Compare Yoda's initial greeting to his wise words on the nature of the Force, and his sagely advice when Luke attempts to lift his X-wing from the swamp. Still think the Grand Master of the Jedi Order has gone insane?

No way!
Yoda is the most powerful jedi master (excluding Ani) he is so not insane!!!

Yeah, Yoda didn't go crazy. He just didn't have much to do with politics or organizing the Jedi anymore, meaning he joked about much more.

OOOOOOOoooooookaaaaaaay. Here's why Yoda acted like a nutjob. Three words: VADER HUNTING JEDI. It was a front to make sure the wrong person didn't identify him as a Jedi so that he could still be living when the right person (the son of Skywalker) came around. Take Obi-Wan for example. Do you think he was a social deviant because he lived in the Dune Sea? He was in hiding because of three words: VADER HUNTING JEDI. He was also watching over Luke. Obi-Wan had to survive long enough to point Luke down the right path and he had to make sure Luke survived to make it to Yoda (so Yoda could stop acting like a psychiatric patient). That is why Obi-Wan sacrificed himself on the Death Star.

I agree, I always thought that Yoda was testing Luke to see how he would handle him.

i agree that yoda was acting like that to test his patience, the evidence in this theory is when he sighs and says that he cant train him, hes too impatient. he was trying to purposely annoy luke to test his patience, and his compassion (dealing with the annoying yoda nicely)

Yoda spoke to Luke like a youngling. Of course, his so-called craziness may be from 30 years of pondering the fall of the Jedis.

The acting crazy thing really annoyed me, but that's what the teat was for, seeing if Luke was patient enough to follow the path of the jedi, and not the quick and easy path of the sith.

Elflord_99, that could be a reason, but pondering doesn't make people go crazy. He knew the fall fo the jedi was by the clone army (now stormtroopers) and Darth Vader before the helmet. So, woild you be pondering about that now if you knew the awnser?

Maybe I didn't use a strong enough word as "pondering" was supposed to be a euphemism. Yoda, being one of the most powerful Jedis failing to stop the rise of the Sith. As a protector of the Old Republic, being fooled by Sidious, followed by the Empire enslaving numerous star systems. I don't think Yoda just brushed it off for 30 years. I think he thought everyday about how it happened and how to restore what he helped lose. Even knowing the answer, doesn't mean you stop thinking about it, especially on such a galactic scale.

He was getting batty - I hope I don't get too scorched by this forum for saying this, but I think Yoda was the one that didn't have the patience - understandably he's 800 years old, but he was wrong about Luke. Luke was ready, capable and finished his jedi training, despite Yoda's instincts. He wanted Luke to sacrifice Han and Leia, but Yoda didn't sacrifice Obi-wan and Anakin when Dooku was getting away in AOTC. 30 years of solitude would make anybody batty.