Are we all paranoid ??

In the 19th century, the famous chess master Paul Morphy wouldn't eat food in public for fear of being poisoned...

In the 20th century, the famous chess master Bobby Fischer wouldn't eat food in public for fear of being poisoned...

In the 21st century, the famous chess master Garry Kasparov won't eat food in public for fear of being poisoned...

What's the deal?

Are paranoid people naturally attracted to chess?

Or does chess training create paranoia?

You don't think Morphy and Fischer were paranoid?

You're unaware of Kasparov acting like them?

Don't believe everything you read on the internet - Plato

Yes, defending well at chess is the equivalent of paranoia. Checking for refutations is also. Of course it is. We have to be aware of unlikely threats we wouldn't normally consider if they were their real life equivalents, like a goldfish jumping out of its bowl and strangling us. It only happens when no-one's looking and many are the goldfish who have made it look like their victim just had a stroke or something. We have to be very careful of goldfish, to name but one threat to us all.

Morphy and Fischer may well have been paranoid.  I don't know one way or the other.  However, in Kasparov's case, it is fully justified.  He is an outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin and critics of Putin often end up dead.

I'm not paranoid.  It's just that everyone is out to get me.

Good one, RCM.

Personally i don't care if it does drive us insane, i'm going to keep training.

I expect visualization skills will be pretty useful when i end up in a padded cell.

Kasparov can criticize Putin as much as he wants. It is totally free, totally useless and completely safe. Blaming Putin in everything that happens in the world - a real paranoia. Everything else is side effects of improper upbringing, hard work, destructive habits and difficult childhood.

moral: public is poison

I belong to the paranoid class. I believe nobody is a true friend. Only rivals and enemies disguising as friends.

paranoia strikes deep...into your heart it will creep...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gp5JCrSXkJY

BTW, In the 21st century, two famous chess masters -- Garry Kasparov and me won't eat food in public for fear of being poisoned...

Paranoia is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality.^[1]Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself (e.g. "Everyone is out to get me"). Paranoia is distinct from phobias, which also involve irrational fear, but usually no blame. Making false accusations and the general distrust of others also frequently accompany paranoia. For example, an incident most people would view as an accident or coincidence, a paranoid person might believe was intentional.

wayfarer68:  Anyone who reads free, as opposed to the state-controlled publications that Russians get, knows what is going on.  Try here for starters:

http://news.sky.com/story/the-putin-critics-who-have-been-assassinated-10369350

To believe otherwise is to be delusional, misinformed, brain-washed, and an apologist for an evil man. 

I wish all you lot wouldn't hide in my wardrobe at night...

Friends come and go. Enemies accumulate.

Chess training can exacerbate some (parental) preexisting conditions which can make attracted to chess. I don't know whether paranoia ranks among the most frequent of such conditions, although I think it tautological that chess attraction is caused by fear of other, more fulfilling, activities (such fear often presents itself in the conscious mind as mere distate).