...this is why i love /d/

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Not necessarily. I recognize quite a few people in either category, some in both, some in neither. Crazy lends itself to to more random and thoughtless acts, while insanity is more of "different" thought process. That is, that insanity still has an underlying rationale to behaviors, just one that is fundamentally different from that of sane people. Crazy does not appear to have one, or is one so entirely different that it cannot be truly understood.

For instance, someone who kills elderly citizens because he believes he is doing them a favor by cutting their life short before it deteriorates further is insane. Someone who kills because they realize that can would be more likely to be crazy.

By no means are these definitions the textbook or "real" definitions, but rather ones that make the most sense to me. I tend to think I have a touch of insanity, sometimes a little crazy, but no more than anyone else on the planet.[/COLOR]

Thanks for responding. The one key note I picked up from your explanation is the fact that your definitions of insane and crazy seem to just center on the idea of rationality. Insane people attempt to rationalize their actions while crazy people don't even bother.

However, normal people do this as well. They love to rationalize their failures, be apathetic about their losses, and move on with their lives. The only difference is perhaps the fact that the actual actions that insane/crazy people commit are considered to be socially taboo in the laws that govern whatever majority rules the territory.

The irony is that insanity/craziness is used to describe a mental condition. However, the main judgment of that mental condition is not the mental condition in and of itself, but the product of the mental condition which is an undesirable product in the eyes of the normal (majority) population. The irony is that a person could be insane/crazy all their life. But as long as they keep on producing desirable products in accordance to the majority of society, they will never be exposed and might even be heralded as King of the Normal People.

I tend to find such "product-related" diagnosis similar to industrial capitalism. And the fact that the mentally insane aren't judged on the basis of being mentally insane/crazy. They're judged on not being efficient members in human society. And because they can't create useful products, they are given such a label.