James Holmes update

James Holmes has been acting crazy in jail and spitting at everyone. Except for the people who bring him food.

Many of the prison workers think it’s just an act and that he’s not really crazy.

Besides the news about Holmes’s behavior in jail, there have been no new stories where anyone says Holmes was acting the least bit crazy before the massacre, except that someone from a gun club thought his answering message was too weird to allow him to join the club. But maybe this was just a socially awkward attempt at a funny answering machine message (which used to be common among young people) and not an indicator of mental illness.

* * *

Comment from asdf:

There are a ton of people like Holmes. When I was in college I played WoW, and I knew a lot of people in my guilds real life story. Many of them were like Holmes, and used WoW as an escape.

There are a ton of Holmes out there but most just become herbivores. They get some shitty job, live in a shitty apartment, eat shitty food. But with an internet connection, the world is theirs. Medicate on videogames, porn, and cheap carbs. No status in real life? Get some in game status. Joke in real life? Become a guild leader and boss people around. There was a show called "The Guild" which went through that these people's lives are like, and is probably way to sympathetic because its meant for entertainment.

As perverse as it sounds, Holmes decision to take action (misguided, pointless, tragic) at least took more balls then most of the herbs I knew just waiting to die in WoW.

* * *

I interpret some new stories as evidence that Holmes drifted through his education without actually doing much studying, which he was able to do at a bogus college like UC Riverside. But he didn’t like doing actual boring work, he preferred playing video games.

* * *

There’s an article in the LA Times pointing out that a lot of news sources immediately reported that Holmes was a white male. But the person who wrote the article admits that the standard in journalism is to never report the race of a criminal suspect.

So there’s a double standard. If the shooter was muslim or black, it would have taken a lot longer to find out about that.

* * *

Conquistador writes in a comment:

I know a guy that wants to end himself but the only reason he goes on is because he's looking forward to the next major movie, comic book, and video game release. I kid you not.

I think that it’s likely that video games PREVENT violent behavior like suicides and mass killings by pacifying people. Probably the opposite of the MSMs take whenever they discover that some mass killer played WoW.

Comments

[superdestroyer]

HS,

Only a liberal arts major believes that people get through organic chemistry and calculus without studying. Even though it is impossible to get a failing grade at an Ivy League, it is actually easy to get an "F" at a school like UC-Riverside.
UC-Riverside has a four year graduation rate of less than 50%. Many people flunk out.

What makes you think that he did not study at UC-Denver when Holmes just got through his qualifying exams?

[HS: I took organic chemistry and calculus, and at a bogus school like UC Riverside, it's probably easy enough to get by with good grades with a minimum of studying.]

[Conquistador]

I'm in agreement with asdf. It seems like the main people pushing this mental illness drivel on your blog are female commentators. Of course they wouldn't know shit about dudes like Holmes (or much else really) but if you're male especially a younger male you see guys like him all the time. It's a sad sight.

[Conquistador]

I know a guy that wants to end himself but the only reason he goes on is because he's looking forward to the next major movie, comic book, and video game release. I kid you not.

[The Engineer]

This dude should have had it made. Think about the pickup line available to him:

"Hey baby, Jim Holmes here. You know, son of John."

With ALL the implies...

Anyway, it is kind of crazy that the HalfSigma Theory of Beta Male Rage Resulting in Mass Killings (TM) totally played out in this case, and yet this is the only place you read about it.

[asdf]

"I think that it’s likely that video games PREVENT violent behavior like suicides and mass killings by pacifying people. Probably the opposite of the MSMs take whenever they discover that some mass killer played WoW."

I agree. God is dead; and thus all there is is having a little more then last year and social climbing. In such an environment there will be losers. Things of this nature allow losers to become winners in some way. A person with a shitty job can be a guild leader, and thus be at the top of some kind of status hierarchy (one that consumes little real resources beyond bits and bytes).

You might claim providing a meaningful life to these people would be better, but it's not possible in the world today as it is structured. Too many constraints.

[MV]

BTW, did you see that Holmes is adopted? This is another example of why adopting is usually a good deal for the kids -- whose biological parents are too screwed up to take care of their own offspring -- but but not for the adopting parents who also adopt the genes of parents too screwed up to care for their own.

A funny illustration of this was Dana Carvey in Road to Wellville (1994) a movie that told the story of Dr. Kellogg, the inventor of corn flakes. Dr. Kellogg adopted 40 children who caused problems for him his entire lifetime.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2EsNXwnOkY

-Mercy

[Black_Rose]

I think most colleges have a curriculum of similar difficulty, thus the fact that Holmes might have languished there does not reflect easier standards, especially in a STEM discipline.

I too went to a "bogus" college, but I got a 3.0 upper division GPA in a cell-molecular biology major because I predominantly occupied myself in the university library reading blogs, news articles, and scientific journal articles not related to the material in my courses; occasionally experienced mildly depressive episodes (feelings of worthlessness and inadequacy but no suicidal thoughts); and sometimes attended class without sleep. (In a less stressful environment, the frequency of these depressive episodes rapidly declined, but I am highly neurotic and self-critical). I got a 1430 on the old GRE too, about a mid 1400 on the post-1995 SAT. To me, it seems almost impossible for a > 1400 to flunk of out most colleges, unless he/she neglects basic responsibilities such as attend class once in a while and taking examinations. Because of my aptitude, I did not need any maturity or work ethic to perform minimally in my undergraduate education.

[mark]

No expert here, but if he is aware of his predicament then that should really discourage rational behavior on his part. Act sedated, keep all your options open as far as a defense. Then again, he might be crazy. I am also a little tired of hearing how smart people are who haven't really done anything yet. Give me a prole with a patent any day.

[JP Law]

Half Sigma:

"I interpret some new stories as evidence that Holmes drifted through his education without actually doing much studying, which he was able to do at a bogus college like UC Riverside."

Uh, I did this for my undergrad in chemical engineering *and* at Duke Law.

College really doesn't require much studying at all.

The only reason I was only able to get into Duke was because I *didn't* do work in undergrad, which generally brought my grades down, given that doing the work was the part of the credit.

I probably attended less than half my classes.

In law school, I would sit in class and play video games.

[Patrick]

I don't think this guy is crazy either. I think he's a loser whose self-inflicted social ostracization -- and no doubt involuntary celibacy -- developed into nihilism.

So many young men like him required a strong male mentor because their own fathers with their baby boomer sensibilities are out of step with how modern society, particularly dating, works. He was educated, sure, but never given the tools to acquire what all men want and need to truly be happy: sexual fulfillment.

Worse still, his career path took him further away from that fulfillment because it requires extreme dedication yet is unlikely to attract women in the absence of very strong charisma on the part of the neuroscientist.

[2ndTry]

Was he a STEM type? Programming? Yes, the elite .0001% do not major in programming, but programming is a 6-figure career.

Programmers are now getting major media attention. Even their own reality shows.

They are truly becoming ROCK STARS.

If he spent time actually being a good programmer (or lawyer), he'd be pulling down $400,000 a year doing Android work. You'd have private schools, BMWs, and bespoke shoes.

With startups, VC, and IPOs, programming can even get you into the top 1% (7-figures), but you can also settle for very attainable $250k by your 30s, if you're smart and motivated.

$250k to $500k gets you BMWs, 5BR homes, and private schools. Not 1%, but elite.

What career do bottom quartile incompetents make $100k? Programming, baby. Starting salary, $60k. Google and Facebook start these prole kids at $100k+. Sucks are a career? You're on crack!

B/c of social media IPOs, there is a HUGE tech bubble right now. Programming have 10 standing job offers. It is the hottest sector out there, period.

For $150k to $400k, who needs to be part of the power structure. Just bill those hours, put away 7-figures, and semi-retire early. I retired at 30 doing the same thing during the last bubble.

Programming is one of the best careers out there, bar none. A programmer can go freelance in his 30s and start making real money. Either by getting into mgmt ($150k-$500k) Or start getting equity stakes in pre-IPO startups. He's only just beginning.

20s: $40k-$100k

30s: 150k base, or $100-$200/hr freelance ($200-400k), or $100k base + stock options.

Mid 30s+: Management in the $200k+-$500k range.

Mid 40s+, director level, $500k+

Take a look at all programmers who have reached age 35, with almost 15 years experience. They are almost ALL in a management capacity.

I think we can agree that at the very least, a programmer can go freelance by age 30, and pull down $250k+ a year. And yes, he might get stuck there if he's not the big picture type. But, stuck at $250k starting at age 30 is hardly a terrible place to be. Programmers, even average ones, are in the top 1%. Very easy to put away $1,000,000 by age 40. Programming is easily one of the best careers out there, no doubt about it. Very high status also, b/c you live in a gated community, and drive BMWs, and take exotic vacations. Even if you're average, in your 30s.

Programming is not on par with finance. It is a massive step down in pay and status. Got it? That said, "programming sucks as a career" is an idiotic statement when any decent programmer can freelance hourly and make $200k. Even shitty FT programmers make $100k. So, yes, when a shitty 25% percentile guy can make $100k, it's hardly a "shitty career".

You know what's a shitty career? WalMart worker, car wash guy, etc.

[DaveinHackensack]

"I know a guy that wants to end himself but the only reason he goes on is because he's looking forward to the next major movie, comic book, and video game release."

It's like that phone commercial from a few years back, where the guy is having a heart attack in bed with his mistress and she says, "Don't die: there's a new phone coming out!".

[scott]

I somewhat disagree with "if the shooter were black or Muslim it'd take a lot longer to find out about" Anyone with half a brain would know it the second the press didn't report the victims race. I guess I'm nitpicking because all the liberal idiots would scream from the rooftops "But how do you know he's black!"

[Dr. Anonymous]

Looks like the Joker found what he was looking for.

http://jezebel.com/5927828/disturbing-james-holmes-twitter-groupies-think-hes-hot-sexy-cute?utm_campaign=socialflow_jezebel_twitter&utm_source=jezebel_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

[JP Law]

" I got a 1430 on the old GRE too, about a mid 1400 on the post-1995 SAT. To me, it seems almost impossible for a > 1400 to flunk of out most colleges, unless he/she neglects basic responsibilities such as attend class once in a while and taking examinations. Because of my aptitude, I did not need any maturity or work ethic to perform minimally in my undergraduate education."

I got a 1440 on the pre-1995 SAT. Triple Nine Society (a nod to HS, a member of that august organization) requires a 1450.

I'm with that black rose guy. STEM, even chemical engineering, is pretty easy to float through once you're in the 99.X percentile of intelligence.

That being said, I'm a T14 law grad making $80K as a lawyer. I'm not sure where HS gets his delusions of law grandeur.

The profession is horrible and intellectually painful. I spend most of my life bored out of my skull. Normally, I want to gnaw my arm off to escape from life.

[asdf]

Dr. Anonymous,

Nice

What makes it especially ironic is that Holmes has reems of evidence online showing he was a needy sexless loser who may have even done it to get laid, so you'ld think any woman looking it up would get turned off.

The hamster will not be defeated.

[DaveinHackensack]

asdf,

"I agree. God is dead; and thus all there is is having a little more then last year and social climbing."

That's up to you. There are plenty of people for whom that's not true. A friend and possible future business partner of mine is a church goer who really tries to live his life according to his beliefs. He and his wife are active in helping the less fortunate, and he is pleasant, happy, and well-adjusted.

2ndTry,

I agree that programming isn't a bad career. But it's definitely in a bubble now.

"$100-$200/hr freelance"

I hired a freelance programmer to do some work for me last year who billed $180 per hour. HYPS CS alumnus, also an alumnus of one of the most popular start-up accelerators in Silicon Valley. He did crap work and was a douche. Got a guy now who charges about a third of that, went to a state school, and is a better programmer. Does high quality work, quickly, for a reasonable price. Lives in a non-fancy city, so his cost of living is pretty low. When the dot-com 2.0 bubble bursts, the second programmer is still going to be flush with work, from clients like me that aren't relying on OPM. I don't know about the other guy.

[mel belli]

"'programming sucks as a career" is an idiotic statement ..."

But also idiotic is this: If (one) spen(ds) time actually being a good ... (lawyer), ... be pulling down $400,000." You have no idea how many quite competent lawyers barely clear $100K.

[LaPanache]

I had a 1530/2300 on my SAT and I have to work incredibly hard at hard science classes at college to get anything above a B. Grades are determined by your position on the curve whose stringency is determined by the aptitude of the students in your class. At a school like mine, everyone had >1500 on their SATs.

Science classes are absolutely "easier" to ace at lower tier schools like UC Riverside where students aren't the brightest. The theory that this guy encountered his plateau in Grad school, didn't know how to deal with his anonymity among students as equally bright as he was, fell into depression, and became isolated also makes sense to me. Why anyone would underestimate the role attainment of poor grades played in his deterioration is beyond me... It is terrifying to watch the clock tick mercilessly, increasing your age and loan interests every minute while you come to terms with your own mediocrity and the possibility that this is it.

Also, "it is impossible to get a failing grade at an Ivy League" is untrue. People get D and F grades All.The.Time.

[Ivan]

2ndTry: you are wildly overestimating programmer compensation and career progression. Please don't mislead people.

Very few programmers get 150k base, it is more like senior base pay for areas like NYC and SF bay. And no, not every programmer makes 100k, please see glassdoor. The numbers you are quoting look more like finance pay.

[Black_Rose]

Perhaps, you didn't have a good memory and that's why you had to work hard relative to your SAT score.

I struggled with academic apathy (since I realized that no one important (such as elites and Half Sigma readers and Half Sigma himself) cares about my accomplishments there since I was attending a "bogus school") is not laziness) and mild depression (due to my inferiority complex because I was attending a "bogus" school.)
------

Science courses aren't curved at "bogus" colleges, although my biochem course was curved upwards, but there are objective standards intrinsic to the cognitive complexity of the major that sets a floor on aptitude.

A 1200 needs to study in order to get just a B, even at a "bogus" college in STEM. If I was a 1200 in ability, I would probably have a 2.3 GPA ans would have flunked it if I had the aptitude of the median studend, but I had the worst work ethic there out all students at my "bogus" college.

----

"I agree. God is dead; and thus all there is is having a little more then last year and social climbing."
---
I guess I am the only religious person here (although I spend more time reading this blog than attending daily Mass, praying and saying the Rosary, reading religious literature). I went to a Church gathering a few times, and I am quite introverted (going to church events is one of the few times I socialize with people). I thought everyone was going to judge me for attending a "bogus" school; no one there seems to have any thoughts about HBD, social class, and school prestige. It's like going to a different, foreign world relative to the online realm of far-left forums and HBD blogs that I also inhabit. I think many of the people there would be shocked that I like to read racist literature such as HBD blogs.

[Asdf]

God is dead in our culture. I make no claim that there are zero religious people. True believers are a minority though.

[Black_Rose]

It seems everyone there is oblivious to class and HBD.

[nebbish]

JP Law,

Would your undergrad background in chemical engineering allow you to switch gears and go into patent law? I'm no lawyer but would think that patents could be at least a bit more interesting than other aspects of the profession.

[HS: Patent prosecution sounds pretty boring to me. BUT, better than being poor.]

[superdestroyer]

LaPanache,

A Harvard alum disagrees with your belief that people make D's and F's at Ivy league http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2005/03/the-truth-about-harvard/3726/

There is an old joke that the only thing harder than getting into Harvard is failing out of Harvard.,

Do people really believe the organic chemistry is really taught differently at UC-Riverside versus the Ivy League. They use the same text books, the professors generally attend the same level of universities, and the same topics are covered. The idea that a sophomore organic chemsitry class at Brown or Dartmouth is more advanced and covers different topics as at other schools is laughable.

[HS: Yes, I do believe that Organic Chemistry is a lot easier at US Riverside. UC-Riverside is 40% NAM, so all of the classes need to be dumbed down. They may use the same textbook (or they may not, I have noticed that Ivy League schools do use different textbooks), but they probably cover less material and the tests have easier questions.]

[Black_Rose]

asdf,

I think heaven would be hell for most for HBDers, since there would be a lot of NAMs and proles there.

[anonymous]

The effect of playing video games is beneficial on average I would say.

The reason for this is follows:

Most people who play video games are decent nice people, but pretty average as far as talent and potential goes. They will never be that important in RL, so games give them another chance at making it.

[Black_Rose]

[HS: Yes, I do believe that Organic Chemistry is a lot easier at US Riverside. UC-Riverside is 40% NAM, so all of the classes need to be dumbed down. They may use the same textbook (or they may not, I have noticed that Ivy League schools do use different textbooks), but they probably cover less material and the tests have easier questions.]

---

It may be a little easier, but the raw averages on examinations are definitely higher at an Ivy League. It may be harder to receive an A at an Ivy, but they probably do not give many Ds and Fs in order to maintain the curve. The distribution of grades at an Ivy has a lower SD than a typical state school.

[Black_Rose]

I think NAMs would already be weeded out in the introductory classes and through self-selection since they would avoid math intensive majors (verbal intensive majors are vulnerable to dumbing down since they do not demand the rigorous objectivity necessary in the STEM majors.)

[LaPanache]

"Perhaps, you didn't have a good memory and that's why you had to work hard relative to your SAT score." -BlackRose

I specifically made the distinction between classes at "bogus" schools versus classes at Columbia. I had to work hard not because the material was unfathomable to me but because my professors went out of their way to make exams unbearably complicated (pre-med weeder classes) and my classmates are brilliant enough that attaining a B on their curve is hard. The point I was making was that Holmes may have been able to breeze through UC Riverside (like I can breeze through Hunter College classes) but once he encountered grad level work, he could no longer float through the material. In fact he flunked and went into depression/isolation. Why is his less than stellar school performance not being weighed heavily as a factor that threw him into depression? You would think that someone who pursues a PhD in Neuroscience would care heavily about his academics no?

"They use the same text books, the professors generally attend the same level of universities, and the same topics are covered. The idea that a sophomore organic chemsitry class at Brown or Dartmouth is more advanced and covers different topics as at other schools is laughable." -superdestroyer.

Thanks for identifying yourself as someone who went to neither Dartmouth nor Brown. It isn't the material per se that is different but the depth of mastery expected of it, the complexity of exams, and your own performance relative to your classmates' performances that make the difference. And, it shames to me to have to admit this, but I personally got an F my freshman year at Columbia in a class I tried to breeze through. Yes, grades at Ivy League schools are inflated such that the median grade is a B (instead of a C) but the students who score in that median range are much more brilliant and much harder to outcompete.

"The raw averages on examinations are definitely higher at an Ivy League." -BlackRose

The raw average in my Calculus class at Columbia was 36 (out of 100) which was calibrated at B. My scores were in the 42+ range and I got an A-. My best friend from high-school went to Hunter and she too got an A-. Her class' raw average was 60+ and her raw score was 90. Her grades were not curved and mine absolutely were but wanna guess who learnt more Calculus? Wanna also guess who had to work harder to outshine their respective schools' median B grade earners?

"The distribution of grades at an Ivy has a lower SD than a typical state school."
This is true. I have never argued against grade inflation being a reality at Ivy League Schools but don't make a fool of yourself (superdestroyer) suggesting that Ivy League schools' academics are comparable to state schools' academics.

[Comrade]

[HS: Yes, I do believe that Organic Chemistry is a lot easier at US Riverside. UC-Riverside is 40% NAM, so all of the classes need to be dumbed down. They may use the same textbook (or they may not, I have noticed that Ivy League schools do use different textbooks), but they probably cover less material and the tests have easier questions.]

LOL. That is ridiculous. It's 40% NAM, but upper division STEM at UC Riverside is dominated by Chinese expats, Indians, and some Middle Easterners. STEM grad students are predominantly Chinese, Indian, and white.

[HS: Just because someone is Chinese doesn't mean they are a genius. I know a lot of mediocre Chinese people. The smart Chinese go to Berkeley.]

[Black_Rose]

I meant to say that NAMs would not be proportionately represented in STEM majors as they are in the student body due to the somewhat rigorous nature of a STEM curriculum as it sets a lower bound of aptitude.

[superdestroyer]

LaPanache,

The difference with state schools versus the Ivy League is that state schools give failing grades to many students and quickly move them out of the way.

All you are saying is what I heard from one of my undergraduate professors, a Cal Tech alumnist. The only difference in science classes at Ivy League schools versus state schools is the different in the students sitting next do you.

Do you really think that Petroleum Engineering, the highest paying Bachelor's only degree in the U.S., is really taught differently at Stanford Versus Texas A&M. The real difference is Texas A&M fails a lot of students out of the program but Stanford does not.

[superdestroyer]

HS,

For an undergraduate science degree, it does not matter if the Chinese, Indian, or Korea student next to you are geniuses. What really matters is that they work very hard.

Also, after being a TA for both undergraduate and graduate classes, I am very suspect of people who claim that they aced a class without studying. I never say it in my mechanics class and I never saw it in my radiological physics class. People who never studied, never did the home works, and rarely came to class generally did poorly.

I found that most poeple who claimed to make great grades while not working hard were lying.

[Comrade]

"HS: Just because someone is Chinese doesn't mean they are a genius."

I didn't say all Chinese people are geniuses. I said that you see them in upper division STEM courses, and not NAMs.

The NAMs didn't make it through lower division STEM courses. They didn't make it through calculus and o-chem.

Perhaps the classes are dumbed down just enough to accommodate "mediocre Chinese people." They certainly aren't dumbed down enough for the NAMs.

[DaveinHackensack]

Asdf,

"God is dead in our culture. I make no claim that there are zero religious people. True believers are a minority though."

Nonsense. Most Americans are believers, to one extent or another. A minority is agnostic, and a much smaller minority is atheist. It's entirely up to you if you want to hang out with materialist, status-obsessed atheists or whether you want to join a community where people spend some time caring about each other.

[Conquistador]

"I found that most poeple who claimed to make great grades while not working hard were lying." - superdestroyer

I'm glad you said this because that's been my experience as well. People like to come across as hotshots. It's all a social game.

"Nonsense. Most Americans are believers, to one extent or another." - Dave

The belief is very superficial nowadays. Religious gatherings are mostly social events where people frequently like to show off.

[mb]

I think this guy planned everything, including what would happen in the event of getting caught as well as the media hype. Because he's white everyone is discussing his education, his socially inept personality trying to reason why a white person would do this. If he was non-white or muslim, no need to still wonder about his love for gaming and his true identity and motive. The fact that he's of a creed different to you would answer the question. No need for drawn out trials and insanity pleas, the answer would be there. Double standards. Everyone could be playing into this 'jokers' hands, by giving him all the attention.. his chance to 'shine'. Has anyone watched Primal Fear? Edward Norton played a guy who got acquitted because of an insanity /split personality plea and a good lawyer. And James Holmes loved movies, probably learnt a lot. In his mind, he's playing a role in a movie. People do need something to believe in or else the world will just become seriously messed up. Like this guy.