I don’t often criticize charming sayings with one exception, but I believe this one has a sinister undertone. Whoever said it initially is unknown, although at least one blogger called it “the worst thing a clever person has ever uttered.” Regardless of its origin, the snappy phrase has gained popularity over the last several years (examples I, II, and III). Rita Mae Brown used it in her mystery thriller Sudden Death. Where did this adage originate? It’s credited to Mark Twain (probably not), Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein (probably not), and Rita Mae Brown (probably so), among others. There is no “nervous breakdown” either, but that is the subject of another piece. The DSM does not include diagnostic criteria for “insanity. Professionals in the mental health field inform it, although the phrase nowadays is essentially legal rather than psychological. To assist discern between guilt and innocence, the idea of insanity is considered in court. The extensive definition begins as follows:Ī mental disease of such a severe kind as to render a person unable to separate imagination from reality, manage their affairs owing to psychosis, or be susceptible to uncontrolled impulsive behavior is insanity. The legal concept of insanity refers to a defendant’s ability to distinguish between good and evil when a crime is committed. Send us feedback about these examples.I hear it every week, sometimes twice a day: “Doing the same thing over and again and expecting different results” is the definition of insanity, Not at all. These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'insanity.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. 2023 McDonald has entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. 2023 Webster acknowledged the shooting and entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. 2023 Mark was found not guilty by reason of insanity, and McConnell said his brother responded well to treatment. 2023 Sometimes a little insanity is good for perspective. 2023 And who could forget the insanity of the GTI W12-650, with its 12-cylinder engine mounted amidships, and a top speed of 201 mph? - Brendan Mcaleer, Car and Driver, 5 Mar. 2023 Most of the state hospital’s current patients come through the criminal justice system - there either because they’ve been found unable to participate in their own defense, or because they’ve been deemed guilty except for insanity by a judge. Lane Sainty, The Arizona Republic, 18 Apr. 2023 Miller, now 50, pleaded not guilty for reasons of insanity at trial. Recent Examples on the Web The spiraling insanity of addiction set in: doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. The straight facts about insanity are these: it has been in use in English since the late 16th century, for the first two hundred years or so carrying only the literal meaning “the condition of being mentally deranged.” In the 19th century it began to take on a looser sense, “extreme folly or unreasonableness.” In modern usage, insanity may be found in both senses: you may tell your brother that trying to skateboard while holding onto a car is "insanity" (in which case you mean that it is extremely foolish) or encounter the stricter original meaning in such contexts as insanity plea. An oft-quoted bon mot (frequently attributed to Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, or a number of other people who probably never said it) is that insanity may be defined as “doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” While the job of lexicographers might be easier if they were allowed to use witty sayings instead of precise definitions, such belletristic labors are not within their purview.
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