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Monique
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I don't agree, the mind is very powerful.lawtonfogle said:Either way, no free will, only an illusion of it at best.
I don't agree, the mind is very powerful.lawtonfogle said:Either way, no free will, only an illusion of it at best.
Molydood said:topics that freak you out? What about trying to think about the boundaries of the universe? etc
That's actually the first thing that came to my mind, people like Mengele. Something that truly scared me recently was this wikipedia entry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unnecessary_Fuss" . I know animal research is important, but the thought of deliberately inflicting brain damage to baboons and laughing about it really made me sick.f95toli said:Yes, some results from experimental psychology on "human nature".
Molydood said:Something that always freaks me out is the idea that time has no end, every time I think about it I get properly wierded out.
Monique said:That's actually the first thing that came to my mind, people like Mengele.
I think that results of that experiment would vary greatly depending on where and what era you do the experiment in. You can't conclude all people are like that just from one experiment.Well, yes. But we can quite safely regard Mengele and other famous "monsters" as anomalies. The reason why I find Milgram's experiment so unsettling is that it shows that most of us (something like 70-80% according to these experiments) are capable of doing things that we would normally regards as horrible, the only thing needed is that someone who we regard as an authority figure tells us to do it. Note that we are talking about "normal" people, not e.g. people who've had some sort of traumatic experience or have some sort of psychiatric disorder. It seems to be that way our brains work.
Moreover, there doesn't seem to be a clear patter for who are able "resist" this influence meaning none of us can say for sure that we would never do these thing.
Loren Booda said:Lying in bed as a young child, I used to see "atoms" in the dark. Apparently one was alive and would chase me through my nightmares, until it grabbed my neck and I whited out, hopefully to wake up.
Years later, I realized its humility by recognizing that it was now merely insect scat.
Loren Booda said:Lying in bed as a young child, I used to see "atoms" in the dark. Apparently one was alive and would chase me through my nightmares, until it grabbed my neck and I whited out, hopefully to wake up.
Years later, I realized its humility by recognizing that it was now merely insect scat.
That is a hallucination, brought on by fever.Pattonias said:This isn't related, but one night when I had a fever I was lying in bed and as clear as day, with my bed lamp on, thought I saw myself walk into the middle of the room with a huge ruck sack in his/my back. He/I turned and stared at me while I was looking right back at him/myself.
He stayed after I blinked and spoke. I think I blacked out but the next morning I woke up and everything was normal. A friend later told me that I had "waking dream". I had always thought that was something for movies, but apparently you can have a dream that is so convincing that you actually have no idea that you are asleep as is the case in most dreams.
That was probably one of the scariest moments I have ever experienced. I still remember it vividly to this day. I imagine a psychologist would have a field day with the contents of the dream.
Actually, the "atoms" were my retinal rods firing from photons in the near-dark, the one that chased me during my early years might be described as a very threatening "black hole" (or was derived from a stay in a cabin with scary knotholes) and the eventual change of its image into insect scat (while dreaming, now under control in my hand, yuck, but just that of an insect) made it more ridiculous than dangerous.Sorry! said:I'm trying to think of something funny to say here but I can't do it. Man you said insect scat was floating around your head and I can't think of anything funny what's wrong with me today. :(
Molydood said:The qustion is, are there any scientific concepts/topics that freak you out? What about trying to think about the boundaries of the universe? etc
DaveC426913 said:That is a hallucination, brought on by fever.
DaveC426913 said:
The "atoms" your were seeing were insect scat?
What? Floating around above your bed??
Loren Booda said:Actually, the "atoms" were my retinal rods firing from photons in the near-dark, the one that chased me during my early years might be described as a very threatening "black hole" (or was derived from a stay in a cabin with scary knotholes) and the eventual change of its image into insect scat (while dreaming, now under control in my hand, yuck, but just that of an insect) made it more ridiculous than dangerous.
Molydood said:Thanks for all the comments :-)
I am quite surprised there were not more about time and also maybe other things like particle duality (or more generally the quantum world) or the vastness of space or, or, or...
:-)
TheStatutoryApe said:Its good to know that I am not a total freak, except perhaps for 'making friends' with the bacteria and microorganisms in my eyes.
Very interesting, so it can be a type of "migraine". I have had two opthalmic migraines that have the cool glowing crescent filled with undulating geometric designs. I wish I could have another, it was the most amazing thing.Greg Bernhardt said:
Isn't the holocaust a direct evidence of such a dark nature of humans.? Not just the holocaust, there were several million wars before the WWII and in each of them not just the soldiers but almost equal number of innocent civilians were also murdered and raped. All these rapes and murders were committed by the apparently normal human beings who were ploughing the fields or making jewels before a particular war started.f95toli said:Yes, some results from experimental psychology on "human nature". For example Milgram's "torture experiment" or one of its variations, or perhaps the more famous (albeit perhaps scientifically less sound) Stanford prison experiment.
are there any scientific concepts/topics that freak you out?
Molydood said:Thanks for all the comments :-)
I am quite surprised there were not more about time and also maybe other things like particle duality (or more generally the quantum world) or the vastness of space or, or, or...
:-)
Borg said:Being consumed by nanobots.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_goo"
Ivan Seeking said:GRBs. I don't like threats for which there is no possible defense.
Spaghettification - what a way to go!
Global Climate Change - perhaps the greatest challenge ever faced by civilization.
Those would be the sorts of things that motivated me to get a physics degree. "Scary" is not the word that comes to mind.
Vincit said:Imagine it; complete craziness. The universe would begin to shrink, resulting in the reversal of time; the reversal of ENTROPY. This is incredible, but quite hard to swallow.
Loren Booda said:Actually, the "atoms" were my retinal rods firing from photons in the near-dark, the one that chased me during my early years might be described as a very threatening "black hole" (or was derived from a stay in a cabin with scary knotholes) and the eventual change of its image into insect scat (while dreaming, now under control in my hand, yuck, but just that of an insect) made it more ridiculous than dangerous.
sganesh88 said:Isn't the holocaust a direct evidence of such a dark nature of humans.? Not just the holocaust, there were several million wars before the WWII and in each of them not just the soldiers but almost equal number of innocent civilians were also murdered and raped. All these rapes and murders were committed by the apparently normal human beings who were ploughing the fields or making jewels before a particular war started.