The Hinged Swimming Pool Test
At a large psychiatric hospital, the chief psychiatrist, who had dedicated his entire life to medicine, was about to retire. Before leaving his position, he wanted to conduct one final test to see if any patients had truly recovered and were ready to reintegrate into society.
He led a group of 20 of the most severe patients to the hospital’s backyard. There, the hospital had just built an Olympic-sized swimming pool, but… it had not been filled with a single drop of water yet. The bottom of the pool was completely dry and rock-hard concrete.
The chief psychiatrist stood on a platform and announced loudly:
– “The weather is beautiful today! The hospital has decided to open the new swimming pool. Anyone who wants to go down and swim, feel free to jump in!”
– “The weather is beautiful today! The hospital has decided to open the new swimming pool. Anyone who wants to go down and swim, feel free to jump in!”
As soon as he finished speaking, 19 patients cheered wildly. They ran to get a head start, some diving headfirst, some doing the breaststroke in mid-air, and others performing the backstroke before crashing straight down onto the dry concrete floor. As a result, all 19 lay scattered, groaning with swollen heads, broken arms, and sprained ankles.
The doctor sighed in disappointment. But when he turned around, he noticed there was one single patient still standing on the deck. He had his arms crossed over his chest, looking down at the people at the bottom of the pool with a look of pity, shaking his head in disapproval.
The doctor thought to himself with joy: “Oh thank goodness, my treatment has finally worked on at least one person! He realizes the danger!”
He gently walked up to him, patted his shoulder, and asked proudly in a warm voice:
– “Young man, why didn’t you jump into the pool with your friends? What do you think of their actions?”
– “Young man, why didn’t you jump into the pool with your friends? What do you think of their actions?”
The patient turned to look at the doctor, smirked, and replied:
– “Look at them, doctor. They are a bunch of lunatics! Jumping down there right now is just asking for trouble.”
– “Look at them, doctor. They are a bunch of lunatics! Jumping down there right now is just asking for trouble.”
The doctor nodded repeatedly, pulling out his notebook, ready to sign the discharge papers:
– “Wonderful! Tell me more, why did you know it was dangerous to jump down there?”
– “Wonderful! Tell me more, why did you know it was dangerous to jump down there?”
The patient pointed to the pool, leaning close to the doctor’s ear, and whispered mysteriously:
– “Don’t you see it, doctor? I’m the only one who discovered the secret. I’m not jumping because… I haven’t been taught the proper technique yet! I’m waiting for the staff to install the springboards so I can do a triple flip into the deep end!”
– “Don’t you see it, doctor? I’m the only one who discovered the secret. I’m not jumping because… I haven’t been taught the proper technique yet! I’m waiting for the staff to install the springboards so I can do a triple flip into the deep end!”
The chief psychiatrist silently put his notebook back into his pocket, sighed heavily, and spoke into his walkie-talkie:
– “Security? We are going to need more assistance in the backyard immediately…”
– “Security? We are going to need more assistance in the backyard immediately…”
