# What is Diogenes the Cynic's Condition Called **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 17, 2011, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-diogenes-the-cynics-condition-called/571709 "2011-02-17T16:19:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-diogenes-the-cynics-condition-called/571709/1 "2011-02-17T16:19:26Z")
He/She doesn’t appear to be entirely mentally retarded because some posts are normal. But the lack of logic shown in this thread makes me wonder what’s going on. > **[What do you do about people blocking the passing lane?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=597247)** > > Imagine you’re travelling down a rural interstate where traffic isn’t very dense. The left lane is by law for passing only although the cops rarely pull people over for it. You pass someone and end up behind someone else who’s just cruising along in... Is anyone able to identify the condition that makes it difficult to perform and/or understand logic? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-diogenes-the-cynics-condition-called/571709/2 "2011-02-17T16:25:34Z")
He doesn’t seem to misunderstand logic there. He has a reasonable point - that it’s not his problem if somebody wants to break the law. I think he’s a fucking asshole for holding that position, but it’s not illogical. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-diogenes-the-cynics-condition-called/571709/3 "2011-02-17T16:31:59Z")
> [@RaftPeople](#): > > He/She doesn’t appear to be entirely mentally retarded because some posts are normal. > > But the lack of logic shown in this thread makes me wonder what’s going on. > [What do you do about people blocking the passing lane? - In My Humble Opinion - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=597247) > > Is anyone able to identify the condition that makes it difficult to perform and/or understand logic? Frankly, I don’t think he really believes what he is saying. For instance - > [@](#): > > > [@MeanOldLady](#): > > > > Why do you keep pretending that everyone who wants to pass is speeding? > > > [@DTC](#): > > > > Because they are. Nobody can be this stupid. He’s trolling. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-diogenes-the-cynics-condition-called/571709/4 "2011-02-17T16:36:52Z")
I don’t understand what got peopel all ired-up in that thread (a reaction Dio is happy to exploit by egging people on with increasingly silly statements), though I _was_ considering suggesting some clarification of terminology. “Overtake” - to move ahead of another car travelling in the same direction, while both vehicles are in legal lanes. “Pass” - to move ahead of another car travveling in the same direction, by moving temporarily into a illegal (i.e. you would not normally drive there) lane. Typically, this involves moving to the left into the oncoming traffic lane if this can be done briefly, safely and legally. Less often, and typically specifically forbidden, is to move to the _right_ into an illegal lane, i.e. the shoulder, to pass. I figure overtaking is fair game at any time. If there are two lanes, and he’s in one and you’re in the other, overtake him to your heart’s content. If you want to pass, though, only go into the oncoming lane if you can do so safely and legally, and only go to the shoulder in an emergency (i.e. he’s slammed on his brakes and going to the shoulder is the only way to avoid hitting him). I’ve passed on the right one time in my life, going to the shoulder to get around a guy who was moving under the limit on a single lane road. He honked at me. Fuck him, but I admit that despite my precautions, I shouldn’t really have done that. I’ve overtaken on the right, i.e. moved to the center or right lane of a multilane road to get ahead of a slower vehicle in the left lane, more times than I can count. I fail to see why this should be a problem. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-diogenes-the-cynics-condition-called/571709/5 "2011-02-17T16:39:25Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > He doesn’t seem to misunderstand logic there. He has a reasonable point - that it’s not his problem if somebody wants to break the law. > > I think he’s a fucking asshole for holding that position, but it’s not illogical. “How can I impede traffic if I’m going the speed limit” “No, they don’t get pulled over, it never happens” Also, see **enipla’s** post Those are the illogical statements. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-diogenes-the-cynics-condition-called/571709/6 "2011-02-17T16:44:00Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Frankly, I don’t think he really believes what he is saying. For instance - > > Nobody can be this stupid. He’s trolling. No, he’s correct, given that the situation he’s talking about is passing _a car that is already doing the limit_. Anyone who does that is, by definition, speeding. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-diogenes-the-cynics-condition-called/571709/7 "2011-02-17T16:44:23Z")
**DTC** , makes a good point. He also stated that he doesn’t practice “left lane assholery”. Sorry, I can’t get worked up over this one. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-diogenes-the-cynics-condition-called/571709/8 "2011-02-17T16:48:40Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > No, he’s correct, given that the situation he’s talking about is passing _a car that is already doing the limit_. Anyone who does that is, by definition, speeding. The point isn’t about his opinion. That’s fine, everyone has an opinion. It’s regarding the lack of logic displayed at various points in the thread, some posted in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-diogenes-the-cynics-condition-called/571709/9 "2011-02-17T16:52:16Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > “Overtake” - to move ahead of another car travelling in the same direction, while both vehicles are in legal lanes. > “Pass” - to move ahead of another car travveling in the same direction, by moving temporarily into a illegal (i.e. you would not normally drive there) lane. Typically, this involves moving to the left into the oncoming traffic lane if this can be done briefly, safely and legally. Less often, and typically specifically forbidden, is to move to the _right_ into an illegal lane, i.e. the shoulder, to pass. Where are you getting these definitions from? The two are synonymous everywhere I’ve driven. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-diogenes-the-cynics-condition-called/571709/10 "2011-02-17T17:05:55Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Where are you getting these definitions from? The two are synonymous everywhere I’ve driven. My driving-school instructor, way back when, when I asked a question comparable to the OP off the other thread (“whaddya mean we can’t pass on the right? what if somebody’s just sitting there in the left lane?”) He pointed out that, first, somebody “sitting there” in the left lane, suggesting they’ve _stopped_, is unlikely, and that “passing” was meant to imply a specific (and potentially risky, hence the necessary precautions) maneuver, while one car overtaking another on a multilane road wasn’t that big a deal. Use the suggestions, don’t use them… I don’t care. I think they add necessary clarity, though, and I will continue to use them privately and suggest them in future comparable contexts. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-diogenes-the-cynics-condition-called/571709/11 "2011-02-17T17:10:40Z")
What I really don’t understand is why you folks let this guy get your goat all the time. Jesus Christ, who cares? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-diogenes-the-cynics-condition-called/571709/12 "2011-02-17T17:17:37Z")
> [@StusBlues](#): > > What I really don’t understand is why you folks let this guy get your goat all the time. Jesus Christ, who cares? And they give up the goat so _quickly_ too, like the goat’s the virginity of a girl with daddy issues. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-diogenes-the-cynics-condition-called/571709/13 "2011-02-17T17:21:56Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > No, he’s correct, given that the situation he’s talking about is passing _a car that is already doing the limit_. Anyone who does that is, by definition, speeding. Nope. That is not the situation that everyone is talking about. We are also talking about times when the person is going below the speed limit. ---
**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:** [February 17, 2011, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-diogenes-the-cynics-condition-called/571709/14 "2011-02-17T17:39:15Z")
I said specifically and repeatedly that I was talking about people going the limit or more. If someone is going below the limit, by all means, bitch as much as you want. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-diogenes-the-cynics-condition-called/571709/15 "2011-02-17T17:42:05Z")
> [@RaftPeople](#): > > The point isn’t about his opinion. That’s fine, everyone has an opinion. > > It’s regarding the lack of logic displayed at various points in the thread, some posted in this thread. What opinion? I didn’t say anything about any opinion, only a very simple and obvious matter of fact. I don’t think you even understand what “logic” means. The statements quoted above may be _false_, but they are not illogical. **Dio** is being relentlessly logical in that thread, based on his premise that the laws on the books regarding speed limits are black and white and no one has any business going beyond them. That premise may be faulty, but that doesn’t make his conclusions illogical. Your beef is actually that you want him to be _less_ logical, and to concede that it is better to follow some fuzzy conventions that “everybody knows” than to insist on a strict, literal reading of the speed laws. > [@enipla](#): > > Nope. That is not the situation that everyone is talking about. We are also talking about times when the person is going below the speed limit. It doesn’t matter what “everyone” is talking about, **Dio** was specifically talking about this situation: > [@What do you do about people blocking the passing lane?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-about-people-blocking-the-passing-lane/571476/54): > > You don’t have a right to go faster than the speed limit. If the person in front of you is already going the limit, you have no legal right to pass them. Why do so may people seem to think that other people are obligated to help them break the law? Nothing he subsequently added went beyond this situation. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-diogenes-the-cynics-condition-called/571709/16 "2011-02-17T18:06:00Z")
It’s been a while since I’ve revisited the _Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition, Text Revision_, but I believe the technical diagnosis of his condition is “Trolling Asshole Personality Disorder” or TAPD, which is characterized by repeatedly exhibiting of four or more of the following symptoms: [ul] [li]holding absolute views on nuanced or multivariate topics[/li][li]expressing polarizing opinions based upon unsupported premises[/li][li]displaying defiant oppositional behavior in conversational contexts[/li][li]persistent or spastic repetition of unfounded or debased arguments[/li][li]failure to recognize a personal lack of knowledge or qualification upon a topic under discussion[/li][li]invoking casual fallacies in argument such as a false appeal to self-authority[/li][li]resorting to plaintive appeals of innocence or lack of malicious intent when confronted by evidence of malfeasance[/ul][/li] Individuals diagnosed with TAPD often lack empathy or the ability to engage in normal or casual conversation, but unlike individuals in the autistic spectrum of disorders are very capable in precisely judging the acceptable limits to behaviors listed above, and appear to obtain pleasure in pursuing lines of conflict that skirt the limits of permissible behavior including covert personal insult and insinuation without broaching a threshold of punitive response. Although there are no known effective psychopharmacological or cognitive modification-based therapeutical approaches to the treatment of TAPD, individuals with the disorder appear to be strictly reflexive, and thus tacitly deflecting or ignoring the behaviors produces a null or negative response, whereas an attempt to positively engage persons who demonstrate TAPD only exacerbates the symptoms and promotes further excitation of undesired behavior. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-diogenes-the-cynics-condition-called/571709/17 "2011-02-17T18:06:43Z")
IANAD, but my amateur diagnosis would include extreme narcissism coupled with a near-inability to admit error. Proponents of **Dio** ’s iron-clad “logic” in that thread: kindly defend his claims that nobody ever drives under the speed limit in the left lane, and that he “doesn’t buy” the state statute requiring drivers to keep right because everybody ignores it. ---
**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:** [February 17, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-diogenes-the-cynics-condition-called/571709/18 "2011-02-17T18:13:58Z")
I never said nobody drives under the speed limit in the left lane. And if I was narcissistic, I’d have a lot better self-esteem. ---
**Author:** ![Nadir](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nadir/32/7302_2.png) [@Nadir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nadir)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-diogenes-the-cynics-condition-called/571709/19 "2011-02-17T18:15:28Z")
What I want to know is what do you call the person that can’t stop trying to change their mind or make them admit defeat? Is it like the same disorder, but somehow backwards, or something totally different? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-diogenes-the-cynics-condition-called/571709/20 "2011-02-17T18:16:30Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > No, he’s correct, given that the situation he’s talking about is passing _a car that is already doing the limit_. Anyone who does that is, by definition, speeding. > [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I said specifically and repeatedly that I was talking about people going the limit or more. If someone is going below the limit, by all means, bitch as much as you want. While it may be technically “speeding,” it is not illegal in at least some states. From [here](http://www.mit.edu/~jfc/laws.html): > [@](#): > > Minnesota, Montana and Washington allow drivers to exceed the speed limit while passing on two lane roads. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-diogenes-the-cynics-condition-called/571709.md?page=2)