Further thoughts about the sad events at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA. Long-time professors, including me, have encountered seriously screwed up students. Most of us probably hoped they would just go away and, with a little luck, got our wish. Some aren't so lucky. Here is an interesting article about students with mental problems, written by Barbara Oakley, an Engineering prof.
She makes a cogent point: there are people whose brains are "wired wrong" and as a result, do evil, violent things to others. If, as a society, we aren't ready to "put down" such people as we would a vicious dog, then the least we can do is incarcerate them for life. Giving these dangerous individuals a bottle of pills with the injunction to "take them regularly" and turning them loose is as logical as turning loose a killer dog in a nursery school playground.
