03 Oct 09 The Bathtub Test

During a visit to the mental hospital, I asked the Director ‘How do you determine whether or not a patient should be admitted to the hospital.’

‘Well,’ said the Director, ‘We fill up a bathtub, and then we give a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to the patient and ask him to empty the bathtub.’

‘Oh, I understand,’ I said. ‘A normal person would use the bucket because it’s bigger than the spoon or the teacup.’
‘No.’ Said the Director, ‘A normal person would pull the drain plug.

I was offered a bed near the window…