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One of the more fascinating conversations emerging from Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim's new documentary, You Can See Everything, concerns the psychology of Elizabeth Holmes.

Is she autistic? Is she a psychopath? Is she deliberately presenting herself in a particular way to elicit sympathy? Does she genuinely believe what she's saying, or is she manipulating everyone around her?

As a clinical psychologist, I'm interested in these questions. But I'm not Elizabeth Holmes's psychologist. I haven't evaluated her, and I certainly can't diagnose her from a documentary, no matter how much access its filmmakers were granted.

What I can comment on is something that struck me as far more interesting than the question of diagnosis: What happens when our ambitions exceed our abilities? And perhaps more importantly, what happens when we mistake the strength of our convictions for evidence of our competence?

Throughout You Can See Everything, we catch glimpses of the philosophy that appears to animate Holmes's extraordinary ambitions. Her workspaces feature inspirational quotations, including those attributed to Winston Churchill, the British prime minister whose leadership helped guide Britain through World War II.

Churchill is an interesting figure for Holmes to admire.

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