Blog
Pluralistic Ignorance (AKA Herd Mentality)Posted by Roger Keays, 22 June 2011, 6:07 PM Freaky extract from Influence: The Psychology Of Persuasion (Robert Cialdini). Catherine Genovese had not experienced a quick, muffled death. It had been a long, loud, tortured, public event. Her assailant had chased and attacked her in the street three times over a period of thirty-five minutes before his knife finally silenced her cries for help. Incredibly, thirty-eight of her neighbors watched the events of her death unfold from the safety of their apartment windows without so much as lifting a finger to call the police. Latané and Darley suggested that no one had helped precisely because there were so many observers. The psychologists speculated that, for at least two reasons, a bystander to an emergency would be unlikely to help when there were a number of other bystanders present. The first reason is fairly straightforward. With several potential helpers around, the personal responsibility of each individual is reduced: “Perhaps someone else will give or call for aid, perhaps someone else already has.” So with everyone thinking that someone else will help or has helped, no one does. | ||
Richard Dawkins - What If You're Wrong?Posted by Roger Keays, 19 June 2011, 2:25 PM I guess he's been asked that one before. | ||
Learned HelplessnessPosted by Roger Keays, 7 June 2011, 8:43 AM Check out this paragraph from Wikipedia's page on Learned Helplessness: A similar experiment was done with people who performed mental tasks in the presence of distracting noise. People who could use a switch to turn off the noise had improved performance, even though they rarely bothered to do so. Simply being aware of this option was enough to substantially counteract its distracting effect. This is totally resonating for me, the prime example being my Secret Weapon Against Noise, which I blogged about a couple of years ago. Well, now that I have this weapon I no longer need it. I even slept like a baby in my apartment in Rio next door to possibly the noisiest construction site in all of Brazil (and next to possibly the noisiest snorer from all of the Singapore ;). | ||
Greyscale IllusionPosted by Roger Keays, 12 November 2010, 8:53 PM
They are actually blocks of solid colour above the gradient. Wierd huh. Actually it even works pretty well if you cover the gradient with your hand. | ||
Salsa Rueda CallsPosted by Roger Keays, 10 August 2009, 12:42 AM | ||
Salsa TerminologyPosted by Roger Keays, 26 March 2009, 2:15 AM | ||
Things I LikePosted by Roger Keays, 7 January 2009, 4:27 AM
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Essential ReadingPosted by Roger Keays, 26 October 2008, 12:06 PM My favourite 10 books.
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WeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeE!Posted by Roger Keays, 21 September 2008, 5:13 PM Somersaults on the sand dunes at Rainbow Beach. | ||
Quantum Physics and AgingPosted by Roger Keays, 16 August 2008, 3:20 AM Since having become accustomed to thinking of time as a fourth space dimension (albeit one that it is difficult to traverse), I've come across another problem. What is aging? Can quantum physics answer this question? Could it simply be series of accumulating indeterministic quantum events knocking out your cells and causing gradual failure? Clearly, under this definition, it doesn't make sense to quote your age in years, as this only measures the distance between two points in space. It would be somewhat like answering the question "How old are you?" with "63 Ninth Avenue". So, from now on I'm answering that question with reference to the state of my body's quantum decay. Given my life plan, that puts me at 14% old. Hmmm... now I understand why I don't celebrate my birthdays and still behave like a 21 year old.... How interesting, and what a perfect excuse! | ||
