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The terrible tragedy that happened in Las Vegas has people searching for the answer of why did he do it?
In my mind, we cannot answer that question, and I'm not sure how close we are. When one points at a terrorist with proven ties to a group like ISIS, many times that's how the question gets answered. But that's more of a cause than an answer. It's the individual's brain that dictates the why. The understanding of mental illness has a long way to go, and I'm pretty sure those in the field know that. The brain is complex. We don't understand how signals really work, and what could cause a person to process their world in such a manner to carry out such an act.
Are we years, decades, or more from really beginning to target an understanding of the brain at a deeper level? Or will it even happen in our lifetime?
Unfortunately you would need a live brain to even guess. We can all spout theories but what good does it do after the fact? The thought crossed my mind that there wasn't even illness. Someone decided life was over, there was nothing to lose, no reason to survive or explain, so why not create a spectacle. Terrible.
"Woe is me, my life is worthless" does not seem to be the M.O. in this case. The guy's brother was on tv today, stating there were no signs of any mental illness, no history of mental illness, he was wealthy (multi-millions) with no money problems (that we're aware of anyway), a girlfriend, no anger issues, good family ties, and was even friends with both his ex-wives. This one does not so far fit any previous model of "who does this?" I don't think there will ever be one pat answer that can across the board explain why anyone does this.
The only weird thing is his father was a bank robber on the FBI's most wanted list decades and decades ago. The description on his wanted poster stated he was psychopathic or something similar, but that was in the 50's or so, so who knows?
They didn't say if he shot himself in the head or not. If so, forensics will be difficult if not impossible.
The terrible tragedy that happened in Las Vegas has people searching for the answer of why did he do it?...
They might also search for the answer about why are these mass slaughters common in the U.S., but not in other first world countries. I think there may be more psychology involved than the psychology of single individuals.
I'm not even talking about tagging somebody mentally ill or not. The medical world over the centuries has learned a lot about the human body. How to fix broken bones, how to prevent or cure people from illnesses. Tagging somebody mentally ill is a broad statement for a fledgling study into the human brain (barely over a century such studies have been done). I don't think all bad things done are by mentally ill people. Call it a defect, a blip. Just like I was told they can cauterize one of the two electrical signals in my heart to prevent SVT, I wonder when we'll be able to do similar fixes with the brain.
I'm not even talking about tagging somebody mentally ill or not. The medical world over the centuries has learned a lot about the human body. How to fix broken bones, how to prevent or cure people from illnesses. Tagging somebody mentally ill is a broad statement for a fledgling study into the human brain (barely over a century such studies have been done). I don't think all bad things done are by mentally ill people. Call it a defect, a blip. Just like I was told they can cauterize one of the two electrical signals in my heart to prevent SVT, I wonder when we'll be able to do similar fixes with the brain.
Well, you;d have to know something's wrong first. This man didn't show any signs of any defect until he did this.
The terrible tragedy that happened in Las Vegas has people searching for the answer of why did he do it?
In my mind, we cannot answer that question, and I'm not sure how close we are. When one points at a terrorist with proven ties to a group like ISIS, many times that's how the question gets answered. But that's more of a cause than an answer. It's the individual's brain that dictates the why. The understanding of mental illness has a long way to go, and I'm pretty sure those in the field know that. The brain is complex. We don't understand how signals really work, and what could cause a person to process their world in such a manner to carry out such an act.
Are we years, decades, or more from really beginning to target an understanding of the brain at a deeper level? Or will it even happen in our lifetime?
There's no reason to think he was mentally ill. A lot of people with NO measurable mental illness do this because they're done with life, usually after a big loss, and they want to advertise their plight in a way that will make them unforgettable...and famous. Plenty of people get desperate for attention after retirement. People who fall back on "he must have been mentally ill because I wouldn't have done that" forget that we all have choices, every day. He made a horrible choice -- probably very knowingly -- and clearly it was deliberate and thought out. That kind of terrible choice is in front of everyone else too, every day, but most of us are not willing to hurt others to make a point.
The terrible tragedy that happened in Las Vegas has people searching for the answer of why did he do it?
In my mind, we cannot answer that question, and I'm not sure how close we are. When one points at a terrorist with proven ties to a group like ISIS, many times that's how the question gets answered. But that's more of a cause than an answer. It's the individual's brain that dictates the why. The understanding of mental illness has a long way to go, and I'm pretty sure those in the field know that. The brain is complex. We don't understand how signals really work, and what could cause a person to process their world in such a manner to carry out such an act.
Are we years, decades, or more from really beginning to target an understanding of the brain at a deeper level? Or will it even happen in our lifetime?
You are making the assumption that people who perform acts of mass murder are mentally "ill" or "defective". Not sure about that. Humans are naturally barbaric from what I can tell. We have a thin veneer of civilization that's about it.
You are making the assumption that people who perform acts of mass murder are mentally "ill" or "defective". Not sure about that. Humans are naturally barbaric from what I can tell. We have a thin veneer of civilization that's about it.
Maybe a million years ago, but evolution from cro-magnum made us more “civilized” once our brains developed more conscience. Mentally ill, defective, sociopaths, etc. are exceptions to the rule obviously.
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