Agreed completely. I was sympathetic to arguments like his right up until the time when my brother began acting weird and fell into a downward spiral that ultimately led to a schizophrenia diagnosis. What really sticks out to me is the brain damage-like effects of the disease - not just paranoia and delusions but a total breakdown in verbal and reasoning abilities. What my brother suffers from really is more comparable to Alzheimers or even forms of brain damage or post-stroke states than other mental illnesses I&#x27;ve encountered - it&#x27;s not so much a visionary state as it is a crippling disability. Really grim stuff, and I suspect that many people who glamorize it don&#x27;t have firsthand experience with the destruction it can cause.<p>To end with a somewhat more positive note, the late Oliver Sacks has written beautifully and with great sympathy and humanity about his brother&#x27;s battle with schizophrenia - I think it&#x27;s mainly in his &quot;chemical memoir&quot; <i>Uncle Tungsten</i>. I&#x27;ve often wished that he wrote a whole book on the subject but I guess it hit a little too close to home for him.