Slashdot Mirror
Believing You Are Very Good Or Evil Boosts Your Physical Capabilities
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."
The force is strong in this one.
What if you are Neutral Neutral...would you just collapse in a heap of jello?
Living With a Nerd
Smith was right!
What makes a man turn neutral ... Lust for gold? Power? Or were you just born with a heart full of neutrality?"
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.
science discovers adrenaline. Story at 5
if i beleive i am good enough does that mean i can run faster than a speeding bullet... jump a building in a single bound? YES!!!!!
now to find the tallest building nearby to test my new found flight.
$ unzip, strip, touch, finger, grep, mount, fsck, more, yes,fsck,fsck,fsck,umount, sleep
"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
Under the influence of Post-Cyberpunk Gonzo Journalism
So I can my evil powers for good.....?
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?"
If that's the case, then why is Paladin the worst 3.5e base class?
Hoist Number One and Number Six.
see evil subject
does it for me every time.
"Writing stories about harming people" releases hormones, adrenaline that increases endurance. Helping people gives an endorphine reward that gives the person more capacity to endure pain. So if I easily fall into a state of seething rage, does that mean I have an easier time accessing this power boost? And what has that to do with "good and evil?"
Emotions! In your brain!
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.
deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
That's been established for a really long time. Winding up in texts from the Bhagavad Gita to The Art Of War. And frequently gets parodied in western pop culture. It's somewhat tied into the great strength of chimps. 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. Similarly by clearing the mind of doubt we can cease fighting with ourselves and become far more powerful and coordinated than we normally would.
The reason why is simply that being careful tends to cause for weak performance as a result of the excess thinking it requires. Which is why everybody from martial artists of old to marines will train and train and train until they can do without thinking.
When I am evil overlord:
http://www.eviloverlord.com/lists/overlord.html
I am pure neutral neutral, do I have to roll an extra die to find out what happens?
So switching my lvl 7 dark elf warrior from chaotic neutral to evil gives a str bonus?
Who is to say that people who are strong are more inclined to evil? In his study he didn't use any sort of a control, so his conclusions aren't necessarily true.
I can wear my superhero suit! Now where do I get a jetpack?
But now that we know it's a placebo effect, it won't work anymore. Thanks for nothing science.
Support Right To Repair Legislation.
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.
As fast as you run, you would run faster if you knew a lion were chasing you or if you truly believed a lion were chasing you. Neither good nor evil is a lion, but they were created by mankind for similar effects.
...for why Windows has more market share than Linux. ""Evil" acts in particular give a person a large boost in physical strength. "
Time's fun when you're having flies. - Kermit the Frog
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
Why can't we go back to using jumpers to configure slot adapter cards? Why? I say!
So this means that the Dark Side is stronger than the Light Side it seems.
Bwahahaha *cough*. Er, carry on.
They just "think" they're good, and that alone makes them this hugely profitable global company? Cool!!
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 ourselves because our skeletons aren't designed for it.
The enemies of Democracy are
I wish I had a few mod points for you AC (hey Taco, how about a Limited Wish button?).
You are on it exactly. Humans are optimized for endurance over strength. Chimps tend to have denser muscles with more long fibers and they also tend to have much denser bones. The 5-8X often quoted is an exaggeration, but in terms for short term force they are substantially stronger than us. There are some details for the laymen at: http://www.slate.com/id/2212232
I'm gonna choose evil so I can use the Helm of Disintegration!
This all a doctoral student in psychology at Harvard has to do huh. What a waste of time and an education. Who gives a damn if anyone thinks they are good or evil. Evil" acts in particular give a person a large boost in physical strength...what a crock. If you are evil and come at me and I hit you with a bat it just doesn't matter does it. I really hate stupidity.
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.
The enemies of Democracy are
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.
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.
"Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies."
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 which has often been discussed on /.
"The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget." -Thomas Szasz
Your days of leaving words out of sentences are over, Grammor.
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
...the POWER of the dark side!
In soviet Russia, power EVILS you! (Also in all other nations, to date...)
Excel-lent.
/me tosses a coin.
"You are a product of your environment." --Clement Stone
I'd like to buy homeland for our 10 million people. http://twitter.com/mahadiga
"True love" is not just liking or loving someone alot. It's another level. If you haven't experienced it yourself, then you won't understand it. I have felt it, twice, yet I've had over 20 girlfriends, most of whom I simply loved.
I'm not sure what you mean by "true love", and how you distinguish it from lesser love. I suspect it's not the "mad storm of butterflies" in my stomach that I've experienced with two girls. It's the kind of physical response to love that makes you sick, unable to think clearly, and gives you a really, really weird feeling in your stomach. In any case, those two relationships were doomed. Didn't work at all for a variety of reasons. I'm currently married and love my wife deeply, but I never felt anything remotely like that storm of butterflies. It's much more rational, practical and plenty emotional too, but it lacks that weird way in which my body goes completely loopy. I don't miss it.
Relationships that work win out over crazy dysfunctional stuff every time, exciting though the craziness may be.