I remember your post. I don't think you have any mental health issues, I mean long-standing ones. Your comments recently as well as your original post is in some ways quite cogent. But as I replied to you in that thread (I don't remember my throwaway pwd), the Reddit CO2 poisoning guy also sounded quite fine. He wrote in quite a similar style as you, in the sense that there are no stylistic clues, it sounded well-reasoned.
But you gave HN a lot of information other than the hacking facts - specifically, your exact adderal dosage, and also feeling ill physically.
I initialled replied by asking about who would have a motive to send you that email - but after I saw the linked Reddit article about the CO2 poisoning guy, I decided that it's probably more important for you to lower your adderall usage and make sure you're not physically ill. I mean what are the downsides to not taking so much adderal? None. People specifically pointed out the effects that you describe matching the adderall dosage, and also I think what you said about your family being concerned is a BIG clue. After all, I doubt the author's family (of the Atlantic article in this thread) is concerned about him for writing it (as a point of comparison). So what I mean is that just because you believe you're being hacked doesn't mean you would tell your whole family - their conern doesn't come from the facts, it comes from your behavior. So that to me also said that it is likely that you should get the primary things that might be causing this into check.
All that said, I found the facts you reported to be completely plausible. But, like, so what? The matrix of reward/loss for you looks like this:
There are two questions: are you temporarily ill, and are you being hacked. You now have two choices: explore your possible illness or ignore it. Here is the reward table:
Expl = explore possibility of illness
Being hacked?
No Yes
Ill? No [ Expl.: -30 Ignore: 0 ] [Expl: -30 Ignore: 0]
Yes [ Expl.: -30 Ignore: -10000 ] [Expl: -30 Ignore: -10000]
If the above boxes are taken in this order:
1 2
3 4
1: You're not being hacked and not ill. Simply mistaken. In this case, exploring illness will take you time and trouble, denoted by -30. If you ignore the possibility of illness (and the possibility of being hacked) you suffer no consequences.
2: In this case you ARE being hacked, and not ill. You're correct about feeling like you're being hacked. In this case, exploring illness possibility takes you the same -30. But if you ignore the possibility of illness, you suffer no negative consequences, EVEN THOUGH you're actively being hacked.
3: This is what happened to C02 guy. He has permanent brain damage now. He was NOT "being hacked" but was very seriously ill. In your story, this is a possibility since you reported physical illness, since your family was worried (even though if you wre genuinely being hacked you would have no reason to share with them, since it would be obvoius to you that it would sound paranoid), and you were taking huge adderal dosage. In addition, you could have some genuine issue like CO2 poisoning - for example is there a fireplace in the place you moved to? Is it ventilated. This is just one possibility, there are many other illnesses you could have contracted in the recent past, or external causes of your feeling.
4: The situation is EXACTLY THE SAME if you actually are under surveillance. if you ignore and don't treat your illness, you are under the exact same risks, even if at the same time your surveillance or being hacked is real. You gain nothing from not exploring the possibility of illness.
Why do I put -10,000 into the illness box?
Because this is what Co2 guy reports (after reddit successfully diagnosed him and his Co2 meter was off the charts): "Likely permanent damage. I can't work. I get confused watching movies. I can't remember anything. I confuse my reflection for a different person." [1] If he hadn't told reddit, today he would very likely be dead.
What happenes if you're being hacked? Nothing.
So given the barest glance at the matrix above, it should seem completely obvious that you MUST explore health-related possibilities while completely ignoring the possibility that you're being hacked. You get no benefit from deciding this now, rather than after you're feeling normal.
I very strongly advise you to follow up as everyone suggested!
To counter, Twitter is a growth stage company and while public, it's value is priced exclusively on future value. It is only a 9 year old company working out product market fit and has only had a few profitable quarters, I only noted feb 2014 but there are likely a few more.
So is it a startup? Idk wtf a startup is but Twitter isn't a blue chip.
To counter, Facebook has been around the same amount of time, and would you call them a startup? Are you saying if a company is successful, they are not a startup, and if they aren't, we'll just keep calling them a startup until they die off like most other startups?
I responded to this already, but the hacker must have intercepted it. Just kidding, I think I hit post limit because this account is new.
Regardless, that was the reference and I am definitely not that spun out, for sure. I will say this though, when he goes to meet wh1teR0se he says maybe they're the best because "they are more paranoid than the rest of us".
So, did I take too much adderall, flip out and whipe my whole system? Yep. Have I been leading a financial revolution under the exper tutelage of my dead father with a curious affinity for back to the future II? Not yet.
Ok. This makes the most sense. Actually pretty relieved. I don't think I have gone that far yet, but that seems pretty in line with what happened. I guess it is good that he showed up and said he was fine and returned to normal. I don't "feel" like I am a total nutter but after ~5 hours of sleep in 48 hours, I slept for ~11 hours and felt a bit better. Going to have to def scale my dosage down and sleep more. This post was the most helpful. Sure, what I said sounds crazy, but to be fair I did receive some troll emails and my shit was all fucked up. I think the schizo. diagnosis was a bit strong, but this one makes way more sense. Thanks, nice to see this person recovered well and that overdoing it can lead to some really fucked up shit.
hahaha I don't think I am insane, I think it was just a temporary episode and am resolving to try and be less stressed, sleep more, and take less adderall and caffeine. That being said, as someone who is/was insane, I was able to checkle a bit when I clicked on the video and it said "this video does not exist".
The CO one scared me, especially because a few fir alarms went off in my house a few days ago, but my father and I looked around and confirmed there was no fire despite them going off for ~1 hour. Myabe lighting the stove for the first time? Anyway, I think I just need to get more sleep and my parents have been cool about it. I think they are a bit worried, but seem to be resolved to just monitor me, which is good.
In the US, at least, you can call the gas company if you suspect a carbon monoxide leak. If you have reason to suspect a real emergency, you might also consider calling the fire department or emergency services.
Most fire departments also have a non-emergency line that you can just call for advice, they may even send somebody by non-emergent to check your house out and you as well. Some EMS providers (in the US most fire departments have EMS on staff also) have the ability to check for carbon monoxide in your blood.
During my time as an EMT, I saw plenty of people go crazy for various reasons from schizophrenia to completely unrelated physical issues such as diabetes, migraines, epilepsy and rhabdomyolysis. I AM NOT A DOCTOR, but you should consider consulting one. It may not be that you are not "crazy", but you may have some other medical condition affecting your mental status.
Not sure if anyone is still in here but this is OP. Here is a pastebin link from a few of the emails that weren't from auto-generated indian programmers. I downloaded one of the attached files and followed one of the links to a personal site with my phone.
I am sure I overreacted but they did make me concerned when my machine was running slow. I had upgraded to El Capitan on like the 2nd. SOme behavior preceded that but not having fans run and machine getting hot is fairly normal on mac.
IDK maybe I am just paranoid. Trying to find the TCP DUmps. From before I formatted the system. I am posting them because a few people said that there was no real evidence. I am sure I overreacted and maybe should look into it more, but the emails happened.
I think this make sense sense. I am sure others find this dangerous but the lack of balance in my life can also I would imagine, cause problems mentally. I haven't had much contact with people outside my family, spend all my time programming or on the Internet, and there is no one in my age demo in my town. I never exercise
I suspect I should cut my adderall and caffeine intake, eat healthier, get a more regimented schedule and excercise. Call friends more and try to get out and about with the few people I know around here
