> I wonder what kind of life he lives with the extreme paranoia of MI5 messing with him constantly.

The lives of those that suffer from paranoid schizophrenia are well 'documented' in popular culture. One such item you may be interested in is the film 'A Beautiful Mind'. It is based on the life of John Nash, but keep in mind it is a dramatisation rather than a documentary.

There are also a number of 'simulations' on Youtube that may exemplify the horrendous nature of the condition, if you are so inclined to experience them. One such video is this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vvU-Ajwbok .

I hope I have not taken your portrayed interest too literally!

'A Beautiful Mind' is a fantastic movie, but, as you implied, it's fundamentally a different story. The book is where it's at: http://www.amazon.com/A-Beautiful-Mind-Sylvia-Nasar/dp/14516...

I will also say that it's impossible to over-state the breath and depth of the varieties of experiences that stem from what is called schizophrenia. There are certainly groups of people who share somewhat similar symptoms, but even that is tenuous. Words simply can't adequately describe it.

I have an interest in the brain and psychosis but do not want to "dip my toes in" without allocating sufficient time to research and study this. It's just such a complex issue and there seems to be such a large spectrum of psychosis, with schizophrenia being on the slightly more extreme end.

Then there is the drug induced psychosis/schizophrenia that can be turned on and off, which is equally fascinating.

Meh, the brain is too complex for me to think about right now. We could study it for years and would only know a small fraction of what's going on.

> We could study it for years and would only know a small fraction of what's going on.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Brain_Project

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BRAIN_Initiative

edit: should clarify, I agree with your premise. My point is only that we are studying it in these two huge projects

"We" as in me and normal people without psychology or biology or neurology degrees.

Yes, "we" as in humans have no limits to what we can discover.

"Unless, of course, MI5 actually have an obscene number of people on their books - perhaps as many as fifty thousand agents, which, if that is the case, means our 'democracy' is completely fucked."

I am not sure what law or internet forum rule it is that says any sufficiently developed parody of being a kook is indistinguishable from being a real, honest to goodness kook... but browsing around this site I am quickly reminded of that adage.

He will undoubtedly be receiving many empty forms if they are being sent successfully. I'm wondering what this will do to his paranoia and if he will post about it.

Poe's Law is what you're looking for, I believe.

There's no reason to assume it's fake or a parody in my opinion.

Psychosis/Schizophrenia is very real and affects many people, who can function very normally but think slightly weird thoughts and have the urge to express them and tell people.

The way your post started, I thought you were going to tell me "it's not paranoia if they really are out to get you." I almost included that in my first note.

It's possible and probably worth it to mention, that he also may actually be extremely well medicated.

Someone posted it on Twitter and I submitted it here before looking at the rest of the site. I feel a little bad now at sending so much traffic his way. Poor guy.