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I think the part that makes it genuine is that he was comically self aware of himself and his craziness. Even when he was pushing the boundaries just for the sake of it and to make a caricature / character out of himself, he did it in a way that made me think that he didn't really pretend to not be doing it for his ego.

It's like 4 levels of thinking somehow merged in his actions: 1) be normal and look at the crazy people, 2) be a crazy person, 3) be a crazy person and be aware of your craziness, 4) be a crazy person, be aware of it and let others know that you're aware of it. It feels like one of those thought spirals I go into if I have weed. It's right on the boundary of crazy but probably also (in his case) inside the realm of genius.