Rob Diestelow

Watch full length the three christ's of ypsilanti movie. Watch full length the three christ's of ypsilanti 2017. No wonder my prayers never get answered. There can only be one. Now, you must bend the knee. Watch full length the three christs of ypsilantic. That january release date worries me. You m-m-make me haiuppy. Music sounds just like black ops zombies and the barrier building sound is in there lol. Watch full length the three christ's of ypsilanti time. Julianna Margulies is in talks to star in the independent drama The Three Christs Of Ypsilanti opposite Richard Gere, Walton Goggins, Peter Dinklage and Bradley Whitford. I saw this film at TIFF. Really enjoyed it and very well done. Couldn't disagree more with the Hollywood Reporter. Dinklage and Goggins were fantastic.

"Three Christs" was a last minute choice of mine at the TIFF. As a big Dinklage's fan, and considering that it was a world premiere, it was easy enough to go check it out. I'm glad I did. This movie is one about the brain and its struggles, but it does so with a big heart. It's funny and touching with a good balance, and the acting is top notch (I'm actually a bigger Dinklage's fan after the movie. The underlying themes about psychiatry as science and its potential negative effect on personality, the nature of identity, the complex interaction of desire and fear are inhabiting the film and are as relevant today as they were at the time. In summary, a great entertaining movie with a deeper layer. and a stellar Dinklage.
DID HE REALLY JUST CALL MY TOWN HIPS-ILANTI. In India each one of them would have build an empire each. Regia di Jon Avnet. Un film con Walton Goggins, Richard Gere, Julianna Margulies, Bradley Whitford, Charlotte Hope. Cast?completo Genere Drammatico - USA, 2017, durata 117 minuti. La storia di tre uomini che credono di essere Gesù. n. d. MYMOVIES N. D. ? CRITICA N. D. PUBBLICO N. D. CONSIGLIATO N. D. Scheda Home Cast News Critica Pubblico Cinema Trailer Poster Foto Frasi Streaming.
How the world has changed. Nowadays, you can identify as anything or anyone, and none dare call it delusion. I can't imagine how hard this press tour is going to be for Ben considering everything he has gone thru - watching the trailer made me wonder if this is what lead him back to drinking and his sobriety - hopefully he keeps it up because he is insanely talented - but this must've been super difficult to make - come out of and then to promote closer to release. This looks really funny, can't wait to watch it. Press alt. to open this menu. G'damn this looks good. We use cookies to offer you a better experience, personalize content, tailor advertising, provide social media features, and better understand the use of our services. To learn more or modify/prevent the use of cookies, see our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy. The Three Christs of Ypsilanti By Milton Rokeach. NYRB Classics. 2011. 10. 99 (pb. 325pp. ISBN: 9781590173848 This book, originally published in 1964, has recently been re-released. The author, Milton Rokeach, a social psychologist, describes his work investigating the nature of belief and ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication. The antipsychotics brought hope and optimism to people with schizophrenia and to those who care for them. There have been successive classes of antipsychotics used by the pharmaceutical industry to persuade doctors and patients that 'new' is better. Evidence is growing that the primary purpose of these fabricated classes is for marketing. It is time we stopped using these expensive labels - they are all just antipsychotics.

I hans-uh-pry-uhs. 7. 6 / 10 1 Votes Alchetron 7. 6 1 Ratings 10 0 9 0 8 0 7 1 6 0 5 0 4 0 3 0 2 0 1 0 Rate This ?? United States ?? 1964 ?? 1964 ?? 336 ?? Alfred A. Knopf ?? English ?? 336 ?? 394703952 ?? Psychology, Schizophrenia Similar ?? Milton Rokeach books, Other books The Three Christs of Ypsilanti (1964) is a book-length psychiatric case study by Milton Rokeach, concerning his experiment on a group of three patients with paranoid schizophrenia at Ypsilanti State Hospital in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The book details the interactions of the three patients, Clyde Benson, Joseph Cassel, and Leon Gabor, who each believed himself to be Jesus Christ. Health book review the three christs of ypsilanti new york review books classics by milton rok The three christs of ypsilanti film Synopsis Editions Movie Adaptation References Rokeach got the idea from an article in Harper's Magazine describing two women who both believed they were the Virgin Mary. After being assigned as psychiatric hospital roommates, one of the women recovered from her delusion as a result of conversations with the roommate and was discharged. As a similar study of delusional belief systems, Rokeach brought together three men who each claimed to be Jesus Christ and confronted them with one another's conflicting claims, while encouraging them to interact personally as a support group. Rokeach also attempted to manipulate other aspects of their delusions by inventing messages from imaginary characters. He did not, as he had hoped, provoke any lessening of the patients' delusions, but did document a number of changes in their beliefs. While initially the three patients quarreled over who was holier and reached the point of physical altercation, they eventually each explained away the other two as being patients with a mental disability in a hospital, or dead and being operated by machines. The graduate students who worked with Rokeach on the project have been strongly critical of the morality of the project because of the amount of dishonesty and manipulation by Rokeach and the amount of distress experienced by the patients. Rokeach added a comment in the final revision of the book that, while the experiment did not cure any of the three Christs, It did cure me of my godlike delusion that I could manipulate them out of their beliefs. The Three Christs of Ypsilanti was first published in 1964. Rokeach came to think that his research had been manipulative and unethical, and he offered an apology in the afterword of the 1984 edition of the book: I really had no right, even in the name of science, to play God and interfere round the clock with their daily lives. The book was re-published by New York Review Books in 2011. A movie based on the book is in the works and slated for release sometime in 2018. The Three Christs of Ypsilanti Wikipedia.
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Could be a legendary stroke. Watch full length the three christs of ypsilanti online. Watch full length the three christ's of ypsilanti house. Movie tie-in edition also available. On July 1, 1959, at Ypsilanti State Hospital in Michigan, the social psychologist Milton Rokeach brought together three paranoid schizophrenics: Clyde Benson, an elderly farmer and alcoholic; Joseph Cassel, a failed writer who was institutionalized after increasingly violent behavior toward his family; and Leon Gabor, a college dropout and veteran of World War II. The men had one thing in common: each believed himself to be Jesus Christ. Their extraordinary meeting and the two years they spent in one anothers company serve as the basis for an investigation into the nature of human identity, belief, and delusion that is poignant, amusing, and at times disturbing. Displaying the sympathy and subtlety of a gifted novelist, Rokeach draws us into the lives of three troubled and profoundly different men who find themselves “confronted with the ultimate contradiction conceivable for human beings: more than one person claiming the same identity. ” Now a motion picture starring Richard Gere, Peter Dinklage, Walton Goggins, and Bradley Whitford, and directed by Jon Avnet. Praise The Three Christs is part meticulous log-book, part intriguing commentary and part high-voltage play as Rokeach recreates the men's interactions over 25 months. Rokeach's aim was to force them to confront 'the ultimate contradiction' of believing they were the same being. Reissued for the first time in over 25 years, it comes with a pithy and sensitive preface by Rick Moody, foregrounding both changing attitudes to institutional care and the problems and possibilities of Rokeach's experiment. ? The Guardian The Three Christs of Ypsilanti is more than the record of an experiment in the outermost reaches of social psychology. Among other things it represents, in an unpretentious but remarkably vivid way, what institutionalized madness is like. ?Steven Marcus, The New York Review of Books A rare and eccentric journey into the madness of not three, but four men in an asylum. It is, in that sense, an unexpected tribute to human folly, and one that works best as a meditation on our own misplaced self-confidence. Whether scientist or psychiatric patient, we assume others are more likely to be biased or misled than we are, and we take for granted that our own beliefs are based on sound reasoning and observation. This may be the nearest we can get to revelation?the understanding that our most cherished beliefs could be wrong. ?Vaughan Bell, Slate It. seemed to me, aged 16, that The Three Christs of Ypsilanti contained everything there was to know about the world. That's not the case of course, but if resources were short, I'd still be inclined to salvage this book as a way of explaining the terror of the human condition, and the astonishing fact that people battle for their rights and dignity in the face of that terror, in order to establish their place in the world, whatever they decide it has to be. ? Jenny Diski, London Review of Books.
Justin Long is one of my favs. ?. The Three Christs of Ypsilanti: A Psychological Study by Milton Rokeach Open Preview See a Problem? Wed love your help. Let us know whats wrong with this preview of The Three Christs of Ypsilanti by Milton Rokeach. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Be the first to ask a question about The Three Christs of Ypsilanti 707 ratings 89 reviews Start your review of The Three Christs of Ypsilanti: A Psychological Study Three schizophrenics?Clyde, Joseph, and Leon?are brought together in a Michigan state mental institution in 1959 (before the onset of the devastating 'deinstitutionalization' that Rick Moody laments in his introduction. Each one believes he is God, in some manifestation: either originary or reincarnated. Not a god among gods, but the one true authoritative God of the Judeo-Christian tradition, albeit with the baroque and often unintelligible embellishments of the psychotic mind. Clinical Three schizophrenics?Clyde, Joseph, and Leon?are brought together in a Michigan state mental institution in 1959 (before the onset of the devastating 'deinstitutionalization' that Rick Moody laments in his introduction. Clinical psychologist Milton Rokeach and his assistants undertake a unique speculative 'treatment'?to bring these mutually incompatible identities into conflict with one another in carefully controlled meetings and pointed discussions. The hope is that the tension yielded from these encounters will inspire some (admittedly crude and only preliminary) insight into these patients' own delusions. Of course, the project is ultimately a failure in the rigorous sense. (This is not exactly a spoiler?since over fifty years later schizophrenia is still very much with us. But The Three Christs of Ypsilanti remains relevant and important to this day not necessarily with respect to its stated clinical purpose, but rather in the many questions and related concerns that it raises along the way. What consititutes human identity? Why does identity appear to have reached a crisis state in modern times? How does a psychologist successfully manage the problematic ethics of provoking a schizophrenic in the attempt to improve his condition? Do psychotics truly believe in their delusions to the same extent that non-psychotics believe in the world around them? How can psychological treatment ever hope to 'reach' a schizophrenic when, by definition, he is suspicious of reality and rejects all real-world authorities? The questions are numerous, the answers are few and far between, but the process is thought-provoking. Leon, the youngest of the schizophrenics, is particularly captivating; unlike the other two Christs, his psychosis hasn't advanced to a stage where he completely neglects rational considerations. He still attempts to arrange his delusions in an internally-consistent fashion and often displays remarkable insight into what Rokeach and his assistants are trying to do to the three Christs. As such, he is the only one of three who undergoes profound changes during the experiment?although these changes don't necessarily point to a perceivable improvement in his condition. Yes, the riddle of schizophrenia continues. I noticed him first during the national anthem. A young woman with a lovely voice was doing the honors when just across the aisle, ten feet away from me, this guy started singing. Sorta. He got some of the words right; less of the melody. He was not in step with the lovely voice. No, it was guttural, spastic, jabs at a song. He would have had my attention even if I wasn't contemporaneously reading a book about three schizophrenics, paranoid types. He was alone and he was not looking for company. I noticed him first during the national anthem. He was alone and he was not looking for company. This was between him and that game out there. He never had a drink or so much as a hot dog. There was a pop fly to our rookie first-baseman, who did not let our second baseman call him off. He should have, but he still made the catch. My neighbor jumped up: CALLHIMOFFCALLHIMOFFCALLHIMOFFCALLHIMOFFCALLHIMOFF. With a lot of foot-stomping and pointing to make the point. Sometimes he stood up and made repeated throat-slashing gestures. But other times, he just moved his fingers in some kind of dissonant necessity. Felipe Rivero walked two men in a row, which caused my neighbor to yell: TAKEHIMOUTTAKEHIMOUTTAKEHIMOUTTAKEHIMOUT. Which continued pretty much until Felipe Rivero induced the next batter to ground into an inning-ending double play, which caused my neighbor to utter: GOODJOBGOODJOBGOODJOBGOODJOB. But I know that dichotomy of emotion. The thing was: the guy kind of knew the game; he was just, well, animated. Okay, he was very animated. He was not more upset than me that the locals lost a baseball game on a perfect August afternoon. I just didn't alarm an entire section of paying customers. But, as I said, he had my attention as I was reading this The Three Christs of Ypsilanti. What, if anything, should we do with such a guy. Milton Rokeach went out of his way in the late 1950's to find three men in the mental institutions of Michigan who had a delusional belief they were someone else. No Napoleons or Hitlers were available. But he found three Christs. He got them reassigned to the same hospital, and to the same study group. His idea was to make these three confront themselves with the same delusional idea of identity. And, as if this was not enough, he wrote letters to them from some of their imaginary friends, and some real ones. I shuddered at this. It reminded me of the the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment. Or Pavlovian dogs. So, this study was fascinating, yet creepy. The sexual component of their illnesses was manifest, yet they introduced a female therapist into the group to see what reaction that might have. Duh. In an afterword, twenty years after the book was first written, the author himself questions "the ethics of such a confrontation. Still, it was fascinating, if uncomfortable. In a day game between research psychologists and the psychotics, I will root for the psychotics. And probably stomp my feet and butcher 'Take Me out to the Ballgame. Though there is no chance I will drop my beer. I ain't that crazy. I drop a footnote only to mention that the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment involved not treating syphilis patients, as opposed to injecting them with syphilis, which did not occur, but has, unfortunately, been widely believed. I offer this un-noted footnote for women equality advocates everywhere. The author used a 'control group' in his study. The control group was three delusional women in the same hospital (one woman believed she was Cinderella. The author: It must be frankly admitted, however, that although we spent about the same amount of time during the first six months with these three women, our interests were directed elsewhere, and thus, from a technical point of view, the attention we paid them did not have the same quality or intensity as that we paid the three men... In 1959, Milton Rokeach, a social psychologist working at Ypsilanti State Hospital in Ypsilanti, Michigan, brought together three patients who each firmly believed he was Jesus Christ. Rokeach says, “Initially, my main purpose in bringing them together was to explore the processes by which their delusional systems of belief and their behavior might change if they were confronted with the ultimate contradiction conceivable for human beings: more than one person claiming the same identity. ” His In 1959, Milton Rokeach, a social psychologist working at Ypsilanti State Hospital in Ypsilanti, Michigan, brought together three patients who each firmly believed he was Jesus Christ. ” His study was inspired in part on an account set out by Voltaire in which a man, Simon Morin, believing he was Christ ran into another man proclaiming to be Christ. Simon exclaimed that the other must be crazy and, realizing what this meant, was cured of his delusion for a time (though he was eventually burned at the stake. As he introduces the study, Rokeach says, “This is the only study on which I have ever worked that has aroused the interest of children. ” I must say, its easy to see why. This is a fascinating look into the minds of three disturbed men. The three patients are not referred to by their real names, though the book is so well written that these names, as simple as they are, are permanently part of my literary consciousness. Clyde Benson was the oldest. At 70, he had been hospitalized for 17 years after suffering from a series of tragedies in a short period of time that took from him his parents and his wife (in a botched abortion. Rokeach makes the case that Mr. Benson was never really his own man, that since childhood he had allowed others to make decisions for him, and the strain of losing these authorities in his life was too much. In this book, Mr. Benson is easily forgotten. Hes always sitting there during the meetings, but he rarely speaks, or if he does it is mostly gibberish. Perhaps because of this, Rokeach rarely has the book focus on him, though he does have some good lines, like this one: Late at night. All fifteen patients in the dorm are in their beds, but there is a great deal of restlessness because one of the patients is snoring loudly. Finally one of the patients, exasperated, yells: “Jesus Christ! Quit that snoring. ” Whereupon Clyde, rearing up in his bed, replies: “That wasnt me who was snoring. It was him! ” Joseph Cassel was 58 and had been hospitalized for nearly 20 years. A timid man, he grew up with a strict father (who called him Josephine) in a french-speaking household in Canada. Perhaps as a response to the fact that he was not allowed to bring anything “English” into the home, Joseph, besides considering himself Jesus Christ, also considers himself a patriot of England, who protects him and whom he protects. One of the strangest accounts in the study is one when
Watch full length the three christ's of ypsilanti full. Ypsilanti is famous for a few things. Its where Dominos Pizza was born. Its where Iggy Pop grew up. Its where the “Paul is dead” rumor got started. And, its where, in the 1950s a psychologist by the name of Milton Rokeach made history by forcing three mental patients at the Ypsilanti State Hospital, each living under the delusion that he was Jesus Christ, to live with each other, in hopes that one or more of them might be shocked back to sanity. Its one of those things you learn about in psychology class, right along with the Milgram experiment, and other things youre not supposed to do. The hospital is now, for the most part, gone, but the story lives on via the book, The Three Christs of Ypsilanti, which was written by Dr. Rokeach, and published in 1964… The book, which I havent read in years, is mentioned today on Slate. Heres a clip: …Frustrated by psychologys focus on what he considered to be peripheral beliefs, like political opinions and social attitudes, Rokeach wanted to probe the limits of identity. He had been intrigued by stories of Secret Service agents who felt they had lost contact with their original identities, and wondered if a mans sense of self might be challenged in a controlled setting. Unusually for a psychologist, he found his answer in the Bible. There is only one Son of God, says the good book, so anyone who believed himself to be Jesus would suffer a psychological affront by the very existence of another like him. This was the revelation that led Rokeach to orchestrate his meeting of the Messiahs and document their encounter in the extraordinary (and out-of-print) book from 1964, The Three Christs of Ypsilanti… (T)he book makes for starkly uncomfortable reading as it recounts how the researchers blithely and unethically manipulated the lives of Leon, Joseph, and Clyde in the service of academic curiosity. In one of the most bizarre sections, the researchers begin colluding with the mens delusions in a deceptive attempt to change their beliefs from within their own frame of reference. The youngest patient, Leon, starts receiving letters from the character he believes to be his wife, “Madame Yeti Woman, ” in which she professes her love and suggests minor changes to his routine. Then Joseph, a French Canadian native, starts receiving faked letters from the hospital boss advising certain changes in routine that might benefit his recovery. Despite an initially engaging correspondence, both the delusional spouse and the illusory boss begin to challenge the Christs beliefs more than is comfortable, and contact is quickly broken off… I know its probably a small point, but Im curious as to how these letters were addressed, given that there were three men answering to the name of Jesus Christ. Maybe they didnt pick up on it, but I think it would have crossed my mind, when the doctor handed me one letter addressed to Christ, and another to someone else, that there was some manipulation going on. If I were an academic, Id be staying up late tonight, writing about how Rokeach was essentially the first reality television producer ? all-be-it for a very small audience ? and how everything since MTVs Real World owes him a debt of gratitude. As Im not, though, Im going to bed. And, for what its worth, I call the band name Madame Yeti Woman. [ Id like to thank a reader by the name of Marc Kawecki for the heads-up on the Slate article...
Melvin.

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Watch full length the three christ's of ypsilanti heart. The day I was born you might have sworn I was doomed from the start but I bought a knife and I carried it with me the rest of my life I miss you like hell but theres colder states calling and my heart does swell I've seen how it moves I came from Ypsilanti, got the Great Salt Lake blues I miss Michigan and all of the places my heart used to swim and all of the ghosts that I knew back then well all of my friends they've got stars in their eyes hungry hearts in their chests Im in a hospital bed got nothing in my pocket and a kiss on my head and all of the ghosts that I knew back then.
Watch full length the three christ's of ypsilanti movies. Main Blog > The Three Christs of Ypsilanti Psychologist Milton Rokeach took three psychotic men, each who believed they were Jesus Christ, and put them together at Ypsilanti State Hospital in Michigan. It was an experiment in identity, since all three men knew there could only be one Son of God. Rokeach chronicled what happened in his 1964 book The Three Christs of Ypsilanti, which is out of print. In hindsight, the Three Christs study looks less like a promising experiment than the absurd plan of a psychologist who suffered the triumph of passion over good sense. The men's delusions barely shifted over the two years, and from an academic perspective, Rokeach did not make any grand discoveries concerning the psychology of identity and belief. Instead, his conclusions revolve around the personal lives of three particular (and particularly unfortunate) men. He falls back?rather meekly, perhaps?on the Freudian suggestion that their delusions were sparked by confusion over sexual identity, and attempts to end on a flourish by noting that we all "seek ways to live with one another in peace. even in the face of the most fundamental disagreements. As for the ethics of the study, Rokeach eventually realized its manipulative nature and apologized in an afterword to the 1984 edition: I really had no right, even in the name of science, to play God and interfere round the clock with their daily lives. Slate has some tidbits from the interaction of the three men. Link -via Buzzfeed (Image credit: Robert Neubecker) Email This Post to a Friend This website uses cookies. This website uses cookies to improve user experience. By using this website you consent to all cookies in accordance with our Privacy Policy. I agree ? Learn More.
Watch full length the three christ's of ypsilanti god. In the late 1950s, three men who identified as the Son of God were forced to live together in a mental hospital. What happened? In the late 1950s, psychologist Milton Rokeach was gripped by an eccentric plan. He gathered three psychiatric patients, each with the delusion that they were Jesus Christ, to live together for two years in Ypsilanti State Hospital to see if their beliefs would change. The early meetings were stormy. “You oughta worship me, Ill tell you that! ” one of the Christs yelled. “I will not worship you! Youre a creature! You better live your own life and wake up to the facts! ” another snapped back. “No two men are Jesus Christs. … I am the Good Lord! ” the third interjected, barely concealing his anger. Frustrated by psychologys focus on what he considered to be peripheral beliefs, like political opinions and social attitudes, Rokeach wanted to probe the limits of identity. He had been intrigued by stories of Secret Service agents who felt they had lost contact with their original identities, and wondered if a mans sense of self might be challenged in a controlled setting. Unusually for a psychologist, he found his answer in the Bible. There is only one Son of God, says the good book, so anyone who believed himself to be Jesus would suffer a psychological affront by the very existence of another like him. This was the revelation that led Rokeach to orchestrate his meeting of the Messiahs and document their encounter in the extraordinary (and out-of-print) book from 1964, The Three Christs of Ypsilanti. Although by no means common, Christ conventions have an unexpectedly long history. In his commentary to Cesare Beccarias essay “Crimes and Punishments, ” Voltaire recounted the tale of the “unfortunate madman” Simon Morin who was burnt at the stake in 1663 for claiming to be Jesus. Unfortunate it seems, because Morin was originally committed to a madhouse where he met another who claimed to be God the Father, and “ was so struck with the folly of his companion that he acknowledged his own, and appeared, for a time, to have recovered his senses. ” The lucid period did not last, however, and it seems the authorities lost patience with his blasphemy. Another account of a meeting of the Messiahs comes from Sidney Rosens book My Voice Will Go With You: The Teaching Tales of Milton H. Erickson. The renowned psychiatrist apparently set two delusional Christs in his ward arguing only for one to gain insight into his madness, miraculously, after seeing something of himself in his companion. (“ Im saying the same things as that crazy fool is saying, ” said one of the patients. “That must mean Im crazy too. ”) These tales are surprising because delusions, in the medical sense, are not simply a case of being mistaken. They are considered to be pathological beliefs, reflecting a warped or broken understanding that is not, by definition, amenable to being reshaped by reality. One of most striking examples is the Cotard delusion, under which a patient believes she is dead; surely there can be no clearer demonstration that simple and constant contradiction offers no lasting remedy. Rokeach, aware of this, did not expect a miraculous cure. Instead, he was drawing a parallel between the baseless nature of delusion and the flimsy foundations we use to construct our own identities. If tomorrow everyone treats me as if I have an electronic device in my head, there are ways and means I could use to demonstrate they are wrong and establish the facts of the matter?a visit to the hospital perhaps. But what if everyone treats me as if my core self were fundamentally different than I believed it to be? ?Lets say they thought I was an undercover agent?what could I show them to prove otherwise? From my perspective, the best evidence is the strength of my conviction. My belief is my identity. In one sense, Rokeachs book reflects a remarkably humane approach for its era. We are asked to see ourselves in the psychiatric patients, at a time when such people were regularly locked away and treated as incomprehensible objects of pity rather than individuals worthy of empathy. Rokeachs constant attempts to explain the delusions as understandable reactions to life events require us to accept that the Christs have not “lost contact” with reality, even if their interpretations are more than a little uncommon. But the book makes for starkly uncomfortable reading as it recounts how the researchers blithely and unethically manipulated the lives of Leon, Joseph, and Clyde in the service of academic curiosity. In one of the most bizarre sections, the researchers begin colluding with the mens delusions in a deceptive attempt to change their beliefs from within their own frame of reference. The youngest patient, Leon, starts receiving letters from the character he believes to be his wife, “Madame Yeti Woman, ” in which she professes her love and suggests minor changes to his routine. Then Joseph, a French Canadian native, starts receiving faked letters from the hospital boss advising certain changes in routine that might benefit his recovery. Despite an initially engaging correspondence, both the delusional spouse and the illusory boss begin to challenge the Christs beliefs more than is comfortable, and contact is quickly broken off. In fact, very little seems to shift the identities of the self-appointed Messiahs. They debate, argue, at one point come to blows, but show few signs that their beliefs have become any less intense. Only Leon seems to waver, eventually asking to be addressed as “Dr Righteous Idealed Dung” instead of his previous moniker of “Dr Domino dominorum et Rex rexarum, Simplis Christianus Puer Mentalis Doctor, reincarnation of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. ” Rokeach interprets this more as an attempt to avoid conflict than a reflection of any genuine identity change. The Christs explain one anothers claims to divinity in predictably idiosyncratic ways: Clyde, an elderly gentleman, declares that his companions are, in fact, dead, and that it is the “machines” inside them that produce their false claims, while the other two explain the contradiction by noting that their companions are “crazy” or “duped” or that they dont really mean what they say. In hindsight, the Three Christs study looks less like a promising experiment than the absurd plan of a psychologist who suffered the triumph of passion over good sense. The mens delusions barely shifted over the two years, and from an academic perspective, Rokeach did not make any grand discoveries concerning the psychology of identity and belief. Instead, his conclusions revolve around the personal lives of three particular (and particularly unfortunate) men. He falls back?rather meekly, perhaps?on the Freudian suggestion that their delusions were sparked by confusion over sexual identity, and attempts to end on a flourish by noting that we all “seek ways to live with one another in peace, ” even in the face of the most fundamental disagreements. As for the ethics of the study, Rokeach eventually realized its manipulative nature and apologized in an afterword to the 1984 edition: “I really had no right, even in the name of science, to play God and interfere round the clock with their daily lives. ” Although we take little from it scientifically, the book remains a rare and eccentric journey into the madness of not three, but four men in an asylum. It is, in that sense, an unexpected tribute to human folly, and one that works best as a meditation on our own misplaced self-confidence. Whether scientist or psychiatric patient, we assume others are more likely to be biased or misled than we are, and we take for granted that our own beliefs are based on sound reasoning and observation. This may be the nearest we can get to revelation?the understanding that our most cherished beliefs could be wrong. Like Slate on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.