TL;DR
Robert Escriva, a Cornell CS PhD, says a psychotic episode led him to apply debugging techniques for distributed systems to his own mind and has published a PDF outlining that approach. The work is framed as a practical guide and warning rather than a recovery memoir, and he is seeking others to discuss and possibly automate parts of the process.
What happened
On Hacker News Robert Escriva introduced a self-published PDF that adapts practices used to diagnose and repair complex distributed systems to the problem of living with psychosis. Escriva identifies himself as a Cornell computer science PhD (2017) and says a psychotic episode three years ago prompted him to treat his own cognition like a system that can be inspected and repaired. He describes the document as neither a personal healing memoir nor a finished prescription, but as a guide, a cautionary account, and a sketch of an ongoing process he continues to use. Escriva also suggests that some of the techniques might be automatable. The post invited discussion and collaboration. Commenters on the Hacker News thread responded with praise for parts of the book, reflections that compared sections to science fiction and meditation, and at least one warning rejecting ideas attributed to a person named Yoshua and criticizing the hypothetical future the author describes.
Why it matters
- Proposes an interdisciplinary approach that brings engineering methods to subjective mental-health experiences.
- Frames psychosis not only as clinical pathology but as a system failure that might be inspected and iteratively managed.
- Raises the possibility of automating diagnostic or mitigation techniques, which would have implications for technology-assisted care.
- Stimulates public and technical discussion about nontraditional strategies for coping with severe mental states.
Key facts
- Author: Robert Escriva, PhD in Computer Science from Cornell (2017).
- Escriva reports a psychotic episode occurred three years prior to the Hacker News post.
- He published a PDF titled 'Engineering Schizophrenia' presenting his methodology; a link was posted on Hacker News.
- The document is presented as a guide and warning, not a conventional recovery memoir.
- Escriva applies debugging techniques from distributed systems and complex-system engineering to his own cognition.
- He believes the process he outlines is ongoing and may be amenable to automation.
- The Hacker News post solicited discussion and collaboration from readers.
- Thread responses included readers describing the book as part sci-fi and part meditation-focused, along with critical comments about ideas attributed to someone named Yoshua.
What to watch next
- Whether individuals or research groups respond to Escriva's call for discussion and collaboration.
- Not confirmed in the source: any clinical validation, formal studies, or peer-reviewed research based on the methods in the PDF.
- Not confirmed in the source: development of automated tools implementing Escriva's proposed techniques.
- Not confirmed in the source: further public updates or a formal publication beyond the posted PDF.
Quick glossary
- Byzantine fault: A type of failure in a distributed system where components may fail and give conflicting or misleading information to different parts of the system.
- Distributed systems debugging: Techniques and practices used to find and fix errors across systems composed of multiple interacting components running in different places.
- Psychosis: A mental state characterized by a loss of contact with consensual reality, which can feature hallucinations or delusions.
- Automation: The use of software or machines to perform tasks that would otherwise require human intervention, often to increase consistency or scale.
Reader FAQ
Who wrote 'Engineering Schizophrenia'?
The author is Robert Escriva, who states he holds a PhD in Computer Science from Cornell (2017).
What is the nature of the document?
Escriva frames it as a guide and warning that applies debugging approaches to psychosis; he says it is not a healing memoir.
Is the approach clinically validated?
Not confirmed in the source.
How can I read the work?
A PDF link to the document was posted in the Hacker News thread (rescrv.net/engineering-schizophrenia.pdf as provided in the post).
Great book. Its first part could become a sci-fi novel, and that's probably how many of the great novels were written. Its second part makes me think that you have…
Sources
- Show HN: Engineering Schizophrenia: Trusting yourself through Byzantine faults
- Show HN: Engineering Schizophrenia
- Show | Hacker News
- Readspike – Simple news aggregator
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