Hacker News Reader

I'm thinking it's some kind of delusion of grandeur, not a delusion of ignorance, she is on some secret mission from god

View on HN

If she has delusions of grandeur, I think that makes it even more likely that she's self-aware. Once again, Fielder lived with her 24/7. If Fielder didn't see it over that time, it's likely because she was hiding it, and if she's hiding it, she's likely aware of it.

You're making this out to be a binary, where delusions are more of a spectrum. She can be aware of the fact that she's deceiving people, but the motivation can be delusional. Often such a unrelenting dedication to a series of deceptions is fueled by a core delusion.

Some people live like this their entire lives to the point that constantly deceiving themselves is part of the mindset. There is likely some deep mental illness at play here.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com