Matt Dioguardi wrote:

> Hi Mira,
>
> Your comments on the person accused of schizophrenia were very
> helpful, thanks.

Ooooo, I do love compliments, thanks Matt. Just for the record, my
opinions carry no authority. I'm not even the list-owner.

> The problem is, we shouldn't need a test to validate ourselves.

What do you mean by "we shouldn't"? Is this a moral issue for you?

I don't have a problem with people needing a test to validate
themselves, if, indeed, they do. I suspect, though, that it's not all
that serious. People like to read things they identify with. The writer
makes money that way.

> should be able to achieve self-validation without the intermediary
> aid of an expert, or a tool designed by an expert.

When it comes to expertise I'm the greatest sceptic on earth. Believing
in expertise makes us dependent on others, it disempowers. But... people
have a right to disempower themselves, as long as they don't impose
disempowerment on others. My problem is with (phony) expertise that is
enlisted by gov't to curb our freedoms.

Mira