[HN Gopher] Fear and Fragility: The Glass Delusion and Its History
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Fear and Fragility: The Glass Delusion and Its History
Author : Petiver
Score : 26 points
Date : 2026-03-19 18:14 UTC (4 days ago)
(HTM) web link (publicdomainreview.org)
(TXT) w3m dump (publicdomainreview.org)
| ashwinnair99 wrote:
| The Glass Delusion is one of those medieval conditions that
| sounds made up until you read about it. Says a lot that we had a
| named syndrome for people who thought they were made of glass.
| Insanity wrote:
| The way we humans see ourselves depends a lot on the technology
| of the time. An example I quite like is that when steam engines
| were all the rage, Freud compared the brain to a steam engine.
| Now that computers are all the hype, we compare the human brain
| to computers.
|
| Intuitively the latter does feel closer to the truth (although
| maybe quantum computer would be even closer to reality). Or
| maybe that's just our contemporary lens of viewing technology
| and our place in the world, who knows what's next in a few
| hundred years. :)
|
| edit: link for more context
| https://metaphors.iath.virginia.edu/metaphors/24583
| pasquinelli wrote:
| i personally never found that a compelling analogy, just
| because we do understand computers but we don't understand
| the brain.
|
| but i guess that's the rhetorical move being used, substitute
| something the audience doesn't understand with something they
| do understand.
| Insanity wrote:
| I think it's more than just translating to a non-
| understanding audience. I think it's their point of view
| being tainted by the technology of their age, so the firmly
| believe it's true.
|
| But I agree, it's not a compelling argument especially when
| you do understand at least a bit of both domains.
| nradov wrote:
| It's the same with some other mental health conditions.
| Centuries ago people with schizophrenia would hallucinate
| visions of angels or demons. Now they see "aliens".
| Expectations and interpretations are culturally programmed.
| gausswho wrote:
| Intriguing article. The pattern is compelling, that perhaps there
| is something in the human condition that is attracted to the idea
| 'i'm made of this newly arrived magical stuff, and you can't
| prove otherwise'. New generations get to choose new stuff.
|
| I'm reminded of Goethe's description of an athiest as a person
| with 'no invisible means of support'.
|
| As I was reading, I was hoping to find an aside about the role of
| lead in glass production, but I suppose that'd be a distraction.
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