Writing in City Journal, Dalrymple makes a point that it seems always needs to be made when we hear of people committing acts of great evil: that while we will always seek explanations for such behavior, no explanation will ever be possible:
An atrocious event like the Aurora massacre brings us up sharply against something that for the most part we ignore: that, for metaphysical reasons, our explanatory reach exceeds our grasp and will do so forever.