Video of James Holmes emerges (ABC)

[frogmarch]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/james-holmes-video-colorado-shooting-suspect-abc-news/story?id=16830653#.UAwTxUSkS0c

Interesting.

[Live and Learn]

1. Fantasy vs Reality - That is interesting. nt

[frogmarch]

2. That stood to me. Yes,

interesting. Very.

[JHB]

4. It is... and isn't

We're going to have to see what was going through his mind as he started taking his nosedive, but focusing too quickly on the fantasy vs reality part can lead you in the wrong direction.

I recall quite clearly from my teenage years how some people seemed to think I and my friends would commit mass suicide or go on some rampage because we played Dungeons & Dragons. I was especially galled at religious fundamentalists who don't believe magic is fictional ("I'm having my grip on reality questioned by someone who really believes in evil spirits?", and people took them seriously because they were "concerned parents" and we were teenagers doing something "weird".

Today my friends are engineers, college faculty, salesmen, and assorted other middle-class careers.

Also recall that at this stage after Coumbine all the talk was of trenchcoats and bullying, when the full story seems to be that one had some severe personality problems and the other a willing enabler.

Don't make too much of the early dribs and drabs.

[Live and Learn]

5. I'm not making too much out of it.

I find all the speculation in to what may have caused him to do this troubling (although human). I much prefer to wait for all the facts to come out. I simply said it was interesting (and it may just be a bit ironic).

[arcane1]

7. Indeed, studying "subjective experience" is not that unusual in neuroscience

I think the reporter was too quick to jump to "fantasy vs reality" based on that.

[bhikkhu]

3. I'm fortunate, I think, to not have a tv

Perhaps when all things are known I'd be interested to read how it all went wrong for the shooter, but I find the celebrity that comes with violent acts to be somewhat repugnant. I've seen one picture of him - that's enough, and this sort of thing is the reason I quit watching tv years ago - during the run-up to the last Iraq war.

[Live and Learn]

6. I don't think it is the celebrity aspect for all of us.

Some of us are just interested in finding out why these things happen and possibly finding a way to help people before they commit acts of violence like this.