The title implies a causation that might be flipped.
It could mean "I'm lonely, so I think unlike everyone else." This doesn't make a lot of sense. Would people do it out of spite?
More likely "nobody thinks like me, so I am lonely."
The way it's phrased, I would guess they're after funding to spot idiosyncratic thinking to detect loneliness. Imagine if, based on the videos you like to watch articles you read, etc., they could detect that you were lonely, then target ads . . .
Terry Pratchett put it well, I think: “Individuals aren't naturally paid-up members of the human race, except biologically. They need to be bounced around by the Brownian motion of society, which is a mechanism by which human beings constantly remind one another that they are...well...human beings.”
> It could mean "I'm lonely, so I think unlike everyone else." This doesn't make a lot of sense. Would people do it out of spite?
Makes sense to me actually: I wouldn't say it's even necessarily conscious, but the less you interact with others, the more you can become set in your own ways and create pathways to seeing your beliefs as truths.
I am (and esp have been) pretty lonely, and this is it, there's no sanity tests for thoughts. In good situations, other people provide a grounding, stabilizing influence. Without them, the mind has to do this by itself, leading to some pretty extreme overcompensating and "just so" stories.
I read one analysis of those who saved/hidden Jewish people during WWII. They tended to be socially isolated people, a bit outside of society. That is what allowed them to not fall to group think and to overcome fear. (The analysis was done by some Jewish institute).
When I was lonely and isolated, I did started to think differently. Not out of spite, it just happened automatically. We adjust to each other all the time. We change behavior to match others. When we talk with people, our opinions become more alike. But when you are lonely, you change in own way and become out of sync.
That is why it is difficult to reenter socialization after long loneliness. There is gap between you and others, you feel lonely even if people are there. It took years to fully get back and for a while I thought I never will.
> Although it is unclear whether the observed idiosyncratic processing in lonely individuals is a cause or a result of loneliness, the associated lack of shared understanding may lead to challenges in achieving social connections.
It could mean "I'm lonely, so I think unlike everyone else." This doesn't make a lot of sense. Would people do it out of spite?
More likely "nobody thinks like me, so I am lonely."
The way it's phrased, I would guess they're after funding to spot idiosyncratic thinking to detect loneliness. Imagine if, based on the videos you like to watch articles you read, etc., they could detect that you were lonely, then target ads . . .