January 12, 2005

• I'm just amazed that this got past the ethics boards, volunteers or not.
• A better understanding of the physiology of belief, the conditions that entrench it in the mind and its usefulness in mitigating pain could be crucial to developing counter-terrorist strategies for the future. I really don't like the sound of this.
• The scientists will apply a chilli-based gel to the skin of volunteers and ask them to try different strategies to lessen the burning sensation hardly "torture."
• The aim is to develop new and practical approaches "for promoting wellbeing and ultimately maximising individual human potential" Hmmm, this somehow doesn't gel with the paragraph about the study's "vital importantce" in fighting terrorism. No wait, terrorism is a big threat to our wellbeing, so it all comes together!
• hardly "torture." Those pansies. They should start at least with some cheerleader gymnastics, eh drjimmy? Or some lye... [while burning the Narrator's hand with lye] Tyler Durden: Shut up! Our fathers were our models for God. If our fathers bailed, what does that tell you about God? Narrator: No, no, I... don't... Tyler Durden: Listen to me! You have to consider the possibility that God does not like you. He never wanted you. In all probability, he hates you. This is not the worst thing that can happen.
• Does cackling with glee at the thought of torturing Christians make me an awful person? Not that I care
• I've seen those Sunday morning televangelists... these folks have thicker skin than we give them credit for.
• Hm. Actually, I think this is the first time I've ever heard the claim that belief in God relieves physical pain. Usually the suffering of martyrs, etc is emphasised, isn't it?
• I love the new faith-based science!
• rolypolyman: I've seen those Sunday morning televangelists... these folks have thicker skin than we give them credit for. Methinks you underestimate the corrosive power of lye...
• I think that, even if there IS a God, the likelihood that he would deign to participate in something as stupid as this is virtually Nil. I mean, you gotta think that even God hates idiots...
• Does cackling with glee at the thought of torturing Christians make me an awful person? Yes. Not that you care.
• Headed by Baroness Greenfield... I love that the torture experiments are headed by a Baroness. If only Destro and Cobra Commander would make an appearance.
• Susan Greenfield is a very nice lady, actually. I went to one of her Gresham lectures once.
• Pff. Let's see how they fare against a room full of lions.
• Well, the Christian Scientists have been doing this for years. A buddy of mine went to a private CS boarding school and broke his ankle, so they told him to pray to God to relieve the pain, and say other prayers to heal his ankle. (He ended up in the hospital verrry shortly after, apparently because he didn't pray hard enough, and God doesn't protect His Christian Scientist schools from lawsuits)
• OK, here's the part that really bugs me: "While enduring the agony, they will be exposed to religious symbols such as images of the Virgin Mary or a crucifix. Their neurological responses will be measured to determine the efficacy of their faith in helping them to cope." Am I the ONLY one here thinking "Clockwork Orange"? This would be just as likely to induce negative programming as anything else.
• I doubt if the negative programming, as depicted in Clockwork Orange, is scientifically valid. I do wonder, however, whether religious imagery would help or hinder one's ability to cope with pain. Catholics, for example, may react to religious imagery with feelings of guilt over their sins and transgressions, which would raise stress levels and have the opposite effect to what was intended.
• This has Stanford Prison Experiment written all over it. But, hey, if they're going to do it anyway, at least it'll make for some interesting results.
• From what I know, faith doesn't so much lessen pain as help you get through it, and perhaps provide some sort of explanation for why you have to experience pain. That said, I can see rocket88's Clockwork Orange scenerio playing out, here.
• Thinking of sex helps you get through pain. And that actually works (for men at least, I can't say for women).
• >Thinking of sex helps you get through pain. My two bits on the pink side: It doesn't work for me. I threw my back out this weekend and sex has been a no-go since. We tried once, even with me being just a pillow queen, but I couldn't get past the ache and into the enjoyment.
• NObody expects the Oxford Inquisition!!
• But, hey, if they're going to do it anyway, at least it'll make for some interesting results. 1. Sell rights to broadcast lab cameras to some sattelite newtork 2. Advertise as latest extreme reality show 3. Profit!
• Do they have a control group as well as a Satan group? Because I saw this possessed chick once like, totally turn her head around, like, 360, and it didn't seem to bother her at all. That's the pain-reliever I want, brother.
• Well, if God doesn't work for you, there's always: Excedrin: When you just don't have time for the prayin'
• TAGLINE ROLLCALL! MonkeyFilter: I'm just amazed that this got past the ethics boards. MonkeyFilter: I really don't like the sound of this. MonkeyFilter: Does cackling with glee at the thought of torturing Christians make me an awful person? MonkeyFilter: These folks have thicker skin than we give them credit for. MonkeyFilter: I love the new faith-based science! MonkeyFilter: You gotta think that even God hates idiots... MonkeyFilter: Let's see how they fare against a room full of lions. MonkeyFilter: Am I the ONLY one here thinking "Clockwork Orange"? MonkeyFilter: NObody expects the Oxford Inquisition!! MonkeyFilter: When you just don't have time for the prayin'
• This is payback for having to teach Creationism in schools.
• I wonder if we can persuade Bush and Blair to volunteer ...
• "Does cackling with glee at the thought of torturing Christians make me an awful person?" Cackling with glee at the thought of torturing anyone is not admirable.
• Jesus comes back after 2000 years and gets a job with a small town lawyer?
• Why not? Sure it's a step down from being a small town carpenter, but what the heck. Man's gotta eat.
• WWJD? Not be a lawyer, hopefully.
• "While enduring the agony, they will be exposed to religious symbols such as images of the Virgin Mary or a crucifix. Their neurological responses will be measured to determine the efficacy of their faith in helping them to cope." Subsequent tests indicated that the image of Mary which had mysteriously formed on a tortilla inspired faster healing, while a wall which bled into the likeness of Jesus' face had slower effect, but the healing was completely pain free. Results are still pending in the Elvis water-glass treatments and the series of UFO-related therapies.
• I take it there's no psychological difference between the mere feeling of having your eyes stabbed out versus actually having them stabbed out?
• I don't know, freethought, but I think there's large research grants to be had in finding out...