I recently read “The Biography of Elon Musk” by famous biographer Walter Isaacson. This book reveals more comprehensively and deeply the psychological motivations behind Musk’s words and actions than previous biographies. I also read “The Biography of Oppenheimer”, which reveals in detail the story behind Oppenheimer’s genius.

After reading these two biographies, I am even more convinced that there is only a thin line between genius and madness. People who achieve great things all have more or less “abnormal” psychology, and it seems that The “greater” they are, the more “unusual” they are.

There is a branch of psychology called Abnormal Psychology. Some people believe that the word “abnormal psychology” should be changed to “psychology”. However, this term is not very precise, because not all people with psychological abnormalities have physical damage, many people only have brain dysfunction, which is not considered a disease according to the Division of Mental Health. International Classification of Diseases (ICD). There needs to be a stricter definition, otherwise the world could be full of sick people.

Oppenheimer’s achievements are larger and more “unusual” than Musk’s current achievements. When Francis Fergusson, told Oppenheimer that he was going to marry a girl named Frances Keeley, Oppenheimer suddenly jumped on his back and nearly strangled him to death. In a 1955 book by William L. Laurence, a journalist who wrote about the Manhattan Project at the age of 21, Oppenheimer was placed on probation and had to see a psychiatrist regularly for trying to poison his mentor at Cambridge University, Blackett (an experimental physicist who later won the Nobel Prize in 1948), with a poisoned apple. However, Laurence did not provide any evidence to support his allegation, and historians have dismissed it.

Regardless, Oppenheimer was placed on academic probation and ordered to see a psychiatrist, that’s for sure. In four months, he changed three psychiatrists, but he was unhappy with them because he thought that if he had a mental illness, he would understand his illness better than those psychiatrists. . He eventually became his own psychiatrist. His friends later recalled that Oppenheimer was passionate about psychoanalysis, even more than physics research.

In 1926, he vacationed in Corsica with friends, cycling around the island and staying in small villages or camping at night. At the end of the trip, he finally escaped his mental crisis. Exactly what happened in Corsica that caused him to finally reveal himself, he has kept a secret. His friends guessed it was the introspective novel “In Search of Lost Time” by French writer Proust. Oppenheimer loved reading literature, perhaps it was a healing tool.

Musk, unlike Oppenheimer, has never seen a psychiatrist or even a psychologist. However, Musk’s psychology is definitely different from ordinary people. The tools he used to heal were not this kind of literature but science fiction and video games.

From a genetic perspective, Musk inherited many of his father’s psychological traits. Previous biographies did not describe much about his father, readers only knew that he was a very eccentric person, and Musk even refused to let his 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren meet their grandfather. Isaacson, the author of the latest biography, received Musk’s permission and interviewed many people, including his father, and wrote a more detailed description.

Isaacson wrote of Musk’s father: “Errol Musk was an engineer, a scoundrel, and a charismatic visionary.” At times he was moody, adorable and sweet, at times angry and abusive. The insults can last at least an hour, sometimes as long as three or four hours. They are very unpleasant and leave no dignity behind.

Musk was severely beaten by his classmates, had to be hospitalized for a week, and when he returned home, his father scolded him severely. “I stood there for an hour and he yelled at me, called me stupid and said I was nothing,” Musk recalled.

Musk’s sister, Tosca, said of her father: “His mood swings can happen one moment, everything is great, but the next second he will become rude and vicious “.

Musk’s brother, Kimball, said: “One minute he’s very friendly, the next minute he’ll be yelling at you and lecturing you for hours. It takes two or three hours, he’ll make you stand there, saying You are so wasteful, so pitiful, he said hurtful words, bad words but he still didn’t let you go.

Musk’s cousins don’t dare go to Musk’s house to play, because it feels like opening a blind box, and not knowing what they will open, this is very scary. His cousin, Peter Leif, said: “Sometimes my uncle says, ‘I just bought some new motorbikes, come test ride them.’ Sometimes he gets angry and threatens you, even forcing you to scrub the toilet with a toothbrush.”

In addition to the intensity of his emotions and their rapid changes, another characteristic of Errol is that he intentionally or unintentionally confuses reality and fantasy, and is obsessed with conspiracy theories. , sometimes he will make up some fictional stories to portray himself as a hero. or victim.

Musk is very good at making up random things, and many times he really believes in the stories he makes up, which makes his already strong persuasive ability even stronger, making people We cannot judge whether his words are true or false. So much so that Musk and Kimball sometimes doubt their own view of reality.

Kimball said: “Can you imagine what it was like for us growing up in this environment? It’s mental torture, it eats away at you little by little. In the end, you can’t help but ask: ‘Reality What is that?'”

When interviewing Errol, biographer Isaacson also found himself trapped in Errol’s web, unable to distinguish what was real from what was fake, and was quite frightened for a while.

In short, Errol’s mood is unstable and unpredictable. When he loses control, he speaks harshly, uses all kinds of insults, his words are true and false, it is difficult to distinguish right from wrong. This made the people around him feel disappointed and scared.

Musk’s family suspects he has a dual personality. Dual personality is a self-perception disorder in which the patient experiences two different selves, displaying completely different identities and behavioral personality traits. However, Musk’s father should not have a dual personality, because the two personalities of a dual personality are independent of each other, they have different identities in different personalities, so they do not know the existence of a dual personality. the other way, and apparently Musk’s father. remembers his words and deeds, but sometimes he chooses to forget.

His symptoms were similar to Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), only more severe.

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-V) published by the American Psychiatric Association, borderline personality disorder has four characteristics, which are “emotional lability instability, unstable interpersonal relationships and unstable self-image, marked impulsivity.” “Instability” is a fundamental feature of borderline personality disorder.

If your girlfriend or boyfriend has mood swings and makes you feel like you’re in heaven one day and hell the other; she/he does not have a stable relationship with colleagues or friends and thinks that today they are great and tomorrow they are terrible; His sense of self is unstable, sometimes very self-conscious, sometimes very proud, feels empty for a long time, extremely sensitive, afraid of being abandoned, afraid of being alone, always needs have a companion for spiritual comfort; poor ability to control emotions and tolerate frustration, often engaging in reckless impulsive behavior, violent attacks, self-injury, suicidal behavior, impulsive alcoholism, extravagance, drug abuse drugs, etc. can occur during an emotional outburst, then most likely, she/he is a patient with borderline personality disorder.

Personality disorders are not mental illnesses. Psychologists now agree that borderline personality disorder will not progress to psychosis. However, even if it does not get worse, the people around are still very uncomfortable.

A particularly hurtful characteristic of people with borderline personality disorder is the tendency to curse. If you have any flaws, weaknesses, personality traits, mistakes, or failures that you don’t want to face, they will catch them, then use the cruelest words to scold you, making you lose your dignity. They may regret it later, but words are the most hurtful, words said cannot be taken back, words heard cannot be erased from memory.

Some patients with borderline personality disorder also like to lie, which is one of their common psychological defense mechanisms. Because their emotions are very strong, changeable, and difficult to control, lying can help them hide bad emotions, avoid conflicts with others, cognitive disorders, and unstable self-image. and often feel self-conscious and lack confidence. they will lie to cover up flaws and make themselves more beautiful, they crave attention and understanding, often inventing interesting or bizarre stories to attract people, they will also lie to escape avoid responsibility and punishment.

These two characteristics of borderline personality disorder make the people around you seem to be living in a suspenseful, suspenseful, miserable movie all the time.

Causes of borderline personality disorder include genetic factors, poor structural brain function, biochemical factors, and psychosocial factors. People who experience early trauma have higher rates of borderline personality disorder. These traumatic experiences include emotional neglect, overprotection, isolation, and physical neglect. abuse, mental abuse, etc.

From an evolutionary perspective, people with borderline personality disorder are undesirable, accepted by everyone, even accepted by themselves, and should have gone extinct long ago. But not. The reason is that when not attacking, many of them have stronger imagination, creativity and execution ability than ordinary people, and at the same time they are more capable, more talented, more interesting, more charming. more beautiful and attractive than normal people. Therefore, when they are young, if they are more handsome/beautiful, it will be easier for them to find a partner and have 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren.

Not only borderline personality disorder, but also many other personality disorders, such as antisocial personality disorder, delusional personality disorder, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder , autistic personality disorder, dual personality disorder, etc., as well as many mental illnesses. , mental illness, the reason it has not evolved is because in a suitable and favorable environment, these abnormal and sick people have a higher chance of success than normal people.

To some extent, the abnormal brain structure functions and biochemical reactions that make them abnormal are also the factors that make them better and more successful than normal people.

Among all the great men in history, it is almost impossible to find anyone who is completely mentally and spiritually normal. Most people who are completely mentally and mentally normal are normal people who can live happily and take care of themselves for the rest of their lives but rarely make history.

Of course, this does not mean that people with psychological abnormalities and mental disorders can make history, the vast majority of such people have very difficult lives, it is true that people with severe deformities can Being able to control yourself and not fall into a psychotic state is a great success. hospital for life.

There are very few cases like Oppenheimer who became his own psychoanalyst and ultimately defeated himself and made outstanding contributions to humanity.

Musk appears to be the same person. He had long realized that his brain circuitry was different.

While at X.com, co-founder Harris Frick and several colleagues asked Musk to step down as CEO, and Musk responded with an email: “I am a person with a haunted heart. say, what matters is victory, and it is not an ordinary victory. God knows why I am the way I am… From a psychoanalytic perspective, there may be some areas that have not been discovered has affected my behavior, or simply my nervous system has short-circuited.”

In early 2022, when both the space and electric vehicle industries were at their peak, Musk ruefully reflected on himself: “I need to change my way of thinking. I can’t always be in I must have been in this state for about 14 years, or in other words, almost the end of my life.”

A factor that greatly influenced the formation of Musk’s aggressive personality was the environment in which he grew up during his 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥hood and adolescence. In the 1980s, South Africa was rife with violence, with machine gun and knife attacks a regular occurrence. Once, Musk, his brother and cousin took a train to Johannesburg to attend a concert. When the train stopped, a violent fight broke out and a man was stabbed in the head right in front of them.

Sometimes a gang would board a train to pursue a rival, storming the carriages and firing machine guns. The Musk brothers from their youth witnessed countless violent activities, they did not participate or avoid them, they were survivors of violent activities. So much so that after coming to Canada alone at the age of 18, he was not used to the safety there. He was surprised to see that every house did not have window screens. “I’m used to being vigilant in South Africa, where strangers can rob or 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 people,” he said.

When he was 12 years old, Musk attended a wilderness survival camp, later recalling: “It was like a real-life version of ‘Lord of the Flies.'” Bullying was considered a virtue. The advisor’s advice to them was: “Don’t be stupid like the fool who failed last year, and don’t be a cowardly fool either.”

At school, the youngest, shortest, and stupidest genius Musk is also the perfect target for school bullying. One time he was pushed down a concrete step, and some classmates sat on top of him, hitting and kicking him in the head. Musk was then taken to the hospital and couldn’t go to school for a week. Decades later, he is still undergoing corrective surgery to repair the tissue inside his nose.

Musk has a very harsh attitude towards his younger brother Kimball and the two often fight. They continued to fight as adults, when they fought in public, others were surprised, their cousin explained to everyone not to worry, it’s okay, they are brothers.

“For kids growing up in South Africa, fighting is normal, it’s part of the culture,” Musk said.

When they started their first company, Zip2, an online yellow site, they still quarreled from time to time. Back then, they didn’t have their own offices, just separate work areas and others had to watch them play. The most serious was when they both fell to the ground, Elon tried to punch Kimball in the face, but Kimball bit Elon’s hand and tore off a large piece of flesh. Elon had to go to the emergency room for stitches and a tetanus shot. Kimball summarizes his fighting experience, the key is to steal the ball from the opponent first so that he cannot continue to fight.

Musk and his first wife Justine also often argue in public. One time, the two were eating at McDonald’s with a friend of Justine’s and the two got into a big argument. Justine later recalled: “My friend was very embarrassed, but Elon and I were used to making noise in public places. He was naturally aggressive and couldn’t help but argue with anyone around him.” .

The evolving environment in South Africa certainly had an important impact on the formation of Musk’s personality, but the bigger influence had to be his father Errol.

First, genes have immense power. His mother said that when he was 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 he was clearly different from other 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren, he cried a lot