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The Mere Presence of Your Smartphone Reduces Brain Power, Study Shows (utexas.edu)

Posted by msmash on from the god-damn-it dept.

An anonymous reader shares a study: Your cognitive capacity is significantly reduced when your smartphone is within reach -- even if it's off. That's the takeaway finding from a new study from the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin. McCombs Assistant Professor Adrian Ward and co-authors conducted experiments with nearly 800 smartphone users in an attempt to measure, for the first time, how well people can complete tasks when they have their smartphones nearby even when they're not using them. In one experiment, the researchers asked study participants to sit at a computer and take a series of tests that required full concentration in order to score well. The tests were geared to measure participants' available cognitive capacity -- that is, the brain's ability to hold and process data at any given time. Before beginning, participants were randomly instructed to place their smartphones either on the desk face down, in their pocket or personal bag, or in another room. All participants were instructed to turn their phones to silent. The researchers found that participants with their phones in another room significantly outperformed those with their phones on the desk, and they also slightly outperformed those participants who had kept their phones in a pocket or bag.

76 of 144 comments (clear)

  1. Totally Anecdotal But... by MightyMartian · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I can see how your smartphone represents a significant distraction. I'm working towards my Bachelors right now, and had to do a math course, never my strongest suit. I found having my smartphone nearby really did represent a kind of a distraction. The temptation when working on a hard problem was to check my texts or my emails, and so long as that damned smartphone was within easy reach I'd often give into temptation. In the end I'd either leave it in the bedroom, or go into the office in the evening without it and work out of the meeting room without even a computer nearby. Particularly for the last couple of courses I've basically sequestered myself away with printed copies of assignments and the textbooks for the purposes of studying for my final, using pen and paper to write out notes and definitions.

    --
    The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    1. Re:Totally Anecdotal But... by TWX · · Score: 2

      It's a similar problem with general-purpose computers in education settings like schools. That general-purpose computer is capable of doing thouands of things, only one of which is the assignment at-hand. This is compounded by the experience of using the computer being similar-to or the same-as using one's personal computer for entertainment.

      I have a feeling that down the road, those with self-discipline to stay on-task despite the extremely easy opportunity for distraction will generally rise farther and faster than those that are easily distracted or otherwise can't stay on-task.

      --
      Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
    2. Re:Totally Anecdotal But... by HalAtWork · · Score: 1

      Yeah I noticed this with internet stuff in general, now I have a certain hour of the day where I do that stuff and the rest of the time I don't. I feel a lot better overall, it's amazing really.

      --
      Twinstiq, game news
    3. Re:Totally Anecdotal But... by Njorthbiatr · · Score: 2

      Not really.

      Two things to keep in mind when you interpret the results of this study:

      1) the participants were undergraduates.
      2) the reward involved was credit.

      Your exclusion set is people older or younger than the university and those who would participate in a study for college credit. This may have a notable impact on the validity of the study, since those who don't need or care about the credit are most likely those who are studious and resistant to distractions, while those who would go out of their way to participate are more likely the type to need/want the credit.

    4. Re:Totally Anecdotal But... by sootman · · Score: 1

      Main issue is being forced to do non-essential work you hate. As a kid, I could sit in an empty room and stare at the walls and daydream for hours instead of doing homework.

      The only thing that keeps me doing actual work at my job is knowing that I like living in a house and eating food.

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    5. Re:Totally Anecdotal But... by aNonnyMouseCowered · · Score: 2

      Doesn't your smarthone have an airplane mode? I keep my gadgets close at hand. I have them loaded with a bunch of offline apps, including an offline copy of Wikipedia and Wiktionary and the usual calculator and document viewer. You can be the master not the slave of your gadgets, if you know how to limit or restrict them, disabling features you don't really or currently need. If you're studying for an exam, constant net access and Facebook are one of those.

    6. Re:Totally Anecdotal But... by gweihir · · Score: 2

      Well, this is not really new. Back when I did my Calculus and Linear Algebra exam preparation, I basically borrowed my parent's basement so I did not have easy access to my computer (C64 at that time, gives you a hint how old I am). This allowed me to work long stretches on the proofs and exercises without distraction. Cot stuff that really needs your mind to be all present, you need to get away from your electronic gadgets. These days, I use a whiteboard when faced with such tasks, standing before it does provides enough distance and standing is good for thinking anyways.

      --
      Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
    7. Re:Totally Anecdotal But... by MightyMartian · · Score: 1

      I'll be honest, I'm sure it's a character flaw on my part, but if the damned thing is near me, I'm going to end up using it, and as disabling Airplane Mode is pretty trivial, it would prove no barrier. The best solution for me is simply to avoid temptation entirely. I'll go into the office or somewhere else quiet, and leave the phone at home. If it isn't there, it can't tempt me.

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
  2. Is this something like Johnny Mnemonic by the_skywise · · Score: 4, Funny

    Where my smartphone is secretly using my brain for memory storage?

    1. Re:Is this something like Johnny Mnemonic by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 1

      No, it's just distraction. Your brain has to use extra power to compensate.

      --
      Support my political activism on Patreon.
    2. Re:Is this something like Johnny Mnemonic by the_skywise · · Score: 1
      I know - I actually did RTFA. Just couldn't pass up the joke (which was my first thought after reading the headline!)

      It shouldn't be surprising really - social media is such a dopamine rush.

    3. Re:Is this something like Johnny Mnemonic by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 1

      I know - I actually did RTFA. Just couldn't pass up the joke (which was my first thought after reading the headline!)

      It shouldn't be surprising really - social media is such a dopamine rush.

      I think you meant "dope mine rush".

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    4. Re:Is this something like Johnny Mnemonic by Frosty+Piss · · Score: 1

      You have a memory leak...

      --
      If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
    5. Re:Is this something like Johnny Mnemonic by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 1

      Ah, I can't always tell. I know some things that make me prone to identify things differently from other people--most notably economics (which nobody is happy about), but also some armchair psychiatry stuff. I'm still waiting for them to figure out Atomoxetine is a mild antipsychotic (norepinephrine in the prefrontal cortex agonizes D2 in the prefrontal region, which downregulates D1) and that schizoids don't become dangerously-psychotic when exposed to dopaminergics because of a cognitive resistance.

      That last one is an interesting hypothesis, by the way. We know schizoids tend to not trust their senses--things like having a person enter their house for five minutes, then going to take a shower after they leave and constantly checking around corners because they're not 100% sure they're not imagining an empty house (despite a lack of actual hallucinations ever). Drugs to treat the negative symptoms of schizophrenia are dopaminergic, and tend to exacerbate the positive symptoms (hallucinations, delusions, manias); schizoids tend to be resistant to the psychotic effect of such drugs for unknown reasons. ... which is exactly what would happen if you constantly second-guessed your own thoughts, as if you worried everything you perceived might be a psychotic delusion.

      So here's the fun part: Schizoids don't volunteer information like this, and nobody asks. Treatment guidelines for SPD say don't. Seriously. If you're a psychiatrist or a therapist and a schizoid shows up in your office, figure out what specific problem they're having today and treat the symptom. Don't attempt to treat the cause; it won't work.

      Prefrontal issues are within my sphere of interests because of attention-system problems. It turns out all this shit is really interesting. I'm kind of annoyed that Texas is so frigging far behind that they're just discovering the concept of distraction.

      --
      Support my political activism on Patreon.
    6. Re:Is this something like Johnny Mnemonic by Aighearach · · Score: 1

      Where my smartphone is secretly using my brain for memory storage?

      Yes, it is calculating and storing write-only garbage data using its biological subprocessor and DMA.

  3. I could not read any further ... by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 2

    The tests were geared to measure participants' available cognitive capacity -- that is, the brain's ability to hold and process data at any given time.
    Because I realized my cell phone is not even in reach ... hurrying home now.
    PANICK!

    --
    Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
  4. Re:Duplicate story by vtcodger · · Score: 1

    The weren't using it. But it was within 20 meters and not secured in its Kryptonite case.

    --
    You can't see ANYTHING from a car, You've got to get out of the goddamned contraption and walk...Edward Abbey
  5. Hollow vindication by WolfgangVL · · Score: 2

    While I've been arguing this very thing for years, I think this is such a hard thing to measure...I imagine smartphones in your pockets and such has about the same impact on general mental tasks as an opened window, or the school band practicing in the next room, or proximity to a personal attraction, etc...

    Did the people running the study have phones in THEIR pockets?

    Should have had the participants remember a few new phone numbers on the spot, or drive someplace new with just good directions; or write them for somebody else, or answer a few general knowledge questions from memory, or one of the many other basic things that smartphones do so well as to have become a crutch.

    I would love to see more advanced studies on this topic.

    --
    You are being ripped off every second of every day, so that advertisers can help rip you off even more tomorrow.
    1. Re:Hollow vindication by viperidaenz · · Score: 1

      You might find people who have smart phones are more capable or driving some place new, even with no directions. They also have the amazing ability to provide directions with unprecedented accuracy, like they have a photographic memory, listing not just which streets to turn down but also the distance between turns and approximate travel times based on current traffic conditions.

    2. Re:Hollow vindication by WolfgangVL · · Score: 1

      Your probably right.

      One may also find those very same amazing direction giving people tend to not notice when the light turns green, as well as experience drastic drops in cognitive performance after long periods with no access to electricity.

      --
      You are being ripped off every second of every day, so that advertisers can help rip you off even more tomorrow.
  6. Re:Control group? by vtcodger · · Score: 1

    How about a proper control group? You know, like a group of people who has a smartphone but is not addicted to it?

    The group of non-addicted smartphone users is the Null Set.

    Seriously, I imagine the study is flawed. But I'd like it to be true. I never anticipated the extent to which cell phones in general and smart phones in particular were going to be a monumental annoyance to those who share the planet with their users.

    --
    You can't see ANYTHING from a car, You've got to get out of the goddamned contraption and walk...Edward Abbey
  7. The results must be wrong by 140Mandak262Jamuna · · Score: 1

    All the researchers had smart phones in their pockets when the planned the test, ran the tests, and analyzed the results. Since they are all dumb due to the presence of their cell phones, their conclusions must be all dumb.

    --
    sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
    1. Re:The results must be wrong by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 1

      Dumb is relative. Researcher with smartphone is still way smarter than Trump with smartphone on Twitter.

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
  8. Re:Control group? by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

    I'm sure non-addicted smartphone users are a minority, but not a null set.

    The bigger problem is that this study reminded all participants of their smartphones before taking the test, possibly stimulating their curiosity to check their messages etc. There should've been another group that received no instruction regarding their phones.

    There are some days when I'm leaving work or even arrive home and I notice that my phone's battery still has a high charge, and I realize I never used my phone that day.

    --
    "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
  9. Re:Control group? by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

    I'm curious now; who are the other four and where's the meeting I can go to?

    --
    Ezekiel 23:20
  10. What?! by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 1

    smartphone no make me dumb. me use smartphone now and me still smart. you no understand? we settle argument with guns! ;)

    --
    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
  11. I feel so totally vindicated right now by Rick+Schumann · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Aside from not owning or wanting a smartphone myself for a whole list of reasons, I've been saying that they're just making people dumber. Now someone has proof. :-)

    1. Re:I feel so totally vindicated right now by viperidaenz · · Score: 1

      You also seem to be totally making up your own results from a study you were not a part of.
      There wasn't a group in the study that did not own smart phones.

    2. Re:I feel so totally vindicated right now by TsuruchiBrian · · Score: 1

      1 study is not proof. Let's see if anyone can reproduce this result, or even if anyone finds this study to be worthy of attempting to reproduce. The soft sciences aren't exactly known for their rigor in conducting these sorts of experiments.

      There is s a heavy bias for experiments to yield a positive result, and good science is when every effort is made to eliminate the bias of the experimenters.

      This experiment seems like the people who designed it wanted a certain outcome, and I am skeptical that a business school is going to have the discipline to do everything they can to disprove their own hypothesis, especially if their funding source has a preference for not wasting money on negative results.

      But who knows. Maybe they did perform a really good study and it's actually true that the mere presence of a physical object diminishes cognitive ability, and all the other plausible explanations can be shown to be false, and the results of this experiment will be reproduced by everyone who attempts it, but I wouldn't bet money on it.

    3. Re:I feel so totally vindicated right now by Rick+Schumann · · Score: 1

      1. I'm partly being funny.
      2. It's plausible.
      3. Are you going to argue to me that people don't seem to be getting dumber?

    4. Re:I feel so totally vindicated right now by somenickname · · Score: 1

      It's not just making them dumber, it's making them less sociable, have shorter attention spans, and vanity is rapidly increasing. As someone who also doesn't have a smartphone, I find it increasingly difficult to interact with people with smartphones. There is no depth or meaning to a conversation with someone who is just waiting for their phone to vibrate/beep. They are just killing time in the real world until someone gives them virtual gratification.

    5. Re:I feel so totally vindicated right now by TsuruchiBrian · · Score: 1

      1. I believe you.

      2. It is indeed plausible. Plausibility is a much lower threshold than proof. It could even be 100% true that cell phones make people dumber, without this particular study being conclusive proof of that fact. Look at how long it took to prove that cigarettes caused lung cancer. It was very plausible before it was proven.

      3. I don't know if you are asking me if people seem to be getting dumber to me subjectively or whether I think they actually are. I do think it seems like people are getting dumber, but I think there are more reasons for this feeling that do not reflect reality. Dumber people now have more access to media than they ever have before. Think about how few people and what sorts of people were able to express their view on television, radio, newspapers, books, etc compared to the instant audience people have access to now with the internet. I think this filtering of the views of dumber people artificially inflated how smart people on average seemed in the past.

      There is actually a lot of evidence showing the opposite (i.e. that people on average are getting more intelligent).

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flynn_effect

      That's not to say that smart phones can't be making people dumber than they would otherwise be, but it seems that if this is true, people might still be getting smarter despite smart phones, even if maybe at a lower rate. Although, smartphones are such a relatively new phenomenon that I suspect we don't have nearly enough data to make any conclusive claims one way or another.

    6. Re:I feel so totally vindicated right now by Rick+Schumann · · Score: 1

      Perhaps what I should be thinking is: "Dumb people are getting dumber, and smart people are getting smarter, and the contrast between the two is becoming greater in the process". Perhaps it's like certain types of crime; it appeared, at some point, that crimes like child molesting increased, but what really happened is it was being detected and reported much more than it used to, giving the surface appearance of increasing.

    7. Re:I feel so totally vindicated right now by TsuruchiBrian · · Score: 1

      I don't even think there is any evidence to show that dumb people are getting dumber. In fact, the evidence suggests that most of the average increase in intelligence has been concentrated in the lower half of the distribution. It seems like it is not the dumb getting dumber and the smart getting smarter", but rather "The dumb getting smarter, and the smart staying the same".

      I don't think many people would have guessed that this would be the case. This is why it is important to do science in a way that can violate our expectations.

    8. Re:I feel so totally vindicated right now by Rick+Schumann · · Score: 1

      *SHRUG* I don't know what to say, then. Seems like I see/read/hear dumber and dumber things all the time, the last 10-20 years. Then there's what I'm perceiving as people getting lazier, and technology being the enabler to them getting lazier. They're getting fatter and weaker, too.

    9. Re:I feel so totally vindicated right now by TsuruchiBrian · · Score: 1

      I don't think it's only a feeling. I think we are indeed seeing/reading/hearing dumber and dumber things. I just don't think "people are actually getting dumber" is correct conclusion to draw from this observation, although this would normally seem like the obvious conclusion to draw in the absence of evidence to the contrary.

      I think people are indeed getting lazier, fatter, and weaker. The evidence definitely seems to be corroborating this. Technology is no doubt a factor in allowing us the luxury of being lazier, fatter, weaker, etc, without the negative consequences that would have resulted in the past from such a decline.

      Technology allows us to be more productive with less effort and have better healthcare outcomes with worse behavior.

      One might have guessed that we could/would also be more competent with less intelligence, and our intelligence would also decline as a result, but for whatever reason it looks like that attribute doe snot seem to follow the same pattern. We probably are more competent (aided by information age tools) with less intelligence, but it seems like this has only spurred more intelligence.

      The way I have come to see it is this.

      1. Skills that are useful will be strengthened, and skills that are not will become disused and whither away. It would seem that being intelligent is more useful than ever in human history, and physical strength/stamina is probably at it's least usefulness level in human history. So this sort of makes sense.

      2. Imagine that you go to the gym and see only very physically fit people. Then, a rising trend in physical fitness might send a wave of unfit people to the gym. A casual observer might conclude that all the fat-asses at the gym is a sign of declining fitness in the general population, but the opposite would actually be true. This is what I think is going on with intelligence. There are more dumb people showing up in the gym of intelligence (i.e. public fora).

  12. Re:Control group? by DRJlaw · · Score: 1

    I never anticipated the extent to which cell phones in general and smart phones in particular were going to be a monumental annoyance to those who share the planet with their users.

    Oh, but we fully anticipated how much of a monumental annoyance non-users would be to us. We've built a priso^H^Hvate island for you and the don't-own-a-television people to live out your days in the smug company of your peers.

  13. Re:No kidding... by thegreatbob · · Score: 1

    Best not to engage with those pests... I know it's fun to mess with them, but they can be mean little currs.

    --
    There is no XUL, only WebExtensions...
  14. New study shows by viperidaenz · · Score: 1

    People care more about their phone than participating in a study about phones

    1. Re:New study shows by jbmartin6 · · Score: 1

      Exactly, headline may as well be "College students are bored participating in a study for beer money"

      --
      This posting is provided 'AS IS' without warranty of any kind, implied or otherwise.
    2. Re:New study shows by viperidaenz · · Score: 1

      It wasn't even for beer money, it was for course credit.
      They also got the credit regardless of how much effort they put in to the test.
      If the reward was based on the score of the test, I'm sure they would have worked harder with fewer distractions.

  15. Biggest problem with this study by presidenteloco · · Score: 1

    Is that the new "unit" whose cognitive ability needs to be assessed is "you + your smartphone" (i.e. the cyborg)

    Research question should be "what is the cognitive ability, and accessible knowledge set, of "person+phone" vs of "person alone".

    This is analogous to assessing the effectiveness of a US infantry soldier.
    Do we assess them unequiped in their underwear, even if undistracted?
    Or do we assess them when dressed in armor, night-vision helmet, weapons, gps, and radio/satphone capable of calling in massive precision air support.

    --

    Where are we going and why are we in a handbasket?
  16. Extended Mind by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    https://www.xkcd.com/903/

  17. A riff on known multitasking studies? by enjar · · Score: 2
    For ages, studies of "multitasking" have shown that there is a "context switching" cost that is non-trivial for the human brain to try and do two things at once, even simple tasks, such as "write numbers 1 through 26 and write the alphabet out". People who do numbers then alphabet (1..26 then A-Z) complete before people who try to interleave the tasks (1 ... A, 2. .. B). Work organization schemes like Getting Things Done encourage turning off notifiers for new email, or batching email responses, or turning off IM clients in order to get through tasks. Then, of course, there's the whole example of getting into the "flow zone", which is important for working on complex problems -- try debugging code with a bored and hungry toddler in the same room. It's also painfully obvious when you try to have a conversation with someone who keeps looking at their phone that they aren't "all present".

    So to sum up, unsurprising results. Having a distraction generating machine close at hand is going to end up with more interruptions and less ability to concentrate on anything worth concentrating on, e.g. http://heeris.id.au/2013/this-...

    1. Re:A riff on known multitasking studies? by ffreeloader · · Score: 1

      I have often wondered at people who claim to do 4 or 5 things at once. How do they ever get anything done, especially if they are doing complex tasks?

      It has been my experience over my lifetime that any time I am interrupted doing a complex task that when I go back to it my first thoughts are, Ok, where was I? What was I doing? To get back to where I was before being interrupted takes time, and the more interruptions there are the worse the problem gets. If you have tools you're working with it gets worse as you have to locate the tool you had in hand, and often it has been laid down while my brain is occupied with the interruption so that I have no recollection where I laid it down.

      If I'm interrupted writing out a complex thought the problem is even more wasteful of time for then I have to completely rebuild my thought process. The longer a person can concentrate on a single task the more they can accomplish as they become far more efficient the deeper their concentration levels become.

      I'm married to a woman who has a very hard time doing one job at a time. She stops doing one task to do another at least a half dozen times before she finishes the original task she started. As a result it takes her forever to do anything. A job that should take her 15 minutes will often not be completed for a couple of hours, and then she has a bunch of other partially completed tasks on her hands. And she wonders why it takes her so long to get anything done.

      --
      "while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude." de Tocqueville
  18. The mere presence of a relation-is-causation... by jerralb · · Score: 1

    "study" tells us that UT Austin wasted a lot of time and resources. Did the researchers have smartphones in their possession while conceiving the study? ;)

  19. Re:Control group? by ancientt · · Score: 2

    There should be some sort of test for this kind of thing. Questions like:
    Does it bother you when you see in public
    A. Someone talking on their phone
    B. Someone looking at their phone
    C. Someone who probably has a phone
    D. Someone

    --
    B) Eliminate all the stupid users. This is frowned upon by society.
  20. Just heightened anxiety by captaindomon · · Score: 1

    Forcing you to put your cell phone in a different room causes high levels of anxiety methinks. Is this just a byproduct of anxiety, increased fight-or-flight processing, focused attention due to an uncomfortable situation, etc?

    --
    Just because I can hook a shark from a boat, I do no offer to wrestle it in the water.
    1. Re:Just heightened anxiety by swilver · · Score: 1

      ...I must be too old, but leaving my phone in another room does not raise my level of anxiety.

  21. Re:No kidding... by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

    I'm still getting Slashdot email notifications on my iPhone for responses to the virus-infected dick pics with my name, email address and website URL...

    Gosh - get well quick! No more vacations in Southeast Asia for you.

  22. Re:No kidding... by Aighearach · · Score: 1

    My advice, turn off email notifications from slashdot. Not only is it not beneficial to your life, it isn't beneficial to your conversations for you to instantly log in and fire off a reply instead of waiting until you're already coming to a forum to communicate, and doing the communication then. It is supposed to be asynchronous, no reason to make it blocking.

    I turned it off in 2000 and it was a huge improvement.

  23. Sorry ... by CaptainDork · · Score: 1

    ... what (ping) was that again?

    --
    It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
  24. You know this'll be cited by some other paper. by rewardian · · Score: 1

    "McCombs School of Business"
    "nearly 800"

  25. Bad headline by SoftwareArtist · · Score: 1

    acts as a distraction != reduces brainpower

    That headline is just misleading clickbait.

    --
    "I'm too busy to research this and form an educated opinion, but I do have time to tell everyone my uninformed opinion."
  26. Re:No kidding... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

    Here you go buddy. Had a Perl script (you got 3 running for ya now) put some more contact info on all the previous images posted here. Enjoy the ad revenue.

    Creamer Collection

    VIRUS ALERT!!! DON'T CLICK ON THE LINK!!!

  27. Re:No kidding... by crienner · · Score: 1

    You can absolutely get a virus from a properly constructed JPG file. I work for the FBI on a 5 year contract and know these things. If the picture is stored by the hosting provider on a RAID array, you get the Heavy Image Virus (HIV). Trust me on that one - I have it.

    --
    I likes the cock
  28. Re:No kidding... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

    What is the name of the virus?

    WannaCry

  29. Re:crap study by gweihir · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It is. Problem is there is a hardcore faction that does it really well, but has almost no "flashy" results. And then there is a "soft science" faction that gets almost all press time. In addition, many people mistake fuzzyness for lack of scientific rigor. That is not true, it just becomes harder to understand the results.

    --
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  30. No by rsilvergun · · Score: 1

    J.M. only had 320 gb of storge.

    --
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  31. Internet? by antdude · · Score: 1

    No wonder I have no brain as an addict! :P

    --
    Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
  32. Reinforces the saying by Khyber · · Score: 1

    Smart phone, stupid people.

    --
    Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
  33. You don't own your smartphone... by cavok · · Score: 1

    it's your smartphone who owns you.

  34. Re:No kidding... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

    You ever wonder if you're going too far?

    Keep in mind that the harassment I'm getting on Slashdot is from one person who has nothing better to do with his life except post as different ACs and another fake account. Sad.

  35. Re:No kidding... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

    Actually more likely is he'll be out of work as employers google his name and find all this shit.

    What shit? A google search of my author name and legal name bring up different results. The majority of the picture links have been taken down, including the Russian websites as Google Chrome translate foreign languages into English and image websites worldwide follow the same set of rules on acceptable content.

  36. Re:No kidding... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

    Maybe we can convince this one person to start writing ebooks instead?

    Nope. Instagram. This asshat is another Christian Burns.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slZKqXY-k-U#t=09m10s

  37. Re:No kidding... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

    Sorry, I'm afraid I don't understand what you are saying here. Perhaps your references are a bit too ... hermetic?

    A self-proclaimed Instagram douchebag verbally abusing security guards at VidCon.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/40403881/instagram-model-verbally-abuses-security-guard-at-vidcon-in-california

  38. Re:No kidding... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

    actually, most of the russian ones are still up. in addition - surprise, only a small portion is posted on here. the rest are picked up from here and replicated to a shit ton of sites all over the world with a perl script. when you google for your name in a month, once it all gets indexed, you'll thank us for the ad revenue.

    You need to stop this virtual masturbation of posting my pics, dick picks with my name, email address and URLs, and the WannaCry virus.

  39. Re:No kidding... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

    WannaCry isn't a virus, Mr. "IT Miracle Worker Who Empties Storage Closets Instead Of Working"...

    You need to stop this virtual masturbation of posting my pics, dick picks with my name, email address and URLs, and the WannaCry virus.

  40. Re:No kidding... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

    umm, no. There are two buddies in my building, and we made 5 images and one perl script to replicate them. that's 3 people, 5 images. there are like 15 out there, so I hate to break it to you, logic dictates it's a bunch of people. also, we only speak english. there is korean shit, french shit, and spanish shit, and russian shit. booya. and.. .harassment? you keep saying thanks for the ad revenue. it's not harassment if the person being "harassed" keeps asking for it, never once asked to stop, and said harassment is only in response to your comments. stop posting comments, the pictures stops. when you ask for it and thank us for doing it, it's not harassment. that's just you being the fool that you are.

    You need to stop this virtual masturbation of posting my pics, dick picks with my name, email address and URLs, and the WannaCry virus.

  41. Re:No kidding... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

    Selfie us your thick dick. Capt: scripts

    You need to stop this virtual masturbation of posting my pics, dick picks with my name, email address and URLs, and the WannaCry virus.

  42. Re:No kidding... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

    Creimer snapped! He's using a spam bot!!! Spammer!!!!

    You need to stop this virtual masturbation of posting my pics, dick picks with my name, email address and URLs, and the WannaCry virus.

  43. Re:No kidding... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

    Spam it again, Fat Bot.

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  44. Re:No kidding... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

    You need to stop this virtual masturbation of personal brands, ebooks, powerlifting, and DMCA takedowns.

    You need to stop this virtual masturbation of posting my pics, dick picks with my name, email address and URLs, and the WannaCry virus.

  45. Re:No kidding... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

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    You need to stop this virtual masturbation of posting my pics, dick picks with my name, email address and URLs, and the WannaCry virus.

  46. Re:No kidding... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

    You need to stop this virtual masturbation of personal brands, powerlifting, ebooks, and DMCA takedowns.

    You need to stop this virtual masturbation of posting my pics, dick picks with my name, email address and URLs, and the WannaCry virus.

  47. Re:No kidding... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

    Fat Bot just earned you a DMCA claim against your named account for posting entire dong lyrics.

    You need to stop this virtual masturbation of posting my pics, dick picks with my name, email address and URLs, and the WannaCry virus.