Sir Gala Clad
Bronze Member
Are metal detectorists insane? 
Even though Albert Einstein never diagnosed a detectorist, one of his theories supports this conclusion.
" Doing the same thing over and over again, while expecting a different result" is one of his definitions of insanity. No doubt about it in my case, each and every time I venture out sweeping my coil over the beach sand expecting to find gold, platinum and silver only to find bottle caps, pull tabs, and coins of clad. Repeating this pattern day after day, or night depending on the tides even when the moon is not full.
Then there is the lemming like response to rush into harm's way when there are storms, even while those who are desperately trying to leave (oh boy - another tell).
Also seems a bit odd to flock to the beach when the weather is miserable, get blasted by sand, pelted by rain, when you can barely hear anything but the wind roar through your head phones.
Definitely, anti social, either arriving before the sun rises and leaving before those who wear bathing suites arrive, or after the hoard of sun worshipers depart so that I am free at last to mutter to myself "lousy bottle cap, dang pull tab, one measly penny" as appropriate after each dig.
The there is Pavlov response causing me to dig every time I hear a beep. Worse is the compulsive obsessive behavior cratering pattern which follows when I cannot fetch the object and get my just reward.
Sure glad I am a salvager and not a detectorist as this is perfectly normal behavior for me. Started out as a treasure hunter, but switched to salvage, when my tax preparer informed me that the IRS did not recognize treasure hunting as a business. Insane or not, a Rose is not a Rose by any other name, to the boys and girls at the Infernal Revenue Service, whose current mission, based on recent experience is it to take from the Needy to give to the Greedy.
If only it were possible to go back to simpler gentler times. I still fondly recall a theme from a trade show in the 70s " Do you remember when sex was dirty and water was clean"? Ah there was even a time before there were pull tabs on soda cans, and the beach was not festooned in plastic. A time when many of the now homeless even had homes.
Even though Albert Einstein never diagnosed a detectorist, one of his theories supports this conclusion.
" Doing the same thing over and over again, while expecting a different result" is one of his definitions of insanity. No doubt about it in my case, each and every time I venture out sweeping my coil over the beach sand expecting to find gold, platinum and silver only to find bottle caps, pull tabs, and coins of clad. Repeating this pattern day after day, or night depending on the tides even when the moon is not full.
Then there is the lemming like response to rush into harm's way when there are storms, even while those who are desperately trying to leave (oh boy - another tell).
Also seems a bit odd to flock to the beach when the weather is miserable, get blasted by sand, pelted by rain, when you can barely hear anything but the wind roar through your head phones.
Definitely, anti social, either arriving before the sun rises and leaving before those who wear bathing suites arrive, or after the hoard of sun worshipers depart so that I am free at last to mutter to myself "lousy bottle cap, dang pull tab, one measly penny" as appropriate after each dig.
The there is Pavlov response causing me to dig every time I hear a beep. Worse is the compulsive obsessive behavior cratering pattern which follows when I cannot fetch the object and get my just reward.
Sure glad I am a salvager and not a detectorist as this is perfectly normal behavior for me. Started out as a treasure hunter, but switched to salvage, when my tax preparer informed me that the IRS did not recognize treasure hunting as a business. Insane or not, a Rose is not a Rose by any other name, to the boys and girls at the Infernal Revenue Service, whose current mission, based on recent experience is it to take from the Needy to give to the Greedy.
If only it were possible to go back to simpler gentler times. I still fondly recall a theme from a trade show in the 70s " Do you remember when sex was dirty and water was clean"? Ah there was even a time before there were pull tabs on soda cans, and the beach was not festooned in plastic. A time when many of the now homeless even had homes.
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