[HN Gopher] Cities with their own psychological disorders
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       Cities with their own psychological disorders
        
       Author : l3x
       Score  : 122 points
       Date   : 2023-07-28 11:32 UTC (11 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.atlasobscura.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.atlasobscura.com)
        
       | pvaldes wrote:
       | Always heard about Florence syndrome as Stendhal's, but never did
       | click before.
       | 
       | My bet is that in the future somebody will eventually find a
       | direct relationship between the symptoms and the chemicals used
       | to clean the museums or preserve antique valuable pieces from the
       | attack of insects and molds.
       | 
       | As long as the ventilation systems (and insurance?) improve
       | should be more and more rare.
        
       | user6723 wrote:
       | San Francisco
        
       | dghughes wrote:
       | I would have figured London Syndrome as being people who visit
       | London and then when back start speaking with with a pretentious
       | posh accent.
        
       | bowsamic wrote:
       | I know someone who experienced Florence syndrome. Quite
       | interesting. Seems almost alien to me.
        
       | dclowd9901 wrote:
       | Guess it doesn't make the cut because it's not called "Phoenix
       | Fever", but Valley Fever is a local affliction, stemmed from dust
       | and spores being kicked into the air. It's quite nasty, not that
       | anyone here needed less of a reason to visit Phoenix, Arizona.
        
       | neilv wrote:
       | > _Detroit Syndrome is a form of age discrimination in which
       | workers of a certain age are replaced by those who are younger,
       | faster, and stronger, not to mention endowed with new skills
       | better suited for the modern workplace._
       | 
       | Does a certain 20yo junior writer for a Web site resent the
       | senior writers?
        
         | pc86 wrote:
         | I think this is more a statement about the Detroit auto scene
         | being objectively behind other areas. Yeah age discrimination
         | plays a part but in this case it's actually justified as
         | opposed to just being cheaper.
        
           | dredmorbius wrote:
           | From TFA:
           | 
           |  _The syndrome, reported in 2011, gets its name from Detroit,
           | and more specifically from its reputation as a manufacturing
           | hub for automobiles, in which newer models would replace the
           | older ones on a regular basis._
           | 
           | I.e., "replaced by a newer/younger model".
        
       | w-m wrote:
       | I think they have forgotten a few. It's already Friday afternoon
       | here, so I hope you'll be able to excuse my ChatGPT indulgence:
       | 
       |  _Silicon Valley Disruption Delusion_ - This peculiar state of
       | mind is characterized by an individual 's inclination to perceive
       | every life aspect as a sector ripe for modernization. Symptoms
       | include an increased use of entrepreneurial vernacular,
       | spontaneous pitching to unsuspecting venture capitalists, and a
       | tendency to self-identify as a "founder." In extreme cases, one
       | might even start praising the virtues of blockchain for everyday
       | activities.
       | 
       |  _Amsterdam Cycle Confusion_ - In this unusual psychological
       | state, the individual develops a belief that they should travel
       | exclusively by bicycle. This can lead to fervent cycling even in
       | non-bike-friendly areas and a distinct reluctance to use
       | pedestrian pathways or motorized transport.
       | 
       |  _Munich Brewmaster Belief_ - Individuals affected by this
       | syndrome are consumed by the idea that they are master brewers.
       | The condition manifests in an incessant discussion about hops and
       | yeast, an urge to experiment with brewing in unconventional
       | locations, and the staging of impromptu beer tasting
       | competitions.
       | 
       |  _Palo Alto Unicorn Unreality_ - Those affected by this syndrome
       | exhibit an uncanny tendency to transform every idea into a
       | potential billion-dollar startup or  'unicorn.' They might
       | display irregular sleep patterns, subsist mainly on energy drinks
       | and quick meals, and their conversations are often peppered with
       | phrases like "the next big thing," and "exit strategy."
       | 
       |  _Seattle Server Overload Syndrome_ - This cognitive anomaly
       | leads a person to believe they 're akin to a server, required to
       | handle multiple requests concurrently. They may develop an
       | unhealthy penchant for multitasking and often describe their
       | mental state using terms such as "processing," "bandwidth," and
       | "buffering."
        
         | analog31 wrote:
         | Madison syndrome. The delusion that January is the time to play
         | and ride bicycles outdoors instead of properly hibernating.
        
       | bratgpttamer wrote:
       | Cambridgehaven Syndrome is marked by an inability to start an
       | anecdote without "When I was at Harvard/Yale..."
        
         | jjkaczor wrote:
         | Heh, in my family that is "Down-under Syndrome".
         | 
         | As in, "oh - that's not how they do it in Australia, did you
         | know I lived in (or visited) Australia for 'x' amount of time?"
        
       | retrocryptid wrote:
       | I would add "Palo Alto Syndrome" -- It's where you show up on
       | Sand Hill Rd. with a business plan only to discover VC's don't
       | want to look at "reasonable" plans to build a 20M company in 3
       | years for a 500k investment, but want to invest in "outlandish"
       | plans to build a 200B company in 6 months with a 100M investment.
        
       | glonq wrote:
       | Vancouver Canada has a reputation as no-fun city and also a place
       | where it's tough to make friends. Which is weird when you
       | consider that it's a gem of a city with abundant natural and man-
       | made attractions.
       | 
       | Can I suggest that _feeling bored and lonely despite idyllic
       | surroundings_ defines  "Vancouver Syndrome" ?
       | 
       | /s but kinda not
        
       | simonbarker87 wrote:
       | They also missed the Glasgow effect - residents have a
       | significantly lower life expectancy that the rest of the UK and,
       | from memory so could be wrong, it affects people who's first line
       | ancestry is from Glasgow but who themselves have never lived
       | there.
        
         | darkclouds wrote:
         | > residents have a significantly lower life expectancy that the
         | rest of the UK
         | 
         | Diet - Seems like Glaswegians have forgotten Fee-fi-fo-fum In
         | certain parts of the country, the NHS will prescribe some
         | things to elderly people which increases life span, that would
         | normally be found in high levels elsewhere in the country. I
         | doubt Evian or San Pelligrino is high on the shopping list up
         | there either.
         | 
         | > London Syndrome is when hostages become argumentative toward
         | their captors--often with deadly results.
         | 
         | I think I must be suffering from London syndrome, in much the
         | same way the population of voters feel at general election
         | time, or a congregation feels towards a vicar.
        
           | smcl wrote:
           | > Diet - Seems like Glaswegians have forgotten Fee-fi-fo-fum
           | In certain parts of the country
           | 
           | No idea what "fee-fi-fo-fum" is supposed to refer to, but it
           | seems you're suggesting that Glaswegians simply choose to
           | have a poor diet and therefore suffer poor life expectancies
           | as a result. In reality there are myriad social and health
           | problems that come from having a shitload of deprived areas -
           | can be seen in the link Arethuza posted - and all of these
           | contribute in some way to a lower life expectancy.
           | 
           | If you're going for cheap "Scottish people like alcohol and
           | deep fried food" laughs then, ok fair have your fun. But know
           | that there isn't _that_ much difference north and south of
           | the border on that, so if you 're searching for a serious
           | answer you would need to dig deeper.
        
             | darkclouds wrote:
             | > No idea what "fee-fi-fo-fum" is supposed to refer to
             | 
             | Calcium.
             | 
             | I dont think being on the bread line is useful when
             | watching harrys farm
             | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juXXt4ZHS-8&t=467s
             | 
             | or being in damp conditions.
             | 
             | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cladosporium#Health_effects
             | 
             | I can smell the mould in some brand new sliced bread and
             | baps when its not out of date or anything visibly wrong
             | with it.
        
         | arethuza wrote:
         | The Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation is fascinating and
         | rather grim:
         | 
         | https://simd.scot/
         | 
         | e.g. Select the most deprived 5% from the key - they are mostly
         | in Glasgow :-(
        
         | nickybuzz wrote:
         | Sounds like... genetics?
        
           | simonbarker87 wrote:
           | What's so fascinating is that Edinburgh and Glasgow are only
           | 50 miles apart. Just 50 miles in where someone's parents or
           | even grandparents were born and moved then away from has a
           | legitimate impact on their life expectancy.
        
       | tter3 wrote:
       | They missed Havana syndrome.
        
         | tutuca wrote:
         | Ah, yes, the misterious technology from a country on a 50+
         | years blockade. Totally not made out.
        
         | swarnie wrote:
         | Isn't that just a civil service grift? As in, is actually a
         | recognisable condition?
        
           | digdugdirk wrote:
           | Not sure what you're implying here, but just because there
           | isn't a scientific consensus on a condition does not
           | immediately make it a "grift".
        
             | smcl wrote:
             | Calling it a "grift" may be harsh, but "Havana syndrome" as
             | a result of some kind of Cuban sonic super-weapon that
             | happens to have the same noise as some local crickets was
             | definitely an enormous stretch. That plenty of people
             | played along with it to the extent that bills were passed
             | allocating funding for the treatment of these people might
             | not be a _grift_ but it 's certainly _something_ extremely
             | peculiar. With US healthcare in the state that it is, I get
             | that some people might need to be creative to get treated
             | so I can 't exactly blame anyone (nor get mad since I don't
             | pay US taxes).
        
               | numboreal wrote:
               | My guess is more of a mass hysteria situation combined
               | with politicians that are exceptionally credible toward
               | anything the military says than a conscious grifting.
        
         | mnw21cam wrote:
         | Is that a psychological disorder? (I think the jury might still
         | be out on that.)
        
       | ethbr0 wrote:
       | > (on Paris Syndrome uniquely afflicting Japanese tourists) _Or
       | it could be the jarring confrontation of the a priori ideal of
       | Paris as exotic and friendly with the rather more abrasive nature
       | of the city's inhabitants._
       | 
       | Having visited Tokyo (which I assume is the most Paris-like Japan
       | gets?) and Paris (just got back from most recent trip), this
       | rings true.
       | 
       | Average "mild annoyance" from a Parisian would equal "severe
       | disrespect" from a Tokyo resident.
       | 
       | Plus add in the French propensity not to apologize for normal,
       | everyday oops-type things, and I imagine it'd be very jarring.
       | 
       | That said, on my most recent trip to Paris, I actually found
       | Parisians a _lot_ nicer than the last time I was there
       | (~1995ish?).
       | 
       | There's a lot of Gallic-isms, but even as an American with
       | extremely bad and limited French, most people were very nice.
       | 
       | PS: Not sure why tacos are the new craze in Paris, but y'all
       | should really import some Tejanos to get the full experience.
       | Feta never belongs on a taco that's not shrimp.
        
         | Swizec wrote:
         | > but even as an American with extremely bad and limited
         | French, most people were very nice
         | 
         | The trick to Paris, I've found, is to start with broken French
         | and then suddenly everyone speaks fluent English. But if you
         | start with English you're screwed.
         | 
         | Even saying "Bonjour" with a decent accent (you can learn it
         | like a song almost) will make them significantly nicer to you.
         | 
         | But yeah don't expect a big city person to actually verbalize
         | anything if they bump into you in a crowded place. That's just
         | expected and normal. Not worth aknowledging.
        
           | ethbr0 wrote:
           | 100% agreed. Starting with bad French + a self-deprecating
           | expression = much more helpful Parisians
           | 
           | The kids and I joked about how pleasantly lyrical all French
           | greetings are. You have to try to make "Bonjour" not sound
           | nice.
        
         | inconceivable wrote:
         | everyone was really nice to me in paris.
        
         | twmiller wrote:
         | > That said, on my most recent trip to Paris, I actually found
         | Parisians a lot nicer than the last time I was there
         | (~1995ish?).
         | 
         | My wife and I had the exact same experience. We had been to
         | Paris in the late 90s and when we were there a couple of years
         | ago, we found people to be much nicer than they had been
         | previously. Our theory is that it is / was a generational
         | thing.
        
         | Doches wrote:
         | It's hard to pick up on as an American, but "French Tacos"
         | actually don't have any genealogy in common with Tex-Mex tacos.
         | They're essentially north African shwarma (lamb kebab, fries,
         | cheese sauce, lettuce shoved in a wrap) re-marketed in a way
         | that doesn't invoke knee-jerk racism from the French
         | mainstream. Calling them "tacos" lets them get away with being
         | exotic, and since the average Francais doesn't really have any
         | preconceived notions about Mexico or Mexican food either way it
         | doesn't conjure up any negative associations. Calling them "Le
         | French Tacos" is even more re-assuring -- they're tacos, but
         | 'frenchified', so they must be OK.
         | 
         | But that same light-skinned frenchman would turn up his gallic
         | nose an authentic arabic shwarma, even stumbling from from le
         | bar at 2am. That the only difference between a good shwarma and
         | a good French taco is /maybe/ the choice of cheese makes no
         | difference...
         | 
         | (Source: live in Toulouse, have snarky Lebanese friends)
        
           | panda888888 wrote:
           | French tacos are the weirdest food I've ever eaten. Imagine
           | chicken cordon bleu wrapped inside a big burrito-sized
           | tortilla.
        
           | cguess wrote:
           | Norway is this too. I tried to make actual Tex-mex ground
           | beef tacos for some friends and they were abhorred by it.
        
             | kbenson wrote:
             | Honestly, one of the the things that worries me the most
             | about possibly moving out of California (being a native) to
             | another state at some point is lack of good Mexican food if
             | I'm not careful about where I move. I'm sure it's much
             | worse in the majority of countries I'd be interested in
             | moving to as well.
        
               | cguess wrote:
               | Most of the US, in cities, you can find solid Mexican
               | food. Chicago probably has the best "authentic" non-Cali
               | Mexican in the country even. You won't have to worry just
               | might have to hunt a bit.
               | 
               | The rest of the world? Yea you're screwed. I found one
               | place in Berlin that did legit Mexican because it was run
               | by Mexicans (Santa Maria in Kruezeberg) but that's
               | literally the only decent Mexican I've found in the 50+
               | countries I've visited and trust me, I've looked in all
               | of them.
               | 
               | Good news is you can find the ingredients for good
               | Mexican in pretty much all of them and do it yourself.
               | The hardest to source is proper jalapenos or any dried
               | peppers, but there's usually a speciality shop somewhere
               | that will be able to give you most of what you need.
               | Cilantro can also be a bit of a pain, but it's way easier
               | than it used to be even 10 years ago.
        
               | kbenson wrote:
               | Yeah, I'm not worried about it in sizeable cities, but me
               | moving out of CA would probably be coupled with being a
               | bit more rural (and that's coming from not living in a
               | "large" city already, as I live an hour north of SF). I
               | can move anywhere in CA or any of the southwest states
               | and probably be within 20-30 minutes of some fairly good
               | passably authentic Mexican food. My confidence in that
               | erodes the farther from the southwest or a large city I
               | am.
               | 
               | We actually cook a few dishes fairly regularly (the pork
               | tinga recipe from America's Test Kitchen is actually
               | amazing, if you're looking for something, and dead simple
               | to boot), but there's something comforting knowing it's
               | easy to get some of your favorite food done well on
               | demand on short notice for those days you really aren't
               | feeling like dealing with making dinner.
        
               | chrisdhoover wrote:
               | The worry is real. You cannot find a decent mission
               | burrito afield. It really a local specialty of San
               | Francisco. I suspect the same is true for burritos found
               | in San Diego. And those tacos in Texas, on flour
               | tortillas, well those aren't tacos at all but incomplete
               | and unfinished burritos. OK if you want to rebrand a half
               | assed burrito and call it a taco go right ahead. And none
               | of it is a sandwich - not burgers, dogs, falafel,
               | shawarma, gyros, burritos or tacos. A taco is not a
               | sandwich
        
           | dragonwriter wrote:
           | > , but "French Tacos" actually don't have any genealogy in
           | common with Tex-Mex tacos.
           | 
           | They have a kind of connection beyond the name, even though
           | neither is a linear descendant of the other. Tex-Mex tacos
           | are a descendant of traditional central Mexican tacos, as
           | also are tacos al pastor; but tacos al pastor are _also_
           | descendants of schwarma, which French tacos derive from. So
           | they 're like cousins by marriage.
        
             | MrDrMcCoy wrote:
             | [dead]
        
           | csdvrx wrote:
           | That's so fascinating! What do you Lebanese friends think
           | about it? Is it like how Italian American dishes are
           | perceived by italians?
           | 
           | BTW I've tried French Tacos and I LOVE IT! I think it could
           | be a huge success in the US, if tweaked for our meat and
           | cheese tastes, like with brisket and cheddar.
        
           | boudin wrote:
           | It's just a variant of kebab and shwarma that gained
           | popularity. Nothing to do with the need to rebrand it because
           | of racism. Shwarma (or kebabs as most people call those)
           | shops fed generations of french studients and party-goers and
           | have been everywhere for decades.
           | 
           | It's kind of funny though, french tacos really took over
           | France in the last decade, I guess because of fast food chain
           | like o'taco. When I left France in 2015 it was unheard of
           | where I was living, now it's everywhere.
        
         | TechBro8615 wrote:
         | The culture shock of the Paris experience has less to do with
         | vague aspersions against Parisian personality, and more to do
         | with the sudden confrontation of the sight of thousands of
         | unhoused immigrants under a bridge, or dozens of pickpockets at
         | every tourist attraction. You know, the stuff they don't
         | include in the tourist brochures and the movies about Paris.
         | 
         | Personally I found Paris extremely underwhelming - it felt just
         | like New York but slightly more French. I had a much better
         | experience visiting small towns in the south of France. But to
         | be fair to France, I don't think this is an issue unique to
         | their country - it's an issue with tourism to cities. As a
         | tourist I've come to realize that most cities are largely the
         | same across every meaningful dimension. The best travel
         | experiences come from smaller towns and generally anywhere "off
         | the beaten path." As they would say in Thailand, every city is
         | "same same but different."
        
           | mytailorisrich wrote:
           | Paris is definitely much worse than, say, London when it
           | comes to pickpockets, street hawkers, and other nastiness
           | because they actually do very little about those problems...
        
           | Gud wrote:
           | I disagree. You cannot compare Dubai with Paris - or any othe
           | 1 million+ population city.
           | 
           | They all have their unique story to them. Even cities as
           | close as say Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Antwerp are totally
           | different.
        
         | slater- wrote:
         | i'm from california. the funniest thing about paris was people
         | repeatedly getting way too fucking close to me on the street.
         | my hackles were constantly going up because some french person
         | minding their own business was breaching my bubble. i wonder
         | how this compares to personal space norms in japan.
        
         | piuantiderp wrote:
         | Bro, no one with a clue goes to Texas for tacos. Maybe Cali,
         | but I don't bother for the most part in the US. Am Mexican
        
           | eastof wrote:
           | Just curious, have you had tacos in El Paso? As a non-expert,
           | strikes me as a place that would have good tacos since half
           | the city is in Mexico.
        
             | piuantiderp wrote:
             | Even the Mexican side lives in a state of sin as it comes
             | to tacos. If you must, go to Tacos Chinampa.
             | 
             | An apology for coming off so critical but the pretense that
             | food is just as good in the US rarely pans out without
             | breaking out the $$$. Mind you, there are good places, and
             | good food but its the exception and here we are only
             | talking generalities. Just like having good table service.
             | 
             | Unfortunately it is a cultural thing; the food culture that
             | produced, accepts and consumes "I Can't Believe Its Not
             | Butter" cannot have non-"I Can't Believe Its Not Tacos"
             | tacos.
        
             | ferrous69 wrote:
             | there are good tacos all over Texas. Def in El Paso. El
             | Cometa is a chain that's on both sides of the border. Idk
             | what that guy is on about.
        
               | ethbr0 wrote:
               | Hell, I'll even put Taco Bueno up against any other pan-
               | US cheap quasi-taco chain.
               | 
               | It's bad Tex-Mex, but at least it's recognizable.
        
           | brookside wrote:
           | This mysticism about food only being good or authentic in one
           | place doesn't match up with modern internationalism and
           | global supply chains.
           | 
           | There are cooks/chefs from one culture/place in the world
           | living in other spots.
        
             | fatfingerd wrote:
             | Yet regions ruin dishes and then locals from that region
             | complain if anyone makes a good version of them, so it can
             | be extremely hard to find an edible X, especially as a
             | visiting tourist.
        
             | piuantiderp wrote:
             | Yes, like one of the best contemporary Mexican chefs lives
             | in the UK of all places. But we're not talking about this
             | broadly.
             | 
             | You talk about the possibility, that it _could_ exist in
             | Texas, and I 'm telling you no, in my experience, not in
             | Texas.
        
           | pc86 wrote:
           | Thanks for the input bro.
        
         | P_I_Staker wrote:
         | I think many foreigners don't try to fit into the aloof
         | European culture where you act like a mildly sociopathic
         | hipster.
         | 
         | I'm not saying that "all of Europe" is like that, but
         | definitely the major cities of many Western European countries.
         | 
         | That said, we have SV / Seattle, so I guess we have our own
         | hipster sociopaths in the USA.
        
         | dopidopHN wrote:
         | The tacos you saw are a riff on kebab. They are tacos in name
         | only. ( TINO if you like )
        
           | ethbr0 wrote:
           | I noticed there were French tacos (TINOs), but it seemed like
           | the "taco" popularity was leading to a few closer-to-Tex-Mex
           | taco places as well.
           | 
           | This was around the Bastille, so maybe hipster culture?
           | 
           | Overall, a decent attempt, but the salsa was a miss (no
           | cilantro? and not sure what they did to the tomatoes) and the
           | seasonings were still very French.
           | 
           | The irony is afaict, France has all of the ingredients
           | needed. In typically amazingly-fresh-and-delicious French
           | fashion.
           | 
           | But hey, it was still a better take than the Italian Tex-Mex
           | I had in New England -- cinnamon on tortilla chips?!
        
             | dopidopHN wrote:
             | Good observation... I haven't lived in Paris since a while
             | but it's often the same place that serve kebab doing tacos.
             | And most of them put a accent on the meat rather than the
             | fresh stuff around it ( unlike the far superior German
             | kebab )
        
             | spondylosaurus wrote:
             | Cinnamon on plain tortilla chips is pretty rough, but if
             | they _fried_ the tortillas first you 'd have yourself a
             | delicious bunuelo :)
        
       | meigwilym wrote:
       | I'm no expert, but wasn't Stockholm Syndrome debunked?
       | 
       | My understanding is that the response to the hostage taking was
       | so incompetent that the hostages trusted the kidnappers more than
       | the police. One of them was expected to "die at her post" by a
       | bank executive. She refused to testify against them for these
       | reasons rather than any sympathy to their cause.
        
         | praptak wrote:
         | Well this article seems to classify it as pure bullshit:
         | https://www.stadafa.com/2020/12/stockholm-syndrome-discredit...
         | 
         | "The psychiatrist who invented it, Nils Bejerot, never spoke to
         | the woman he based it on, never bothered to ask her why she
         | trusted her captors more than the authorities. More to the
         | point, during the Swedish bank heist that inspired the
         | syndrome, Bejerot was the psychiatrist leading the police
         | response. He was the authority that Kristin Enmark - the first
         | woman diagnosed with Stockholm syndrome - distrusted."
         | 
         | "On the radio, Enmark criticized the police, and singled out
         | Bejerot. In response, and without once speaking to her, Bejerot
         | dismissed her comments as the product of a syndrome he made up:
         | 'Norrmalmstorg syndrome' (later renamed Stockholm syndrome).
         | The fear Enmark felt towards the police was irrational, Bejerot
         | explained, caused by the emotional or sexual attachment she had
         | with her captors. Bejerot's snap diagnosis suited the Swedish
         | media; they were suspicious of Enmark, who 'did not appear as
         | traumatized as she ought to be.' "
         | 
         | At best,this syndrome was described based on one situation, not
         | scientific research.
        
           | jbandela1 wrote:
           | Maybe we should have a Bejerot Syndrome.
           | 
           | This is where an "expert" impugns the intellect or morality
           | of the people who disagree with them instead of trying to
           | understand the very real reasons why.
        
             | portmanteur wrote:
             | I can think of a few examples over the past 3-8 years where
             | this would be a useful syndrome to have named and in the
             | popular memory.
             | 
             | Oh well, Stockholm Syndrome is catchier.
        
             | praptak wrote:
             | That certainly sounds tempting but we should struggle to
             | have less poorly substantiated syndromes, not more :-)
        
               | beschizza wrote:
               | Perhaps Bejerot Syndrome could refer to the pop-science
               | tendency to gather and link rational objections to a
               | proposal, policy or practice so they can be posed as
               | pathologically associated symptoms.
        
               | bratgpttamer wrote:
               | Agreed - but, isn't character assassination a classic
               | technique of authorities employed against those who
               | disagree with them?
        
             | pessimizer wrote:
             | Or more precisely, the _mental health_ of the people who
             | disagree with them.
             | 
             | Knowing that the person who came up with Stockholm Syndrome
             | was the very same person who the hostages sided with the
             | bank robbers against makes it look a lot like drapetomania
             | (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drapetomania).
        
             | P_I_Staker wrote:
             | [flagged]
        
         | johanneskanybal wrote:
         | Watch "Clark" on Netflix for a fun take on events. But
         | basically imagine a charming sociopath bankrobber back in
         | innocent 70's in Sweden.
         | 
         | With the twist that the bank robbing that gave name to the
         | phrase was made by someone psychotic and the friendly bank
         | robber got called in by the prime minister to negotiate.
        
         | marginalia_nu wrote:
         | Most of these supposed syndromes seem fairly questionable.
        
           | tokai wrote:
           | Almost all of them just seems like first psycotic episode
           | brought about by a novel stressful environment.
        
             | cguess wrote:
             | "feelings of dizziness and being lightheaded" sounds much
             | more like a tourist was walking around Italy in the summer
             | with a heavy backpack and not drinking enough water after
             | getting off an airplane and probably impinging too much
             | wine at dinner the night before.
        
               | jjkaczor wrote:
               | Same with any hotter climate tourist location and
               | 'mysterious syndrome'.
               | 
               | Also combine with perhaps a little change in their
               | stomach biome from drinking different water and/or eating
               | different dairy products, making them more easily
               | dehydrated.
        
               | cguess wrote:
               | People tend to either over or under indulge while
               | traveling too (I always lose weight when I'm on the road
               | myself) and that's never awesome in either direction
        
           | isleyaardvark wrote:
           | The wiki entry for Paris syndrome debunks the entry in the
           | article. The article seems low quality.
        
         | aredox wrote:
         | Yes, Stockholm syndrome is a toxic lie, a mix of mysoginy,
         | covering up police incompetence and Swedish "holier-than-thou"
         | attitude.
         | 
         | https://www.stadafa.com/2020/12/stockholm-syndrome-discredit...
        
           | 3cats-in-a-coat wrote:
           | Stockholm syndrome is an example of a phenomenon that is
           | pervasive in society and nature in general and a basic
           | consequence of trying to adapt to your environment. We can
           | nitpick forever the specific Stockholm events, but they're
           | just a noisy example of a pattern, not an ideal MODEL of the
           | pattern.
        
             | aredox wrote:
             | It's not. The proof? There is no serious study on it,
             | despite its "obviousness" and "pervasiveness".
             | 
             | Kapos, collaborators or hostages joining the cause of their
             | captors are not a "syndrome" of people "falling in love" or
             | "bonding" with their captors. Patty Hearst was just
             | convinced of the cause of the SLA - and she tried to get
             | out of jail by using that card. She was just neither bright
             | not honest - a spoiled brat jumping on an adventure that
             | turned bad.
        
             | escapedmoose wrote:
             | But the distinction between the apparent pattern and its
             | underlying cause is important. If the cause of this method
             | of "trying to adapt to your environment" isn't actually
             | some bizarre psychological paradox after all, that fact has
             | important implications for how we treat people in these
             | scenarios.
        
               | 3cats-in-a-coat wrote:
               | In general anything we call "paradox" is something we
               | don't understand. A paradox is apparent contradiction of
               | facts and their logical, rational relationship. But
               | contradictions don't exist out there.
               | 
               | Reportedly the syndrome "occurs in 8% of kidnap victims",
               | by FBI stats. Not sure how they measure that, but seems
               | plausible. Of course when forced to act against your
               | will, you're defiant. Fight or flight. That's what
               | happens most of the time. Except it's not so simple.
               | 
               | There's a fuller description of the strategies known as
               | "Fight, Flight, Freeze, Fawn" (I guess it was super
               | important to to keep the F-s, hehe).
               | 
               | We see the Freeze response in nature, deer stuck in
               | headlights, animals pretending to be dead when attacked,
               | and so on. We can see this response in children with
               | violent parents. They can't run and hide, nor fight. They
               | freeze.
               | 
               | Fawn is basically the "Stockholm syndrome":
               | 
               | - Over-agreement
               | 
               | - Trying to be overly helpful
               | 
               | - Primary concern with making the abuser happy
               | 
               | This 8% figure with kidnapping seems to be low because
               | the "Fawn" adaptation takes time to develop. A kidnapping
               | is sudden and unexpected. No time to adapt. But there are
               | abusive situations when there is plenty of time to adapt.
               | 
               | We can see this in cults, in abusive families, autocratic
               | companies, it's pervasive in fascist regimes, i.e. Jews
               | policing, hating and attacking Jews, etc.
               | 
               | Fawn is the default adaptation when an abuser is abusive
               | over a long period of time, gradually going from non-
               | abusive to abusive, like in an abusive marriage, from
               | honeymoon to everyday scandals. The victims seek to align
               | to an increasingly lopsided point of balance by changing
               | themselves. And over time, it can become absurd.
        
               | philwelch wrote:
               | > A kidnapping is sudden and unexpected. No time to
               | adapt. But there are abusive situations when there is
               | plenty of time to adapt.
               | 
               | To wit, the second most prominent supposed case of
               | Stockholm Syndrome was the kidnapping of Patty Hearst,
               | who was supposedly held captive by the SLA terrorists and
               | abused for a protracted period of time before she started
               | helping them rob banks.
        
         | cstejerean wrote:
         | > One of the hostages even became engaged to one of her captors
         | 
         | Was that also because of distrusting the police?
        
           | makeitdouble wrote:
           | > She had criticized the police for pointing guns at the
           | convicts while the hostages were in the line of fire and she
           | had told news outlets that one of the captors tried to
           | protect the hostages from being caught in the crossfire
           | 
           | So yes, she became engaged to someone who tried to save her
           | life from the police.
           | 
           | [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_syndrome#Stockhol
           | m_b...
        
             | throwaway290 wrote:
             | > So yes, she became engaged to someone who tried to save
             | her life from the police.
             | 
             | Uhm, after that "someone" joined a gang and took her
             | hostage in order to steal money? If that's logical that
             | sounds like a problem, whether theory is shoddy science or
             | not the thing is real if even you, not victim, fall into
             | that delusion.
             | 
             | People can be thankful to someone who improves things even
             | if that someone creates the horrible situation in the first
             | place. It's a problem and in politics too. Give people more
             | comfortable life and they praise you even if your bad
             | policies are the reason they famished previously. We
             | remember good stuff and forget stuff that bums us out. Your
             | comment exemplified that mistake.
        
               | sparky_z wrote:
               | It may be a mistake, but does it that make it a
               | "syndrome"?
        
               | throwaway290 wrote:
               | where did I call it a syndrome?
               | 
               | If you justify her marrying the guy because he saved her
               | from police, and you completely sideline that he needed
               | to save her from police because he took her _hostage_
               | during robbery and police _came for that criminal_ ,
               | sorry that's just idiotic.
               | 
               | You can justify marrying the person who put you in direct
               | danger of death for whatever irrational things like
               | emotion, sexual attraction whatever, but you must
               | acknowledge that it's highly illogical and quite worthy
               | of a close look, if the original stockholm syndrome study
               | is complete bullshit then someone else should do a better
               | job at describing this bias.
               | 
               | Edit: thankfully, it turns out all that about marrying
               | the hostage taker is false. (The logic in comment I
               | replied to remains stupid though)
        
           | meigwilym wrote:
           | As I said, I'm no expert. I read somewhere that it was a
           | sexist response to this woman's criticisms.
           | 
           | Wikipedia states:
           | 
           | "He later got engaged to a woman who was not, despite what
           | some state, one of the former hostages."
           | 
           | I think the whole article can be viewed with a healthy
           | scepticism.
        
           | cwmma wrote:
           | According to Wikipedia:
           | 
           | > He (Olsson) later got engaged to a woman who was not,
           | despite what some state, one of the former hostages
           | 
           | that being said the other hostage taker, Olofsson:
           | 
           | > He went on to meet the hostage Kristin Enmark several
           | times, and their families became friends.
        
         | zgluck wrote:
         | _One of them was expected to "die at her post" by a bank
         | executive._
         | 
         | I wasn't a bank executive, it was the the social democratic
         | prime minister Olof Palme.
         | 
         | During a phone call he asked one of the hostages: "wouldn't it
         | be nice to die at your post?"
         | 
         | https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/591659
         | 
         | (https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2021/03/the-murder-of-swedish-
         | prim...)
        
           | meigwilym wrote:
           | Thanks for the correction. I don't think I would have
           | believed my memory even if I had remembered that fact
           | correctly!
        
             | [deleted]
        
           | joncrane wrote:
           | Wow, this adds some context to his assassination, which is
           | still one of the greatest unsolved mysteries of our time.
        
             | delecti wrote:
             | If he was that big of a jackass, maybe his murder wasn't an
             | assassination at all. Maybe someone was just fed up with
             | his shit.
        
               | philwelch wrote:
               | I think the murder of a prime minister is an
               | assassination by definition.
        
       | mikrl wrote:
       | Do Toronto next!
       | 
       | It should involve an otherwise emotional, feeling, social and
       | empathic creature dissociating into a cold, atomized, post-social
       | entity with the uncanny ability to tune out the world and
       | everything in it as it buzzes towards its goal.
        
       | floren wrote:
       | Hacker News Syndrome involves saying "externalities" to a
       | pathological extent.
        
       | romesc wrote:
       | Can't forget "The Danbury Shakes" [1] (clinically known as
       | Erethism).
       | 
       | [1]
       | https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Danbury_shakes&re...
        
       | aaron695 wrote:
       | [dead]
        
       | unstatusthequo wrote:
       | I guess the Seattle Freeze [1] didn't make the cut?
       | 
       | [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_Freeze
        
       | iamdamian wrote:
       | Something's off about this list. I can't find Brooklyn Syndrome
       | on Wikipedia and think the description is confusing.
       | 
       | The main source I found on Brooklyn Syndrome is from the Names
       | journal [0], which has a nearly identical description.
       | 
       | I wonder if this article is a direct copy of that journal article
       | with lazy paraphrasing from the Atlas Obscura writers to avoid
       | plagiarism. If so, this makes me wonder how much of Atlas Obscura
       | was created this way.
       | 
       | [0]: (PDF) https://ans-
       | names.pitt.edu/ans/article/download/2019/2018/40...
        
         | ctrlp wrote:
         | Could easily have been named Borough Syndrome
        
         | dghughes wrote:
         | > I can't find Brooklyn Syndrome on Wikipedia
         | 
         | Maybe nobody added it.
        
         | pahbloo wrote:
         | Maybe this entry is fake, just thrown in there to catch any
         | future copycats.
         | 
         | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fictitious_entry
        
         | dimal wrote:
         | A quick google found this [0], a citation from 1943. Seems to
         | check out, but the source says it's kind of a joke term.
         | 
         | https://www.sciencenews.org/archive/brooklyn-syndrome
        
       | Animats wrote:
       | Slow day at the clickbait farm?
        
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