Enough already !

[jaysunb]

We're not so good at knowing when to say when, but maybe it's time we learned.
By Barry Goldman

November 29, 2009
Los Angeles Times

Some years ago, I heard an arbitration case involving the mistreatment of a patient in a mental hospital. The patient had an uncontrollable desire to drink water, a condition called polydipsia. The switch in the brain that was supposed to trip when he'd had enough liquid was stuck in the "on" position. He would drink water from any source -- a toilet was as good as a sink -- and if no one stopped him, he would keep drinking until his body fluids were so diluted he passed out.

As I attempt to digest my Thanksgiving dinner, I've been thinking about that guy and how he is a metaphor for all of us: Our "enoughness" switch is broken.

The most recent example from Wall Street is the case of Raj Rajaratnam. He's the hedge-fund billionaire who was arrested and charged with insider trading. Brokers have always enjoyed having a little edge over the competition. Or, as Roy Blount Jr. put it, "If it ain't fixed, don't broke it." But a billionaire is a person with a thousand million dollars. Why would a person with a thousand million dollars risk going to prison for a chance to make more money?

Avarice and conspicuous consumption are part of the problem, but the failure of enoughness is larger than that. There is also the delusional sense of power over the world. Anorexics have it. 'Roid heads have it. "There are no limits to how big (or little) I can get. I am in charge." The United States military has it. "There are no physical, logistical, political, financial or historical facts that can stop us. We can defeat evil."

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-goldman29-2009nov29,0,260029.story


Kinda puts the Thanksgiving holiday to bed......

[polichick]

1. Great read - thanks! k&r

[silverweb]

2. Amen.

K&R.

[cliffordu]

3. Yep. Precisely

[Warpy]

4. Having a broken "off" switch is a hallmark of addiction

What Rajaratnam was addicted to was the little endorphin rush he got when he increased his billions while defeating an opponent. All sorts of human behaviors can trigger that little physiological addiction, the most common being the gambling poor folks do. That's why a gambling addict won't take the winnings and leave. He's looking for another rush and will gamble all of it away plus more trying to get one.

Addicts always get caught, but they tend to wreak havoc before they do, especially the behavior addicts like high flying financiers and other people caught up in business oneupmanship.

B.F. Skinner is the one who first described the behavior without the brain chemistry. Now we know the brain chemistry involved.

It's only a matter of time before the DSM catches up to it. It's only a matter of time before we get these people some treatment before they manage to wreck the world.

After all, we're seeing the effects of having it run unchecked right now.

[jaysunb]

7. Wow ! Very enlightening.

I always learn something here.

Thanks. :hi:

[DRoseDARs]

5. Yeah, the analogy is apt: Unregulated credit default swaps are pretty much dirty toilet water. nt

[niyad]

6. k and r