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Theranos’ Holmes May Pursue ‘Mental Disease’ in Her Defense

bloomberg.com

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Re: Theranos’ Holmes May Pursue ‘Mental Disease’ in Her Defense

#11

Post by ashtonkem »

argb wrote: post #7
bzb5 wrote: post #5

What would the concrete mental illness be?

Quite possibly some sort of personality disorder, e.g. Narcissistic or Antisocial PD. Most ordinary people are unaware of just how devious and manipulative these types can be. It's like two people in one person, a Jekyll and Hyde personality. A public face of kindness and generosity. And ruthless controlling behavior and manipulation in private, often this behavior is compulsive.

One of the more insightful comments a therapist once told me is that “many personality disorders like narcissism and borderline personality disorder are commonly misdiagnosed by the general public as ‘being an asshole’”.

That being said I’m dubious that even a diagnose of NPD or similar is a agreed upon defense against criminal charges.

Re: Theranos’ Holmes May Pursue ‘Mental Disease’ in Her Defense

#14

Post by lawtalkinghuman »

bzb5 wrote: post #5

What would the concrete mental illness be?

The article hints at it:

> [Mindy] Mechanic is an expert on the psychosocial consequences of trauma, with a focus on violence against women, and often provides expert testimony in cases involving “interpersonal violence,” according to her faculty profile on the school’s website.

Re: Theranos’ Holmes May Pursue ‘Mental Disease’ in Her Defense

#15

Post by techdevangelist »

gogopuppygogo wrote: post #4
atonse wrote: post #3

I was thinking of Theranos a few weeks ago. And what role they would’ve played in the pandemic had they not been outed. They likely would’ve released a fake test and gotten a lot of people killed. Hope she gets her appropriate punishment. I almost applied for a job there and was willing to move my family to the Bay Area to work on something that meaningful. So glad I dodged the bullet.

I was working on a blood test startup when Theranos imploded. We spoke with a number of their top people about working with us. The truth was that while some of the Theranos team had valuable skills/connections (e.g. getting the devices deployed into retail), the entire saga had tainted their reputations and made it so difficult to raise capital for a legit device (we did two tests while Theranos claimed to do over 2…

That’s a similar response to accounting personal who worked for Arthur Anderson, the one I know personally leaves a hole in his resume during the tenure and would explain it if asked. He said it was a pretty common tactic, even for those that had no roll with Enron.

Re: Theranos’ Holmes May Pursue ‘Mental Disease’ in Her Defense

#16

Post by avalys »

ashtonkem wrote: post #11
argb wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quite possibly some sort of personality disorder, e.g. Narcissistic or Antisocial PD. Most ordinary people are unaware of just how devious and manipulative these types can be. It's like two people in one person, a Jekyll and Hyde personality. A public face of kindness and generosity. And ruthless controlling behavior and manipulation in private, often this behavior is compulsive.

One of the more insightful comments a therapist once told me is that “many personality disorders like narcissism and borderline personality disorder are commonly misdiagnosed by the general public as ‘being an asshole’”. That being said I’m dubious that even a diagnose of NPD or similar is a agreed upon defense against criminal charges.

Is that really a misdiagnosis on the part of the general public, or are those terms just medical classifications for what everyone acknowledges is unacceptable behavior?

Are they any less of an asshole because some doctor has carefully scrutinized and categorized the exact ways in which they’re an asshole, and why?

Re: Theranos’ Holmes May Pursue ‘Mental Disease’ in Her Defense

#17

Post by atonse »

gogopuppygogo wrote: post #4
atonse wrote: post #3

I was thinking of Theranos a few weeks ago. And what role they would’ve played in the pandemic had they not been outed. They likely would’ve released a fake test and gotten a lot of people killed. Hope she gets her appropriate punishment. I almost applied for a job there and was willing to move my family to the Bay Area to work on something that meaningful. So glad I dodged the bullet.

I was working on a blood test startup when Theranos imploded. We spoke with a number of their top people about working with us. The truth was that while some of the Theranos team had valuable skills/connections (e.g. getting the devices deployed into retail), the entire saga had tainted their reputations and made it so difficult to raise capital for a legit device (we did two tests while Theranos claimed to do over 2…

That's sad. But expected. I wondered "would I have tainted myself forever" – and it sounds like it would've tainted me.

I bet working at Facebook will have similar questions to be answered.

Re: Theranos’ Holmes May Pursue ‘Mental Disease’ in Her Defense

#19

Post by BearOso »

> Davila also ruled, over Holmes’s objections, that the examination of the former CEO will be videotaped. Holmes’s lawyers argued the recording would “negatively affect the tenor or the interview,” according to the ruling.

Or accurately reflect the false "tenor" she speaks with. Sorry, I had to say it.

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