[cwkoss]

In psychology undergrad, I read about a study of anorexic people: they had people rate their own attractiveness, and had strangers rate their attractiveness. Normal population consistently rated themselves higher in attractiveness than strangers did on average. However, anorexic's self ratings were much closer to stranger-ratings.

(May not be remembering this correctly and I assume this study was done in the 90s when thinness was more in fashion - wouldn't be surprised if it didn't replicate if done today)

See also: dunning kruger effect.

My takeaway is that the 'normal' human brain lies to itself in many ways which protect the ego. Some disorders are caused not by disconnection from reality, but rather too accurate a view of reality.

I wouldn't be surprised if there are many autistic traits that have a similar origin: the brains socio-protective instinctual lies are failing, and autistic people are actually acting more rationally.

[guerrilla]

> Some disorders are caused not by disconnection from reality, but rather too accurate a view of reality.

Yeah, I've heard this about depression. [1]

> Depressive realism is the hypothesis developed by Lauren Alloy and Lyn Yvonne Abramson that depressed individuals make more realistic inferences than non-depressed individuals. Although depressed individuals are thought to have a negative cognitive bias that results in recurrent, negative automatic thoughts, maladaptive behaviors, and dysfunctional world beliefs, depressive realism argues not only that this negativity may reflect a more accurate appraisal of the world but also that non-depressed individuals' appraisals are positively biased.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depressive_realism

[solarmist]

The version of this I heard was about pessimism or depression and other people's perceptions of their attractiveness.

It may have been the same study or one inspired by the study you mentioned, but I've heard things like this before too.