Look at this remarkable image for a moment. Now close your eyes and conjure it in your memory.
Philip Zimbardo – The Lucifer Effect: How Good People Turn Evil
[So, I’m making an effort to read more non-fiction. (Which means any non-fiction at all.) This is my getting started book: it’s about the Stanford Prison Experiment, Abu Ghraib and situational forces that affect people’s behaviours in a negative way. In other words, fun!]
[Oh, and the title really sucks, imo.]
kalafudra's Stuff 
I’ve read Zimbardo’s excellent introduction to psychology (simply called “the Zimbardo” by most people I know).
Man, humans are fucked up. And then, they are astounding and wonderful.
If you see them as a collective, you can know what to expect (the worst) – but then they are completely irrational and altruistic when it comes to individuals.
The wave, the prison experiment and all that, and the real stuff, the nazis, Abu Ghraib, Stalinism…
We’ve read it all. We’d sure realize these situations, would we? We would never press the electric shock button. We would never do the wave. Not us. But this is probably what everyone thinks about himself.
I’ve always been wondering whether I’d be the unheard little “people, don’t” or turning around the whole thing, but statistics tell that I’d probably feel cool about having power (or being part of something great) without even realizing I’m on the road to something evil. And still I can’t imagine this to apply to me.
These are questions I think everyone asks themselves when they are confronted with something like that – and I don’t think that the questions can be satisfactorily answered until you are in a situation like that.
Still, let’s hope that we’ll never be in the position to find out. :)
When I was a kid I was hoping for situations like that and the chance to prove that I am not like it.
Now I’m with you. Let’s hope we never be in this position. And if we are, let’s pray (or cry. or chew our fingernails. or keep our eyes steadily on the ground) and stay pure.
I’m afraid that me hoping for purity is a little too late… ;) But otherwise, we agree.
I meant another kind of purity, one from refraining from doing wrong, not refraining from enjoying life.
You’ve been fishing for compliments again. :P
I wasn’t fishing for compliments, I was trying to crack a joke.
I must be doing something wrong. ;)
(silence)
“I was trying to crack a joke”
(silence)
O, I know these wonderful situations… :P