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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
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
"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
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.
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.
So switching my lvl 7 dark elf warrior from chaotic neutral to evil gives a str bonus?
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.
OLIVER: How hard was it to remind neutral during World War II?
MAURER: Well, I think this is always a debate and I think we do make a clear distinction between our neutrality as an instrument of foreign policy and what we think as individuals and what the country thinks.
OLIVER: But then, the neutrality issue seems complicated. Now obviously, Hitler did some very bad things, we know that. How do you focus on the positive things to balance that out?
MAURER: It's not a question of positive. It's a question of our neutrality has always been a state-driven concept of not participating in war.
OLIVER: Was there not just a little voice of humanity inside you saying this is terrible, we should really do something about it?
Story continues below
MAURER: As a question of principle, it's unadvisable for a country as small as ours to participate in war. Why should we?
OLIVER: So: Easy to take a position on neutrality, hard to take a position on Hitler.
MAURER: We did take strong positions on Hitler and many other things. We didn't participate in the war. That's two different things.
OLIVER: [imitating Hitler] "Would it be possible for me to keep my gold here?" [Imitating the Swiss] "Ah, Adolf! Of course! Lovely to see you again. Come back in! What have you been up to? Actually, don't tell me, I want to be able to say I don't know."
[uncomfortable pause]
OLIVER: Is this neutral anger, or real anger, Mr. Ambassador?