam Kinison who pointed out that, even if you hear your dog telling you to kill people, you don’t actually have to do it. [/QUOTE] If I take the brown acid, and see huge, leathery bat wings sprout from my shoulders, they are no less of a hallucination because I resist the temptation to jump off the fire escape. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meenie7s-invisible-friend/457409/38 "2008-07-22T22:27:45Z")
[QUOTE=Fear Itself] If I take the brown acid, and see huge, leathery bat wings sprout from my shoulders, they are no less of a hallucination because I resist the temptation to jump off the fire escape. [/QUOTE] Yeah, but if you hallucinate wings and yet are still uncertain whether you can really fly, how crazy are you really? At the very least, significantly less crazy than the guy who hallucinates wings and is therefore certain he can fly. ---
**Author:** ![malkavia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malkavia/32/5621_2.png) [@malkavia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/malkavia)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meenie7s-invisible-friend/457409/39 "2008-07-22T22:44:06Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] The only thing to determine is whether she needs to be called out for trolling or encouraged to seek help. Humoring her is pointless either way. It certainly doesn’t help her if she’s ill. [/QUOTE] Nonsense. We humor you, even though you have a tendancy to be an irrationally angry and tightly wound asshole about 93.7% of the time. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meenie7s-invisible-friend/457409/40 "2008-07-22T23:05:59Z")
If I had to put money down, I’d bet on a genuine delusion. This makes me pity our young Doper, but maybe she’s happier in life than I am. However – **Meenie7** , if you have this experience and don’t try to find out if it’s based on anything outside your mind, then, no, you’re not a skeptic. ETA: I could have sworn **Lekatt** was finally banned. Was that just a pleasant dream? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meenie7s-invisible-friend/457409.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meenie7s-invisible-friend/457409.md?page=3)