The other day I reviewed a disorder known as haranguerosis, but out there in the bizarre world of bridge lurks another more extreme variant of this condition. This goes by the name selectiva hyperopia hypocritis. The key point about victims with haranguerosis is that they correctly spot their partners' glaring mistakes, waiting till later to berate them when others are gathered. They may be aware of their own mistakes, quieting choosing to ignore them.
However with the SHH disorder, there are one or two symptoms where the differences are quite profound, even though they are not obvious to all. Firstly, victims absolutely have no sense or recognition their own failings and shortcomings. It is a form of selective blindness that becomes a permanent feature of their game. Instead, they possess an amazing ability to develop a razor-sharp awareness to spot every mistake committed by any of 3 other players at the table....especially partners.
This uncanny knack, of perceiving every single aberration committed across the table ( but never on their side ) has caused clinical psychologists such as myself to become both baffled and bemused by this phenomenon. But the most alarming symptom is the devious and vindictive twisting of the analysis, so as to always place the blame unfairly on partner. The greater the selective blindness becomes, the greater the ability to spot mistakes in others, or to transfer their mistakes onto others. The analysis may well be flawed, but the reasoning is both clever and convincing, incredibly devious and hard to refute. Another difference is that criticism is far more vitriolic, being immediately dished out as soon as the bad score is made known.
Bible clinics have been muted as a cure for SHH, whereby sufferers are told ( under hypnosis ) to repeat over and over again " let he who is without sin cast the first stone ".......after each and every hand.
No comments:
Post a Comment