Believing You Are Very Good Or Evil Boosts Your Physical Capabilities 192
Research by Kurt Gray, a doctoral student in psychology at Harvard, shows that a person's capacity for willpower and physical endurance increases if they perceive themselves as good or evil. "Evil" acts in particular give a person a large boost in physical strength. From the article: “'People perceive those who do good and evil to have more efficacy, more willpower, and less sensitivity to discomfort,' Gray said. 'By perceiving themselves as good or evil, people embody these perceptions, actually becoming more capable of physical endurance.' Gray’s findings run counter to the notion that only those blessed with heightened willpower or self-control are capable of heroism, suggesting instead that simply attempting heroic deeds can confer personal power."
Midichlorian testing to come soon (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Midichlorian testing to come soon (Score:4, Interesting)
I really hate that scene. Lucas dropped that line to try to move the "force" from being Fantasy Fiction magic (and quell complaints that Star Wars is not science fiction). But it still doesn't explain what "the force" is supposed to be. Are the midichlorians a bunch of tiny wizards ala Harry Potter casing "force" spells everywhere? It's still just nonsense.
This is why I hate Fantasy that tries itself off as "a possible future" science fiction reality. No. No. No. I'm sorry but there will never be magic in our universe..... maybe in some neighboring universe, but not in ours
For more info, I recommend this excellent video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDNrnpefGio [youtube.com]
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To anyone living prior to the 1900's, television, the internet, cell phones.. they'd all be magic. You could certainly try to explain the technology away, but likely the explination would also be significantly advanced enough to be percieved as magic. Electron tunneling whoosawhatsits? I just wants my fancy movin' picture porn to come on over the tubes and light up my screen!
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Which is pretty much the response you'd get right now, today.
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Midichlorians may simply be organisms that are capable of exerting heretofore unknown forces in the universe or modifying the interactions of currently known forces (suppressing, increasing, reversing them, whatever). Plants, for example, seem to use quantum entanglement as a part of photosynthesis, according to some recent news stories I've read - why couldn't there be other organisms out there that take advantage of other quirks of physics?
Or maybe they're organisms that have evolved that feed on force en
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The explanation is bullshit. We are supposed to believe that this blaster having, light speed exceeding, strong AI using galactic society can not figure out and duplicate the 'quirk of physics' embodied in midichlorians? The explanation is magical precisely because it can not be duplicated or even explained technologically by a sufficiently advanced civilization.
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The explanation is bullshit. We are supposed to believe that this blaster having, light speed exceeding, strong AI using galactic society can not figure out and duplicate the 'quirk of physics' embodied in midichlorians? The explanation is magical precisely because it can not be duplicated or even explained technologically by a sufficiently advanced civilization.
Pfft, what's advanced AI and cybernetics when you can't bring back the dead? If they still don't know how the organic brain works well enough to have established immortality, then there's just got to be some limits to their knowings, don't there? :P
And how strong are the AI really if they aren't running the place?
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Just look up Orgone and bions [wikipedia.org]. It fits together fairly well complete with a darkside.
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Lucas dropped that line to try to move the "force" from being Fantasy Fiction magic
I thought it was to move The Force out of religion into science. Of course, I never read that anywhere or heard quotes from Lucas suggesting that. But it's what I think.
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The earth is flat, locally.
Just like spacetime is flat, locally.
Playing your alignment? (Score:5, Funny)
What if you are Neutral Neutral...would you just collapse in a heap of jello?
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What makes a man turn neutral? Lust for gold? Power?
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What makes a man turn neutral? Lust for gold? Power?
Feh. A man doesn't lust; a man takes. ::fends off the feminists:: I'm just playing my character's alignment! Chauvinist/neutral.
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No, that won't make them touch you, either.
Re:Playing your alignment? (Score:4, Informative)
Sadly you are correct. The men who TAKE are the ones who get sex and marriage (and maybe even some adultery on the side). Us nice guys finish last because women find us "weak" non-confident and unattractive.
No I'm not bitter. Why do you ask?
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I'm reasonably certain that the women who find less selfish men unappetizing are the ones who spend their whole days trying to get "bought"--with too much makeup, revealing clothes, spending too much time thinking about fashion and aesthetics, etc. Those same people have been focused on a lot by media because, well, they're the most photogenic, and easy to portray with bad actors.
To be honest, nice guys deserve better. Hopefully, they will someday learn to stop listening to hyped salespeople in relationsh
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I don't equate trying to be "bought" with being submissive. Again, it's a question of salesmanship, and in many cases, sleazy salesmanship.
Relationships can happen normally, where you find someone you like and you hit it off. You might find you have a lot in common and that you enjoy sharing with one another, and you only rarely rub each other the wrong way.
Alternately, one side or the other can do a sales pitch, and being a (straight) man myself, I only really watch the women doing it--wearing makeup, cl
Re:Playing your alignment? (Score:5, Interesting)
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http://blog.okcupid.com/index.php/2010/01/20/the-4-big-myths-of-profile-pictures/ [okcupid.com]
An examination of 7000 dating profiles, looking at the number of contacts from the opposite sex based on their picture.
Slashdotters, don't forget the standard caveats of examining the results of any study, but this is an interesting read nonetheless.
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seriously dude, just pick up the phone, give her a call, and ask her out. It's Summer, go for a walk in the park, picnic, bring some wine if you're old enough.
Don't play the just friends shit either, specify it's a date. If she's not interested, fine, move on to another one.
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If she's not interested, fine, move on to another one.
Nice guys don't date for sex, they date for love or at least "like". "move on to another one" is a bad-boy strategy.
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Eh, sex is part of it, a fantastic part, but not the whole.
"Move on to another one" is the advice I give to "nice guys" who are absolutely fixated on one girl, especially one who clearly isn't interested in them and\or doesn't even know they exist. This is a tremendously common problem.
Even if you're looking for love above all else, why would you waste your time on someone who isn't interested in you?
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Nice guys don't date for sex, they date for love or at least "like". "move on to another one" is a bad-boy strategy.
Eh, sex is part of it, a fantastic part, but not the whole.
"Move on to another one" is the advice I give to "nice guys" who are absolutely fixated on one girl, especially one who clearly isn't interested in them and\or doesn't even know they exist. This is a tremendously common problem.
Even if you're looking for love above all else, why would you waste your time on someone who isn't interested in you?
Amendment: Nice guys don't date to be loved, they date because they do love. They're stuck in a romantic notion that if they're nice enough, the one girl they really love will take notice. And they're too nice to date a girl that's 2nd best because they know they couldn't completely commit. BTW, there is an XKCD for this. http://xkcd.com/513/ [xkcd.com]
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Of course, that's it, you're just too nice a guy [wired.com].
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Oh, bullshit. Women do want a man who is self-confident. Being self-confident is not the same as not being "nice". Grow a sack, learn how to communicate directly irl, learn how to not be doormat for women, and maybe you'll be taken seriously by one.
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He's learning how to communicate. That's why he's on /. . A little bit more practice and he'll pass the Turing test.
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What makes a man turn neutral? Lust for gold? Power?
That would explain Jabba the Hutt.
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We had a buddy back in the day who made an attempt at a Lawful Evil character. It's much harder than you think.
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I hate to go all Godwin on you, but isn't the best example of evil in the past 100 years a perfect example of 'lawful evil'?
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Chaotic is Conan running into a crowd of enemies whirling his sword. Chaotic is 'V for Vendetta' disrupting the machinery of the 'lawful evil' society around him. Chaotic is the Unibomber.
The Nazi war machine was a well organized, disciplined army running on precise rules. The rule of law was despicable, but a rule of law nonetheless.
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No, that describes the *German* war machine, that was built before the Nazis ever got there. The Nazis themselves weren't really any of those things.
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He's also ignoring the vast amount of aid the USSR received from the USA.
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> I hate to go all Godwin on you, but isn't the best example of evil in the past 100 years a perfect example of 'lawful evil'?
No, that's an example of a few lawful evil making the laws and a lot of lawful neutral following them.
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Perhaps the best description of Lawful evil might be Jim Jones, and various other leaders who perish with their cults. They are following their own laws, even to their own doom.
Of course, where D&D steps out of touch with reality (besides, you know, with every single
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Kind of like Fight Club
Police Officer: You said that if anyone ever interferes with Project Mayhem, even you, we gotta get his balls.
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Not really. The "well-oiled machine" image of Nazism was mostly propaganda. In fact, it was mostly run on nepotism and personal favoritism. The parts of the German war machine that were well-organized and worked according to well-laid out policies with those parts that were there *before* the Nazis (like the General Staff).
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We had a buddy back in the day
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What if you are Neutral Neutral...would you just collapse in a heap of jello?
Stop insulting us Druids, you insensitive clod! :-)
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What if you are Neutral Neutral...would you just collapse in a heap of jello?
Stop insulting us Druids, you insensitive clod! :-)
Shape-shift form Gelatinous Cube?
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Shape-shift form Gelatinous Cube?
The beauty part is, you can't get to the next level...so the kids just keep coughin' up quarters, you know? ::snort::
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It is purpose that defines us (Score:2)
Smith was right!
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So, when do we start getting Lenses? Boskone isn't going to just wait around, you know!
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It was in-between all the talky talk and the ass kicking.
We Agents don't really like to talk about it. Grr. . .
But it is exactly like the quote.
Good and Evil are engines of purpose that sustain people longer than purpose for a given pr
So being netural is the worst chocie then? (Score:2)
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OLIVER: How hard was it to remind neutral during World War II?
MAURER: Well, I think this is always a debate and I think we do make a clear distinction between our neutrality as an instrument of foreign policy and what we think as individuals and what the country thinks.
OLIVER: But then, the neutrality issue seems complicated. Now obviously, Hitler did some very bad things, we know that. How do you focus on the positive things to balance that out?
MAURER: It's not a question of positive. It's a question of ou
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I have no strong feelings on the issue.
I told you! I told you so! (Score:3, Interesting)
Gray’s findings run counter to the notion that only those blessed with heightened willpower or self-control are capable of heroism, suggesting instead that simply attempting heroic deeds can confer personal power.
See? You can will yourself to have heroic physical capabilities! Batman *isn't* bullshit! He may have bought his fame, and all his cool gadgets, but that doesn't stop him from willing himself into a superhero. Thank you, modern science, for seeing the light.
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Chimps don't have really have any more muscle than a similarly sized person, but so much of our muscles are used to control precise movements that we lose out a lot on strength.
As I heard it, it's actually that we just don't activate as many muscle clusters simultaneously as chimps do. It's not about fine motor control when it comes to big muscles like the quadriceps or biceps, it's just that we're optimized for endurance over strength.
And when we do activate all of our muscles at once, we tend to injure o
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Sounds like I wasn't exactly right, as the difference isn't just in how the muscles are coordinated, but in actual genetic differences in the tissue itself.
Interesting.
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I had heard it was because of the placement of their tendons, which gives them more leverage, not that they think they are superheroes/villains. Maybe it's a combination of factors.
In related news... (Score:5, Funny)
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The type of self control mentioned in TFS isn't "I probably shouldn't eat another donut", it's "oh fuck my legs are really tired and sore, I wanna go lie down", and getting a boost of adrenaline would help you push through that kind of thing.
Old as dirt. (Score:5, Informative)
"The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy."
Sun Tzu
Re:Old as dirt. (Score:4, Funny)
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The fuck it isn't.
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"Confront them with annihilation, and they will then survive; plunge them into a deadly situation, and they will then live. When people fall into danger, they are then able to strive for victory."
Sun Tzu
My evil powers (Score:2)
So I can my evil powers for good.....?
Re:My good powers (Score:2)
Your days of leaving words out of sentences are over, Grammor.
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It's evilly delicious!
Oh, Great (Score:5, Funny)
Now the Olympics are going to look like a convention of superheroes and supervillains, with each athlete alignment-doping him or herself with more and more outrageous costumes, posturing, and pre-event monologues.
"Sure, he hurled the discus five miles, but did he really have to soak it in the blood of five virgins and dedicate his performance to All-Mighty Set?"
Re:Oh, Great (Score:5, Funny)
So the Olympics will turn into pro-wrestling?
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yes but without all the top notch acting and special effects.
placebo effect (Score:2)
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Paladin (Score:3, Interesting)
If that's the case, then why is Paladin the worst 3.5e base class?
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All Paladins suffer from crippling self-doubt.
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If that's the case, then why is Paladin the worst 3.5e base class?
Because Paladin was never intended to be a base class. It should have been an epic class requiring 9 levels of Fighter and an oath of poverty (no landholdings). OD&D FTW!
fear of abject humiliation (Score:2)
does it for me every time.
Wild mass guessing: (Score:2)
Hasn't done a damned thing for my Healer (Score:2)
But my Ninja, of course, is Neutral.
They say a Scavvy is the best partner, and evil would, of course, be the way to go. All for naught however unless I can find a RoTP and get down there in a hurry. We'll see how it works out.
Funny how it's always the Ninja that cleans up.
Overcoming the limits of evil (Score:2)
When I am evil overlord:
http://www.eviloverlord.com/lists/overlord.html [eviloverlord.com]
what happens when (Score:2)
I am pure neutral neutral, do I have to roll an extra die to find out what happens?
Chaotic Neutral? (Score:4, Funny)
Ah, the science of misinterpretation (Score:5, Insightful)
IMHO they missed the mark on this one.
It's not about good or evil, it's about catering to the ego's sense of importance.
Speaking from personal experience, if I am going out of my way to commit a personal sacrifice in the name goodness, then my sense of importance becomes expanded for the duration of the act.
For example, if you're running a marathon for a charity you believe in. Suddenly, you may find the wordly measurements of your physical endurance to be exhibiting increased levels.
Are you a super human? No.
You're just willing to grit your teeth and take a little more pain. Because it's *important* and what you're doing is *important* and the ego just eats it up.
We are defined by the choices we live by (Score:2)
Why is there no poll attached to this? (Score:2)
1: Good
2: Evil
3: Lawful Good
4: Lawful Evil
5: Chaotic Good
6: Chaotic Evil
7: There is no good or evil, only Carson Daly.
8: A robot
Tremble before me puny mortals! (Score:2)
So that's how Google does it then? (Score:2)
If you only *knew* (Score:2)
In soviet Russia (Score:2)
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I'm gonna choose evil so I can use the Helm of Disintegration!
"Paladins can't use the Helm of disintegration!" [imdb.com]
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lately I started to observe this: the stronger you think you are, the stronger you are. and the smarter you think you are, the dumber you are.
Indeed, and the number one reason someone disagrees with you is not because they don't understand what you do, but they understand all that fully, plus they understand some other things you don't. An intelligent man asks such a person why they think what they do, in light of this or that. An idiot tells such a person that they are the idiot, and explains what he or she knows without even asking what the other person knows that they don't, assuming simply that the other person must be dull for not having reached the same conclusion as themselves. And they encounter this so often, they soon convince themselves that the world is full of idiots. There's probably a direct correlation between how stupid someone is and how widespread they believe stupidity is among other people.
Seems to be similar to the Dunning-Kruger effect [wikipedia.org] which has often been discussed on /.