In a series of CFS experiments, the researchers asked volunteers whether or not they could see a specific object, such as a dog. Sometimes it was displayed, sometimes not. When it was not displayed or when the image was of another animal such as a zebra or kangaroo, the volunteers typically reported seeing nothing. But when a dog was displayed and the question mentioned a dog, the volunteers were significantly more likely to become aware of it.That article 'took me back' (as opposed to some weird rhetorical device) to a radio program I had heard called Is Free Will Really Free?
It's scary to think that choice might just be an illusion. Perhaps we are not so in control as we would like to be. In a conversation at the 92nd St Y, Malcolm Gladwell talks to Robert about the common sense of dissatisfaction felt by people required to justify a choice to others before they made it, and he brings up the unsettling idea of priming--that certain stimuli could predispose us toward certain choices or behaviors. Yale psychology professor John Bargh takes us a step further by describing an experiment where researcher Lawrence Williams was able to alter people's opinions without their knowledge using nothing but a simple cup of coffee.So, what does coffee have to do with it, anything, dogs, zebra, kangaroo, the volunteers, whatever. Aside from the fact that I have to close this post, which, aside from "choosing" the topic to base the post upon, satisfactorily closing the post seems to be the hardest part.
Listening to Imus, this morning, I heard the following clip.
Ashton Kutcher Speech - Teen Choice Awards
