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VR Study Says 40% of Us Are Paranoid
Roland Piquepaille writes "UK researchers have recently used virtual reality to check if people had paranoid thoughts when using public transportation. Their VR tube ride experiment revealed that 40% of the participants experienced exaggerated fears about threats from others. Until now, researchers were relying on somewhat unreliable questionnaires to study paranoid thoughts which are often triggered by ambiguous events such as someone laughing behind their back. With the use of VR, psychiatrists and psychologists have a new tool which can reliably recreate social interactions. As the lead researcher said, VR 'is a uniquely powerful method to detect those liable to misinterpret other people.'."
First of all, what pretense was given to the test subjects for the experiment? Obviously you can't tell them "we're going to see if you're paranoid", so what did they tell them? The very act of being in an experiment where you're put in a VR environment is likely to affect behavour and the way you interpret people.
Secondly, put this in context of the location used for the experiment. A VR reproduction of the London underground? A place where you're crowded by people, a place which in all honesty does have a reputation for being a haven for pickpockets (whether that's deserved or not I don't know), and oh yes, one other thing - the site of the last major (successful) terrorist attack on Britain. Gee, do you think any of this might make people a little more wary when put into that environment for an experiment?
Some of this is addressed in TFA of course, but it doesn't correspond to the sensational headlines this peice has been getting in tabloids and on the Internet. Being somewhat cautious in that particular situation is a world away from the headlines implicating that 40% of us are clinically paranoid all the time.
Spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, and stupid comments are intentional.
I don't get cautious around most black people, but you better believe I get cautious around ones that look like they've bought into the thug culture. Is that paranoid? How do I know that they aren't in fact some wannabe gangbanger? Saying "don't judge a book by its cover" toward people is irrational. Appearances are one of the most effective ways to gauge what sort of person you are dealing with.
Well, the 40%, I actually wouldn't be surprised in a highly crowded metro or something. You're always less at ease there, and with the added chance of pickpockets, you're bound to be a tad more paranoid than normal.
;))
What I don't get though, is why they needed VR for this. Couldn't they just have placed 80 people in a crowded room or tube carriage where 10 are real test persons and the other 70 are actors and monitors? (monitor as in, monitoring the behaviour of the test subjects, not a TFT or CRT screen
It would seem to me that VR isn't really a technological feat that makes otherwise impossible to test situations possible in this sense. It might make things easier in a way that you don't need 70-ish actor-ish at thesame time in your test hall, but still.
Might actually even be cheaper to use actors. I can't imagine the VR system to be cheap...
Manuals are your last resort only
Didn't they have a few bombs go off not long ago? Paranoia? I think not.
Where I live, public transportation is the domain of the lower socio-economic classes (as opposed to places like London, New York, etc. where its use is more widespread). Our fear is of the (sadly common) incidence of transit riders off their meds.
Have gnu, will travel.
Having just recently been the victim of an attempted bashing (still got bruises), I can understand how events like that put you on edge. Mine was pretty random - I was walking through a park, heard "fucking faggot!" yelled behind me, and turned around just in time to cop a fist to the face. It was mildly ironic, since I was walking with a young lady I'd picked up that night, who yelled and screamed until he went away while I was figuring out how to stand up again, but he obviously knew how to throw a punch, which I sure as hell don't, he didn't care that I was a complete stranger, and I shudder to think how I would have ended up if I'd been on my own.
I'm curious, if sounding intelligent doesn't get you out of one of these situations, what other options do you have at your disposal? Do you or would you consider carrying a firearm? Have you done any martial arts or self-defence training?
A counterpoint to your question, though: The first site I could find that didn't look like a hatespeech outlet still suggests that black-on-white gang violence, US-wide, is approximately 8 times more prevalent than white-on black, in a country with 6 times as many whites as blacks. If you have any other numbers I'd like to see them.
I'm not excusing anyone's behaviour here, and I admire your restraint in dealing with the fuckwits you've encountered thus far. There are obviously heavy social, cultural, historic, economic and legal factors in the equation, and the above is just one type of crime out of many. I assume there are also rampant reporting discrepancies - yelling "nigger" at someone is a crime pretty much anywhere with hatespeech laws, but I doubt it gets reported or enforced frequently, if ever.
Your thoughts?
How do you differentiate paranoia and caution? Is it paranoid to be uncomfortable with someone in my personal space? How large of personal space is appropriate?
I've never considered myself paranoid but I always find myself thinking ahead. I identify risks and think of how I can mitigate them or react to them. If someone bumps into me, I'm checking my wallet. I try to keep awareness of my surroundings, and I don't understand how people can blissfully enter a state of complete oblivion with Ipod's and the like.
What's paranoia is when you let it make you do irrational actions or worse yet afraid to take any action.
Quite true. There is no "top" to the circle that is the food chain. Bacteria and viruses take down plenty of people every day. Being careful of what you eat, drink, breathe, and basic hygiene like washing you hands, might be smart not paranoid.
"What luck for the rulers that men do not think." - Adolph Hitler
The real question is what the hell do the other 60% know that makes them so smug and secure?
Why don't we put on the paranoia pants and walk down that path, huh?
Thats a very uncommon version of common sense. Check out: http://www.nononsenseselfdefense.com/ For ways to determine actual threats vs imagined and avoid real ones easily without changing your lifestyle. It's a self defense site built around understanding how violence occurs and stopping it before it starts, rather than teaching how to hurt people first then get arrested later.
Allow me to expand for our newer PC (politically correct) and city-bred youngsters.
1. We have established ourselves at the top of the food chain on land.
2. Competition of the same species has resulted into numerous conflicts on Earth. Geographical and climate differences seem to back up sociological diff's, thus establishing a basis for conflict: after all, who wants to be wrong?
3. No threat groups: company picnic, or similar like a LUG.
You may not know all of the people there, but they all seem to fall into a 'known' category, where on the tubes/subway, it is an unknown category that requires som awareness, some observation, and some training/knowledge on how to deal with the situation. YMMV
4. Why are sports and other forms of competition so popular (business world, etc.) if not for #2 above? It's our nature...society and civilizations would have you forget we were programmed to climbing to the top of our perceived food chain.
We will conquer and exploit the oceans and seas of this world sooner or later.
5."...becomes "law enforcement" or maybe "military training."
Circa 1977-79, some of our military training trumps all in a conflict.
My experiences with USA law enforcement has left me with less than sterling respect. (with the exception of the Tishomingo, Oklahoma/Murray State College Sheriff Department.
The top end of the department was made up of old, experienced war horses of various conflicts and filled out with recruits by way of the old guys.
Thoroughly capable and professional outfit.
I helped them set up a 'Hogan's Alley' type reactive Close Quarters Combat course, and acted as instructor for several months, then enough qualified, good people were able to shove me out. (no, I am 'old as dirt', a good student SHOULD usurp his teacher/master!- no bitterness except from resenting getting old!)
I served with the US Army from 1977-1981 in and around Berlin. We were a 6 man team that were tasked to exfiltrating political, industry, and science bigwigs from E. Berlin into W. Berlin so they could be sent on westward.
My primary MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) was a sniper. but as did all members of my team , I had multiple secondary MOS's. Mine were : Close Quarters Combat, Small Arms, Medic, and Demolitions.
As any combat vet can attest, having been there, done that, and wore the damned tee-shirt out...VR subways are an adrenaline letdown, as are the real thing.
Down With Slashdot BETA!!! I've been around the corner and seen the oliphant; you can only abuse me from your perspecti