Inspired by a number of misfit bloggers mostly whose honeymoons have long since been over. Inspired by those who share a taste for a raw, unfiltered Japan. Definitely not part of any press club.
Living in a kind of more
rural area where your neighbor might
be an acre or so away, most people had the habit of leaving their doors open.
Doesn’t really make sense to lock anything when you spend most of your time
outside anyway.
In the evenings, before the
bugs came out, the top part of the door was usually open when dinner was being
made. Last minute salads were picked from the garden throughout most of the
year. Miss those Such a nice place.
Anyway.
Well, usually near dinner
time, this big thug of a dog who could’ve probably afforded to loose a bit of
that extra weight… Sid, he’d kind of slowly find his way up onto the back porch
and stand there for a few minutes.
If no one was giving him any
attention or at least pretending not to notice, he’d start to whine a little,
kind of lettin’ folks know that he was stopping by and would sure appreciate
one of them special dog biscuits we’d somehow not forgotten to picked up just
for him.
Nobody really remembers when
he first started showing up. We never really knew where he lived. And it’s not
like he wasn’t well fed. He was kind of known for making the rounds in a way
that made you smile when he came by. He’d hang out for just a little while,
long enough to charm his way into your heart for those few scraps of whatever
you might not really need.
No, never did figure out
where he lived.
But we know where he died.
There was a school not too
far away where people really should have been minding the speed limit when they
drove by. No matter how big those yellow signs were, people just couldn’t slow
down.
Funny thing about Sid, he
wasn’t shy about holding up traffic even after he’d left a dent or two.
Word was, someone heard
another screech from the wheels of a pickup truck that really should have been
going a hell of a lot slower. Instead of the
usual follow up of profanity, that final day, the skid marks were punctuated with a pretty solid
thud.
(This post has been written with the expectation that there are very few people who will easily 'get it' all on the fist read through. Contained within are a
number of links, each intended to supplement the post in providing specific
examples of what is being introduced and to show what connections are being made. Allowing
for the videos, the only thing required on the part of the reader is roughly
ten minutes of valued time for the
first look. Throughout the post, there are a number of questions you may choose to answer. This is not an empathy test; it's not even a test. Everything after ***** is extra. There are no 'Easter eggs' hidden in this post - not in a technical sense.)
You are under no obligation to solve or unlock this post. However, you may wish to read the directions first.
Directions (optional):
1. Read through without clicking, except where there is an asterisk *.
2. Read through again, clicking where supplemental information is necessary.
3. Leave a comment.
(Addendum: Comments will be responded to in order received with individual consideration applied to each.)
PART I
Just recently, a now-more-famous-than-ever politician from Osaka had said some things that have stirred up a bit of controversy. Quite frankly, I'm pleased to see that people are questioning their perception of where they live.
And...
In the context of living in Japan, I was asking myself, “What would
make a person not simply ‘go with the flow’ and violate established social
code?”
Going with the flow... thinking about the consequences of going with the flow and understanding what that entails had me curious.
“Grossman further argues
that violence in television, movies and video games contributes to real-life
violence by a similar process of training and desensitization.”
The video is something I'd seen seven days prior to June 3, while learning how to pack stuff. This is one of the coolest instructional videos I've come across on the Web so far. Schr03d3r does an excellent job at presentation. If only everyone was able to give instruction the way he does, there would be a lot less mess to deal with. The video is roughly six minutes long. If you are already familiar with the process, please skip ahead to the 5:30 mark.
Question #1.
Can you see how the Grossman quote is
related to the video…can you make that connection?
a. yes
b. no
After reading what is quoted
above and making the connection (1.a) I continued to learn about the M!1gr4m experiment. And I thought to myself, “Oh, yeah…that one. The one most of us
have heard about and perhaps even participate in to varying degrees.”
"Morality of ELTs"
(I'm kind of nervous when people ask me questions.)
For some reason, I began
thinking about my recent reintroduction to probabilities through the kind
wisdom found in Joker’s Three Door Monty problem.
(Which game show? Which studio? Why would I be in a studio on a game show?)
You see, regardless of where or
when the M!1gr4m experiments allegedly take place, roughly 2/3’s of the
subjects are “prepared to inflict fatal voltages” - something that is noted as
being “remarkably constant”.
Question #2.
Can you see a connection
between Joker’s lesson and the shock experiments?
a. yes
b. no
Regardless of your answer,
what do you think it could be?
(Yes, there is a specific
answer. However, all attempts are appreciated; you may be more attuned to this
than I am.)
PART II
Related to the M!1gr4m
experiments are the H0f1!n hospital experiments.
M!1gr4m’s experiments were
controlled. No one was being shocked. However, in this case, the tests were
carried out in the real world, with real people in very real situations.
“What,” might a person ask,
“is the mechanism for this…how the f*#@k does this happen?[!]”
Back to those three doors
now, one of which has already been opened for you.
Even after knowing or
understanding what the odds or probabilities are, after having had them
explained to you…do you still want to stick with the first door you chose?
a. yes
b. no
The A$ch conformity experiments all seem to boil down to a bit in the last paragraph :
Which only really sunk in
after I’d read the whole article.
All I had to do was replace
this
(I think of these as the 'four seasons' of Japan)
with this
Learning and thinking here at this point
is very seldom, from my experience, ever done in an
environment where normative influences are not present.
Normative influences…when an
individual finds time to do her or his own thinking outside the box and submit
their ideas anonymously, they are “not subject to social punishment or reward
on the basis of their responses”.
Question #4.
What color is the circle on the right?
a. red
b. green
c. blue
d. yellow
Question #5.
Are you sure you do not want
to change your answer?
Wikipedia’s information on
the conformity experiments are
very helpful. It’s much easier
than I thought and very similar to how I remember one of my own special 'sessions'. I actually remember the specific answer I chose. And my response was predictable.
I had trusted one of ‘them’.
Ironically, for me, it remains a moral
question.
PART III
Moral Disengagement
If you look it up on
Wikipedia, you will find the quote attributed to Voltaire.
“Those who can make you
believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities”
Of the following list, I am
only concerned with the first one in how it applies to the current situation.
When I ask myself, “What
would make a person not simply ‘go with the flow’ and violate established
social code?” - I do not have a
clear answer for that. But I do know that I need to be aware of how authority
works especially when the odds are so heavily stacked in its favor. For the System, it doesn’t matter which
door you choose as long as you choose from the answers that are provided. Or that you are watching.
Looking forward to your responses.
Fortunately, reaction time is not a factor.
*****
After-math
Somebody really asked me about someone the other day.
And the person asking the question was surprised by my response, which caught him off guard.
This Father's Day is when I will post about a number of 'them'.
The ability to step out of
my comfort zone is something I cherish very much. I also understand that even
considering the possibility can be seen as somewhat of a privilege. And I am fully aware that my concept of
‘comfort’ is a lot further from what most people find palatable.
Very simple and reasonably cheap.
Usually not in the way people expect.
Although life often requires
much more than a binary mindset, there are times, however discomforting, that
afford no privilege of simply thinking.
"Mr. Ashborn"
There may be moments when it
must either be ‘turned on’ or it gets turned ‘off’ - in a permanent sense –
where the idea of ‘fairness’ does not come into play at all. Sometimes it’s
hard to keep this in mind.
Background ‘noise’ has a way
of becoming invisible to the naked ear.
Perhaps it’s hidden in the
Muzak you don’t really know you’re listening to.
For that
middle-of-the-crossroad sound, smooth jazz works best for me.
Although…
Won't you stretch imagination for the moment and come with me
Let us hasten to a nation lying over the western sea
Hide behind the cherry blossoms here's a sight that will please your eyes
There's a baby with a lady of Japan singing lullabies
Although, walking over fine pale sands along forgotten miles of beach, the ‘richness’ of being allowed
to be human (or at least try to be) has somehow ebbed.
Which, at the moment, represents a
delicate and distracted state not exclusive nor universal to any form of life.
Under the rising
tide in a current stream of wounded pride, fond memories are waxing nostalgic.
Like an echo of the song I hear the Japanese Sandman Call new days near for all here's the Japanese
Those who would have it
another way seem to have forgotten ‘her’.
Then you'll be a bit older in the dawn when you wake
And you'll be a bit bolder with the new day you make
Not understanding, in a land of color blind ears and tone deaf eyes, I slept well beneath her naked beauty.
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