The Causes of Eighth-Grade Syndrome and Its Effects Througho

The Causes of Eighth-Grade Syndrome and Its Effects Throughout History
fotc (Mazui Subs, Unlimited Translation Works)

Abstract

Eighth-grade syndrome (known also as chūnibyō) has gained a singular popularity in recent times as a universally experienced phenomenon. Despite its generally accepted universal nature, and while the particular symptoms of the “disease” are easily recognized, a formal treatment of its causes and effects is conspicuously lacking. In this multi-part article, the psychological, philosophical, social, and cultural causes and effects of eighth-grade syndrome throughout history are explored.

An effort is made to provide for the reader without background in the applied psychology, philosophy, and history sufficient knowledge to understand the exploration. The provided background is in no way exhaustive, and the reader is encouraged to pursue further study in the topics discussed. Furthermore, the exploration provided is in no means exhaustive or authoritative; expansions, criticisms, and counterarguments are encouraged and welcome.

1  Introduction

Eighth-grade syndrome (known also as chūnibyō) has gained a singular popularity in recent times as a universally experienced phenomenon. Despite its generally accepted universal nature, and while the particular symptoms of the “disease” are easily recognized, a formal treatment of its causes and effects is conspicuously lacking. In this multi-part article, the psychological, philosophical, social, and cultural causes and effects of eighth-grade syndrome throughout history are explored.

The onset age of eighth-grade syndrome is first explained in terms of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. The underlying cause for the condition is then described in the context of terror management theory (TMT). The symptoms themselves are then described as a form of teenage rebellion and identity development. Finally, various historical, social, and cultural phenomena will be described in the context of eighth-grade syndrome.

An effort is made to provide for the reader without background in the applied psychology, philosophy, and history sufficient knowledge to understand the exploration. The provided background is in no way exhaustive, and the reader is encouraged to pursue further study in the topics discussed. Furthermore, the exploration provided is in no means exhaustive or authoritative; expansions, criticisms, and counterarguments are encouraged and welcome.

It must be noted that this article is planned only in a broad sense. The writing will be performed by sequence (front matter prior to content prior to end matter) rather than by significance (content prior to front matter and end matter) and only during the author’s brief idle intervals during the subtitling process each week. As such, some parts may be omitted during the initial publication if they are not completed prior to the publication deadline. Furthermore, the only source expected to be cited in the article will be the author’s memory of the bodies of knowledge mentioned in this article. A complete, edited version—with omissions restored and temporary notices (such as this paragraph) removed—will be published after the completion of the article.

It must also be stated that no part of this article is in any way intended to cause any offense to any parties, social, political, religious, or otherwise. The ideas are presented entirely in an academic sense. As with any theory, acceptance is a decision on the part of the individual.

2  The Onset of Eighth-Grade Syndrome

The name “eighth-grade syndrome” derives from the common observed age of onset for the condition, that is, the age of the typical eighth grader, or 13. While the typical age of onset varies within the range 12 through 14, the average age of onset is 13, and the distribution is tight about this age.

The tightness of the distribution suggests a common cause for all cases of eighth-grade syndrome: one related to age and development. In this regard, Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, one of the most influential theories in developmental psychology, provides an explanation for the common age of onset.

A  Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development and Eighth-Grade Syndrome

Piaget’s theory of cognitive development is a developmental stage theory, describing cognitive development in four distinct stages: the sensorimotor stage, the pre-operational stage, the concrete operational stage, and the formal operational stage. Each stage is associated with the development of specific abilities and is associated with a range of typical ages. Of these four stages, only the fourth is of concern with regard to eighth-grade syndrome.

The formal operational stage begins in adolescence and continues through adulthood, with a typical onset at age 11. In this stage, abstract thought and the ability to consider potential consequences emerge, allowing the adolescent to think of the future in a philosophic way. The adolescent’s transition into the stage often gives rise to two related conditions: the imaginary audience and the personal fable.

Together, these two conditions describe an adolescent’s growing self-consciousness. They are the beliefs that they are being watched by anything from individuals to the entire world, and as a result, that they are the focus of all attention. This leads to a belief that the adolescent is “different,” “unique,” or “special” compared to others, which results also in feelings of invulnerability. Existing research shows that these beliefs peak at age 13 and decline as the adolescent continues to develop.

While these appear to be the precise causes of eighth-grade syndrome due to the closely related ages between the onset of eighth-grade syndrome and the formal operational stage, they are not. The imaginary audience and personal fable are only cognitive distortions in which the adolescent believes that he or she is being watched, unique, and invulnerable. These beliefs alone do not give impetus for the symptoms of eighth-grade syndrome. Rather, it is the decline of these beliefs which triggers eighth-grade syndrome. A discussion of the mechanism by which this occurs is described in the following section.

3  The Root Cause of Eighth-Grade Syndrome

The imaginary audience and personal fable provide the adolescent with feelings of having attention, specialness, and invulnerability. The decline of these two cognitive distortions provides the adolescent with the opposite feelings: of being ignored, being ordinary, and mortality. These three feelings, in the context of terror management theory (TMT), explain in part the mentality and subsequent behaviors of eighth-grade syndrome sufferers.

A  Terror Management Theory

Terror management theory posits that human actions are taken due to a basic psychological conflict: that humans wish to live despite the realization that death is inevitable. This conflict creates terror, which is mitigated through culture, or symbolic systems which provide life with meaning and value. Essentially, death is denied through symbolic immortality, through the idea that a part of the individual will live on despite death.

Symbolic immortality is achieved through being part of a greater whole, a community larger than oneself, which will live beyond the death of the individual. In the context of TMT, then, cultural constructs such as religion and nationalism are means of managing terror.

B  TMT and Eighth-Grade Syndrome

In other words, TMT posits that a fear of mortality pushes the individual to join a larger community. This is clearly seen in many cases of eighth-grade syndrome, typically of the subculture type, in which the adolescent is quick to affiliate his or herself with a subcultural community. The subculture also provides the adolescent with defenses against the feelings of being ignored and being ordinary as well. First, as part of a smaller community than the entirety of mankind, the adolescent is no longer “ordinary”; the adolescent is differentiated, different, and thus regains a sense of specialness. Second, the adolescent is also able to express that he or she is part of the community, typically one little known or little understood by others, to gain attention. Finally, the adolescent is, as part of the subculture, able to garner the attention of others in the subculture with greater ease than if not part of the subculture.

However, the push to join a larger community does not adequately explain cases of eighth-grade syndrome in which the adolescent pursues isolation, such as the supernatural power (or jakigan) type, for instance. To explain such cases, the desire to reclaim lost attention and to be special must be considered. First, believing that one possesses supernatural powers differentiates the individual from the common, powerless masses, giving the adolescent a sense of being special. Second, the flamboyant expression of this belief and the imagined world are means of gaining attention (blank stares).

It remains that the supernatural power-type eighth-grade syndrome sufferer must have a means of denying his or her mortality, and this denial is self-evident in the sufferer’s supernatural powers. The sufferer will often explicitly state that he or she is immortal, or will be reincarnated, or any of a plethora of means of denying mortality. The sufferer effectively denies death through a religion of his or her own creation. The consequences of these means of denying mortality are explored in later sections.

4  Eighth-Grade Syndrome

The acquisition and onset of eighth-grade syndrome are separate entities. The acquisition is characterized by the adoption of an attitude and mindset, while the onset is characterized by its symptoms—observable behaviors. There is typically an asymptomatic period between acquisition and onset, during which testing for the condition returns positive, but behaviors have not surfaced. In this sense it is similar to HIV/AIDS, and many who have experienced the condition consider this an apt comparison.

The duration of the asymptomatic period is not well characterized, but typically lasts from one to two years for cases with visible onset. The onset is typically marked by a trigger, which may be exposure to a symptomatic case of eighth-grade syndrome or intellectual material of an eighth-grade syndromic quality. The nature of the trigger is typically visible throughout the case of eighth-grade syndrome as part of its trajectory.

Triggers, and resultingly, cases with visible onset, may generally be placed in one of three general categories: rebel, subculture, or supernatural. Many more specific categorizations fall along the boundaries of these general categories. Several triggers for eighth-grade syndrome are described alongside the effects of eighth-grade syndrome throughout history in the following sections.

A  The Mindset of Eighth-Grade Syndrome

Eighth-grade syndrome is an extension of teenage angst which includes a desire both for attention and to be special which typically presents itself as a feeling that one is trapped in the wrong “world” or “body.” It is also characterized by the placement of undue emphasis on things of little consequence, such as minor verbal connotations. The self-consciousness and desire for attention may also result in delusions of grandeur.

B  The Rebel Type

A rebel-type case of eighth-grade syndrome may best be characterized as following the typical trajectory of teenage rebellion. In order to meet the thirty-minute time limit, the author refers the reader to watch several teen films, such as Rebel Without a Cause and Teenage Rebel.

C  The Subculture Type

A subculture-type case of eighth-grade syndrome pursues self-qualification in the immersion into a community with tastes contrary to what is considered “normal.” This immersion is typically done in imitation of others without a proper understanding of what the subculture truly values. Common examples of this type of eighth-grade syndrome includes hipsters, furries, and international anime fans, especially those who watch “fansubs.”

D  The Supernatural Power Type

A supernatural power-type case of eighth-grade syndrome is characterized by an obsession with a field of study, such as mythology, religion, magic, extraterrestrials, or anything pertaining to the occult. The sufferer also typically imagines entire settings and stories in which the sufferer or a character on which the sufferer may self-project is of great consequence. Some very rare, extreme cases take to enactment of these settings and stories. It is of importance to note that the sufferer is also conscious that his or her conceptions and actions are outrageous or unrealistic.

5  Syndrome Trajectory

6  The Voynich Manuscript

The Voynich Manuscript is an illustrated hand-written text in an unknown writing system of approximately 20 to 30 glyphs dating back to the fifteenth century. All attempts to decode the text have failed. The text is divided into six sections, each expounding on (supposedly, based on illustrations) different aspects of the (or a) world. Of particular interest in this article are the “herbal” section, which depicts various plants, each with a set of notes, and the “cosmological” section, which contains circular diagrams which depict a universal organization.

Few of the plants in the herbal section are identifiable with any certainty. Many are unidentifiable as any known species, and some are chimaeric of existing species. The organization of the herbal section is similar to professional herbals of the time. The cosmology does not correspond to any known cosmologies.

The origins and purpose of the text remains a mystery. All theories have supporters and refuters, and all fail to provide a satisfying explanation of the text. This text may be explained, however, in terms of eighth-grade syndrome, and this will be done in this article. In this light, the Voynich Manuscript is the product of a supernatural power-type case of eighth-grade syndrome dating back to the fifteenth century.

The text describes the world of the sufferer, which is constructed partially using various elements of the known world. Most plants in the herbal section do not correspond to known species because they are not of this world, but the sufferer’s imaginary world. Similarly, the cosmological section describes the cosmology of the sufferer’s imaginary world.

The writing system has yet to be decoded because it is a writing system invented by the sufferer (a common occurrence). It may or may not correspond to any known language; however, judging from the strangeness of many writing systems and grammars developed by modern-day sufferers, decoding may require considerable effort.

In the interest of time, any further expansion on this topic will be performed in the final version of this article.

7  Section Title

8  Section Title

9  International Anime Fans, Particularly Those Who Watch “Fansubs”

This subclass of subculture-type eighth-grade syndrome cases is arguably the worst of all subculture cases. Typical symptoms of such a case include, but are not limited to

claiming to know Japanese, when in fact, the sufferer knows only a few phrases, and is unable to use them properly;
attending gatherings called “conventions” with other rabid and/or flaming cases, often dressed in unusual or inappropriate clothing in public prior to entrance into the venue, where social ineptitude and behavior acceptable nowhere run rampant;
a belief that anime is about cultural enrichment rather than entertainment, often including the idea that the translation of the medium is purposed for learning the language;
a belief that the purpose of a translation is to convert words to words, rather than experiences to experiences, which may mean localizing (because the perception of artistic effect falls under “experience”) literary devices, imagery, symbolism, humor, and other aspects of writing;
insisting that elements of the Japanese language are never translatable, when in most cases they are, often with creative manipulation and naturalization of language (sometimes known as “editing”);
a belief that one of the salient features of the Japanese language known as “honorifics” consists only of suffixes applied to names, despite the existence of several classes of honorifics pertaining to, for instance, verb conjugation, as well as “antihonorifics”;
insisting that honorifics be left in translations, complaining when the name-suffix class of honorifics is omitted, but never complaining when other classes of honorifics are omitted;
and a blind devotion to one or several “fansub groups” reminiscent of religious fanaticism, to the extent of verbally abusing other “fansub groups” despite having no reason to abuse them other than to reinforce the “validity” of the aforementioned blind devotion.
It is clear from the aforementioned sampling of symptoms that this subclass is exceedingly difficult both to handle and to appease, as they harbor seemingly endless flaws and fallacies, which are reinforced by the subcultural community and their eighth-grade syndrome itself.

Several of these symptoms will be discussed in the following subsections.

A  Translation

The purpose of a translation is to provide those who do not speak a language an equivalent or near-equivalent experience as one who does, that is, provide accessibility to the material. It is not the words, but the effect of the words on the mind, that is, the ideas behind them, which are of value. The translator must determine, for instance, themes, message, structure, style, voice, tone, and nuance, and based on these factors arrive at a decision on how to translate the source into the target language. To this end, it is often necessary to be interpretive and fill or omit details which are important or unimportant.

A translation is not a means of teaching the source language, but a means of providing accessibility. Because the purpose is to provide accessibility to those who do not speak the language, the resulting translation must be fully understandable without reference to terms in the source language. The inclusion of terms from the source language which can be translated or omitted for the substitution of natural structure or tone limits the accessibility to the material, and is thus lacking as a translation. The purpose of translation notes is to provide information about the context (such as historical or political details) of the material, and thus they are not acceptable for explaining terms or humor from the source language.

The translation must be one of ideas; if a word-to-word translation and transliteration were sufficient to deliver the full effect of a work on the mind, there would be no need for human translators—machine translation would be sufficient. The limitations of such translations are assumed known to the reader.

The above standards for translation have been broken and abused repeatedly in “fansubbing” and are typically spurned by those belonging to the class of eighth-grade syndrome sufferers under discussion.

B  Honorifics

Extensive use of honorifics is one of the salient features of the Japanese language. An honorific is a morpheme which contributes an emotive definite description independent of the propositional content of a clause. Several classes of honorifics exist, from “performative honorification,” which affects verb conjugation, to noun prefixes.

Honorifics are so prevalent in the Japanese language that they may be viewed as contributing to the tone of speech. They are a very natural part of the language, and the experience derived from their perception is no more than noting the tone of speech. As such, they are fully translated by appropriate selection of tone and quirks in the target language.

In the interest of time, only honorifics of verb conjugation will be discussed in this section. Furthermore, only two common morphemes will be presented here as examples, masu and chimau. Masu is an honorific morpheme indicating respect for the listener. Chimau is an antihonorific morpheme indicating contempt or disapproval for an action.

To see why it is unreasonable to include honorifics in verb conjugation, first consider the following two sentences:

Mary-ga ringo-o tabe-mashi-ta.
Mary-NOM apple-ACC eat-perf.hon-PAST
Mary ate the apple.
I am speaking in a respectful tone.
Mary-ga ringo-o tabe-chimat-ta.
Mary-NOM apple-ACC eat-antihon-PAST
Mary ate the apple.
I disapprove of Mary’s eating the apple.
Second, consider as well two typical translations for these two sentences:

Mary ate the apple.
Mary freaking ate the apple.
Finally, consider including the honorific and antihonorific in the translation:

Mary ate-mashita the apple.
Mary ate-chimatta the apple.
The inclusion of the honorific is both unnatural and incomprehensible to native English and Japanese speakers alike. It is thus natural not to include the honorific.

Similarly, the name-suffix class of honorifics is both unnatural and incomprehensible to native English speakers who do not speak Japanese, and it is thus natural and accesible—note the goals of translation—to omit the name-suffix honorific or substitute an equivalent English form as appropriate.

C  Concluding Thoughts on Such Cases

It is clear that the subclass of eighth-grade syndrome sufferers known as international anime fans, particularly those who watch “fansubs,” is one of the most difficult to handle; those who interact with these sufferers often consider them unbearable.

Their unbearability can be traced to their beliefs, which are flawed and fallacious without bound. These beliefs stem partially from a search for identity, especially cultural identity, and a desire to be associated with a community with “clandestine” habits and practices. The obsession with honorifics despite poor understanding of what honorifics actually are can be traced both to imitation of others within the subculture and to the placement of undue emphasis to things of little consequence, such as minor verbal connotations.

Due to the malignant effects of the symptoms of this subclass of eighth-grade syndrome on both the sufferer and his or her surrounding community, it is the opinion of the author that such cases require treatment of some form. No other class or subclass requires such treatment as they are, typically, harmless and sometimes even beneficial to both the sufferer and the world at large, whereas international anime fans, particularly those who watch “fansubs,” can only cause harm. Research is necessary to determine courses of treatment for this subclass of eighth-grade syndrome cases.

10  The Origins of Religion

Religion has drastically shaped the whole of human psychology, culture, and history. Its uses are endless, from providing an all-purpose answer to the questions of life, to relieving the fear of death, to justifying murder and war. The whole of human experience is shaped by religion, if not by a personal faith in some dogma, then by interactions with individuals who do have faith in some dogma. Thus, by virtue of cause and effect, if religion is a symptom of eighth-grade syndrome, then the effects of eighth-grade syndrome throughout history are immeasurable. This is precisely the case, and so eighth-grade syndrome stands as one of the most powerful forces which has shaped human history.

A  Basis

As discussed in previous sections, cases of eighth-grade syndrome typically evolve by way of triggers, with the sufferer assimilating each new trigger into his or her case. For supernatural power-type cases, these triggers tend to be of a magical, spiritual, mythological, cosmological, or religious nature. Typical examples include Wiccan practices, Norse mythology and cosmology, the teachings of Aleister Crowley, the teachings of Silver Birch, and Abrahamic celestial hierarchy. Some triggers are exceedingly common, that is, they hold strong influence over and often dominate the imaginary worlds of most supernatural power-type cases. The commonness of such triggers indicates that something about the world described by these triggers are attractive to all sufferers.

Many cases of supernatural power-type cases create their own imaginary worlds which are unlike those of other cases. Often, these worlds and the laws which govern them are extremely elaborate, including the creation of new languages. The Voynich Manuscript, discussed in section 6, is a prominent example of such an occurrence.

It is only a small logical step, then, to state that all religions originated from strong cases of supernatural power-type eighth-grade syndrome. The originators of these religions imagined their own worlds, took on the peculiar yet common behaviors of such a case, and spread their ideas to their communities, which eventually came to regard these ideas as fact.

B  Example: The Abrahamic Religions

The Abrahamic religions provide a plethora of examples of eighth-grade syndrome as the origin of religion. In this section, three will be discussed.

The first Abrahamic religion, Judaism, is said to originate from a decision by a man named Abraham (for whom this family of religions is named) to worship a mountain god, rather than the moon god Nanna Sin, likely caused by a desire to be different from others. It later adopted a monotheistic and dualistic perspective, that there exists only one supreme and transcendent god, after its interactions with Zoroastrianism, the earliest known dualistic religion. In these interactions, Judaism also adopted other elements of Zoroastrianism, such as its angelic hierarchy, in a case of nearly complete trigger assimilation.

The birth of Christianity revolves around the birth, teaching, and death of a man named Jesus who called himself the son of a god and a messiah sent to free an entire people. (Historians believe that this man is actually an amalgamation of many people who claimed to be such messiahs around the same time, showing the commonness of this trigger, particularly in the aforementioned people during the aforementioned time.) The idea that one is a supernatural being or descended from a supernatural being is a common conception among supernatural power-type cases, and so this man was (or men were) suffering from a popular case of eighth-grade syndrome. Christianity carries over many things from Judaism, including monotheism, dualism, and the angelic hierarchy, but adds on the concept of infinite universal love and forgiveness, which is also a common conception in eighth-grade syndrome cases.

Islam was founded by a man named Mohammed, based on the previous Abrahamic religions of Judaism and Christianity, and includes all concepts of both, but adds on an extensive system of political governance and demands strict adherence to the code of religious law. The founding event of this religion is a purported visit of Mohammed by an angel, which revealed to him the words of the Abrahamic god. Needless to say, the delivery of sacred messages from supernatural beings is a typical eighth-grade syndrome conception.

Thus, it is clear that all of the the Abrahamic religions have originated from cases of eighth-grade syndrome. Because these three religions make up about two-thirds of the world population and have caused many of the greatest upheavals in history, such as wars and outbreaks of disease, eighth-grade syndrome is likely one of the most powerful forces which has shaped history.

11  Conclusions

Eighth-grade syndrome has been one of the most influential forces in the course of human history. It affects all people, living, dead, or unborn, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. It has driven its affected to murder and suicide, wasted and destroyed lives, spawned wars, given birth to philosophy and religion, and caused the rise and fall of empires. Despite the condition’s immense effects on history, its root causes remained uncatalogued until recently.

However, despite the frightening nature of the condition and its catastrophic effects on the human race as a whole, the general consensus is that treatment is unnecessary as the condition is exceedingly common (affecting all people) and typically mostly harmless. The author agrees with this general consensus, excepting one subclass of eighth-grade syndrome sufferers discussed in Section 9.

It is, after all, sad and embarrassing, yet charming and dear, a disease called “self-consciousness,” an unavoidable part of life called “being true to yourself,” and something we suffer from for all of our lives.

12  References

All pre-existing material was retrieved from fotc’s memory.

Errata

Due to the reversed order and impromptu nature of the writing of this article (As stated previously, the author will write the article from front matter prior to content prior to end matter and has imposed a thirty-minute time limit on the writing of any given section.), corrections for errata in a published section may be found in the following section. Any known errata will be corrected in the completed article. Retroactive corrections to previously published material will not be made.

Section 2: Replace all instances of “onset” with “acquisition.”
Sections 2, 3, and 4: Reorder sections to describe the symptoms of eighth-grade syndrome prior to exploration.

Section 5 describes the evolution of eighth-grade syndrome cases from trigger to trigger. The key point is that sufferers proceed through a series of triggers, adapting their case to assimilate each subsequent trigger. For a supernatural power-type case, the real world is typically one of these triggers, and so their imaginary world typically contains fragments of the real world.

For the remaining sections of this article, various historical and cultural phenomena will be named as results of eighth-grade syndrome.