Read this post if you need to waste time at work

[bruorton]

Golly, but I need to make a personal post here -- it seems like kaph is the only one who writes about what's going on in our apartment/lives.  But there were a couple things I really wanted to mention, only one of them related to me.

The first is some classic weird science!  Will the next fad diet be -- brainwashing?  Yes, there are actually people out there working on how to implant false memories that certain foods are bad and others are good, so that they, say, avoid strawberry ice cream and start liking asparagus.  Naturally, there's the camp that says this simply can't work on a large scale, but what if it could?  There was this hopeful indication, however: "Scientists have so far failed to implant false beliefs about... chocolate chip cookies and potato chips."

Then, as some of you may have actually heard, a new object has been discovered in our solar system, 2003 UB 313, three times as far from the Sun as Pluto is.  I say object, because there is resistance to actually calling it a planet.  Problem is, it's larger than Pluto.  So does this mean we have 8 planets now, or 10?

Oh yeah, and there was one thing that actually has to do with me... I submitted an entry over at OurCongress.org on the race for the US House seat in VT opening up next year, which the site editors posted without any changes.  Which means that you can go read it, if you're into that kind of thing.

Comments

weird science

[ellyane.livejournal.com]

so, the problem, as I see it, is 2fold

1) cookies are not actually bad. and too much asparagus is not a good thing either. if they're going to brainwash someone, brainwash them into moderation!

2) if they succeed with this, what are the implications for other brainwashing situations? Could we be brainwashed to vote for some political party? To fall in love with a different person? To buy a certain brand of car? There would be no limit to it.

Re: weird science

[bruorton.livejournal.com]

You're absolutely right. Which is why I took it as encouraging that they were unable to overcome the desire for cookies: while people are obviously vulnerable to suggestion, there are still far more potent things. I would bet (and fervently hope) that convictions and emotions, as per your first two examples, are among these.

As for advertising, I would offer no bets, unless it were that advertisers already consider themselves proficient at this sort of suggestion.