Competition and survivability are great economic indicators of health. As far as self-indicative criteria the difference between independence and insanity is simply deliberation with which a decision is made based upon supporting evidence.

Some people who were regarded as crackpots to be ignored:

    * Alfred Wegener (plate techtonics)
    * Ernest Duchesne (antibiotics)
    * Alfred Russel Wallace (evolution)
    * Galileo Galilei (astronomy)
    * Marc Andreessen (internet commercialization)

I believe the appropriate term for this sort of behavior is personal exceptionalism.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17532575