The manner in which the belief is expressed is likely more important than the belief itself, especially if the belief itself is...uncommonly true. “I went to an elite Special Forces school,” “I’m going to die in six months,” “The FBI is following me,” “my father is trying to kill me,” are all true for some people, but expressing them with inappropriate affect or in circumstances where those beliefs seem doubtful or irrelevant might make you seem deluded. Scott Alexander wrote about this...
The manner in which the belief is expressed is likely more important than the belief itself, especially if the belief itself is...uncommonly true. “I went to an elite Special Forces school,” “I’m going to die in six months,” “The FBI is following me,” “my father is trying to kill me,” are all true for some people, but expressing them with inappropriate affect or in circumstances where those beliefs seem doubtful or irrelevant might make you seem deluded. Scott Alexander wrote about this...