Closed System Catastrophe -

There has been a flurry of media coverage of Amanda Knox again, but it is mostly running on vapors this time. Nevertheless, there are a few points I want to address.

# Knox appeared on Cable TV with CNN's Chris Cuomo who gave her the opportunity to roll through her repertoire of emotional affectations as if she were trying on a disjointed series of blouses. Worse yet, she continued to erupt in laughter and smiles at inappropriate moments - seeing this habit for the first time can be jarring to a viewer. What's going on here?

I believe that Knox's use of the phrase "mask of an assassin" is useful in understanding these emotional affectations. I had already formed the impression from her many previous appearances that she is an emotionally disturbed person, and my impression of her in this regard has not substantially changed.

# Perhaps you can see this only in retrospect: There came a moment in the course of this unfolding crime scenario when this case went south for Knox. It was the moment when Law Enforcement initially arrived at the cottage, but they were not brought there by Knox; instead, they were summoned by someone else entirely. It was like a bolt of lightening out of the blue.

I believe that their unexpected arrival threw Knox off balance and that ever afterward, she kept trying to regain control over the situation, but to no avail.

Why couldn't she succeed?
A crime scene is not a closed system . . .

If you believe in God, it is subject to the Hand of the Almighty. If you don't believe in God, it is vulnerable to existential contingency. Even insurance companies allow for "Acts of God."

This means that there is always the possibility that a plane could crash into the building or a tornado could blow it away. Knox's imaginary closed system over which she could exercise absolute control, in effect, collapsed on top of her.

# Is there one piece of evidence that is a "clincher" here? No. The evidence in this case is a large mosaic or jigsaw puzzle.

The odd thing about this case, however, is that it is Knox herself who was the author of much of the evidence against her, and I believe it is important for the reader to understand why. Knox's persistent efforts to "regain" absolute control over a situation she believed to be a closed system impelled her to make foolish mistakes.

:: CNN: Knox and Cuomo ::

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