Is there a way to detect craziness early so as to avoid wasting all the time?
I do not think so. It is kind of like talking to a wingnutrepublican. You know the ones, where facts just do not matter and everything else is a conspiracy.
I end up extracting myself from the conversation by saying, " Ummmm..yeah.......ummm-hmmm.....oh look at the time, gotta go Glenn Beck is coming on!"
"You were not there for the beginning. You will not be there for the end. Your knowledge of what is going on can only be superficial and relative" William S. Burroughs