FWD: Testing

[Captain Utopia]

It's like memetic magic, done poorly with failsauce applied liberally to the top.

Maybe, but unless you performed the experiment beforehand, you cannot prove to yourself that you had the mental wherewithal to withstand that particular onslaught of suggestion. All of the respondents on this thread put it down to a quirk of physiology, when it is entirely psychological.

How can it be done so poorly, when it hoodwinked 100% of the random sampling of regulars here?

[AFK]

And you assumed that when I said "motor-skill quirkery" that I wasn't considering mental trickery being a part of that equation.  Am I right? 

[Captain Utopia]

And you assumed that when I said "motor-skill quirkery" that I wasn't considering mental trickery being a part of that equation.  Am I right? 

You're absolutely right. Is mental trickery so commonplace here such that it doesn't deserve an explicit mention when it is the obvious answer to a question asked? If so, that's two assumptions I failed upon - sorry!

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

It's like memetic magic, done poorly with failsauce applied liberally to the top.

Maybe, but unless you performed the experiment beforehand, you cannot prove to yourself that you had the mental wherewithal to withstand that particular onslaught of suggestion. All of the respondents on this thread put it down to a quirk of physiology, when it is entirely psychological.

How can it be done so poorly, when it hoodwinked 100% of the random sampling of regulars here?

You separate physiology and psychology? interesting.

Further, I wouldn't think it 100% psychological, just as the patting/rubbing head and tummy thing isn't 100% psychological. In both the tendency is for the brain to send 'similar' signals rather than different ones to two active bits at once. Either concentration or practice will overcome this. In the example here, when I tried it, I simply concentrated and it worked fine. I fear that you might be reading 'psych' into something that may well not be as simple as you think. I'm also not sure what you mean by "hoodwinked 100% of the ... regulars here".

[trippinprincezz13]

It's like memetic magic, done poorly with failsauce applied liberally to the top.

Maybe, but unless you performed the experiment beforehand, you cannot prove to yourself that you had the mental wherewithal to withstand that particular onslaught of suggestion. All of the respondents on this thread put it down to a quirk of physiology, when it is entirely psychological.

How can it be done so poorly, when it hoodwinked 100% of the random sampling of regulars here?

You separate physiology and psychology? interesting.

Further, I wouldn't think it 100% psychological, just as the patting/rubbing head and tummy thing isn't 100% psychological. In both the tendency is for the brain to send 'similar' signals rather than different ones to two active bits at once. Either concentration or practice will overcome this. In the example here, when I tried it, I simply concentrated and it worked fine. I fear that you might be reading 'psych' into something that may well not be as simple as you think. I'm also not sure what you mean by "hoodwinked 100% of the ... regulars here".

This. Also, not quite sure about the hoodwinked part. If by hoodwinked you mean "didn't bother because I've seen/done a bunch of things similar to this throughout grade school", then, yea, you got me alright.

[Captain Utopia]

You separate physiology and psychology? interesting.

Well I'm not at the point where through thought alone I can thwart the knee-tap-kick reflex, or adjust the size of my pupils at will. Or sneeze.

I agree it's a spectrum rather than a clean compartmentalisation, however I assume the use of those words which lie at different points on the spectrum indicate a bias/weighting in those directions.

Further, I wouldn't think it 100% psychological, just as the patting/rubbing head and tummy thing isn't 100% psychological. In both the tendency is for the brain to send 'similar' signals rather than different ones to two active bits at once. Either concentration or practice will overcome this. In the example here, when I tried it, I simply concentrated and it worked fine. I fear that you might be reading 'psych' into something that may well not be as simple as you think.

Initially I couldn't do it no matter how hard I concentrated. Then I decided to believe that it was an elaborate hoax, and I could immediately do it without concentrating, or with.

To me that screams psych.

I'm also not sure what you mean by "hoodwinked 100% of the ... regulars here".

Ah, still playing the "ass", sorry. If one pretends for long enough, there loses all distinction.

[Darth Cupcake]

I think you are trying to make that ridiculous first post have more value than it does, or needs to have.

[trippinprincezz13]

Off topic:  DC - noticed your latest avatar but only that it was different. Actually looked at it now and it made me LOL

[Captain Utopia]

This. Also, not quite sure about the hoodwinked part. If by hoodwinked you mean "didn't bother because I've seen/done a bunch of things similar to this throughout grade school", then, yea, you got me alright.

I did similar things too. I never experienced the revelation that simply believing that I could do it immediately made all the difference. Breaking out of hypnosis so dramatically is something I'd never experienced either. One minute my leg was spasmodically jerking out of orbit as if I had no control over it, the next everything was smooth and the spell was broken. I evidently attended the wrong schools.

But you, in particular, were hoodwinked into believing it was something beneath you. Not worth your time. You're still telling yourself that. If I had put it any other way then you'd have had your guard up, which would have invalidated the experiment. That you have no way of proving that you were "above" it, matters more to you than it does me, otherwise you'd not be responding to this thread.

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

You separate physiology and psychology? interesting.

Well I'm not at the point where through thought alone I can thwart the knee-tap-kick reflex, or adjust the size of my pupils at will. Or sneeze.

I agree it's a spectrum rather than a clean compartmentalisation, however I assume the use of those words which lie at different points on the spectrum indicate a bias/weighting in those directions.

It is possible, though I think it would require a lot of work to determine where this was on the scale.

Further, I wouldn't think it 100% psychological, just as the patting/rubbing head and tummy thing isn't 100% psychological. In both the tendency is for the brain to send 'similar' signals rather than different ones to two active bits at once. Either concentration or practice will overcome this. In the example here, when I tried it, I simply concentrated and it worked fine. I fear that you might be reading 'psych' into something that may well not be as simple as you think.

Initially I couldn't do it no matter how hard I concentrated. Then I decided to believe that it was an elaborate hoax, and I could immediately do it without concentrating, or with.

To me that screams psych.

To me that screams psych, in your experience. There may be a large difference there.

I'm also not sure what you mean by "hoodwinked 100% of the ... regulars here".

Ah, still playing the "ass", sorry. If one pretends for long enough, there loses all distinction.

[/quote]

We here are all asses, thus playing the ass doesn't work as well as it does on other sites... sorta like playing the trickster when Coyote, Raven, Ananasai and well, Ratatosk are hanging out with you. You might pull something off, but its likely that they've already done it and are wise to the tricks.

I hope that makes more sense to you than it does to me upon reading it back to myself.

[Bruno]

FYI, I can adjust the size of my pupils at will.  





p.s. I'm not kidding.

[Captain Utopia]

It is possible, though I think it would require a lot of work to determine where this was on the scale.

Agreed.

To me that screams psych, in your experience. There may be a large difference there.

Agreed.

We here are all asses, thus playing the ass doesn't work as well as it does on other sites... sorta like playing the trickster when Coyote, Raven, Ananasai and well, Ratatosk are hanging out with you. You might pull something off, but its likely that they've already done it and are wise to the tricks.

I hope that makes more sense to you than it does to me upon reading it back to myself.

Agreed. No wait, agreed.

[Captain Utopia]

I think you are trying to make that ridiculous first post have more value than it does, or needs to have.

If you think that, then you should re-read the thread. You'll find a continuity there which directly contradicts your opinion.

[Darth Cupcake]

Off topic:  DC - noticed your latest avatar but only that it was different. Actually looked at it now and it made me LOL

It makes me giggle and get creeped out all at once. Therefore, I had to inflict it on PDCOM.

I think you are trying to make that ridiculous first post have more value than it does, or needs to have.

If you think that, then you should re-read the thread. You'll find a continuity there which directly contradicts your opinion.

Haven't been able to find it yet.

Starts out with first post. Lots of people point out that it's old news and they are disinterested. It is defended with weak arguments that are also fairly old news. We arrive here.

[trippinprincezz13]

This. Also, not quite sure about the hoodwinked part. If by hoodwinked you mean "didn't bother because I've seen/done a bunch of things similar to this throughout grade school", then, yea, you got me alright.

But you, in particular, were hoodwinked into believing it was something beneath you. Not worth your time. You're still telling yourself that. If I had put it any other way then you'd have had your guard up, which would have invalidated the experiment. That you have no way of proving that you were "above" it, matters more to you than it does me, otherwise you'd not be responding to this thread.

lol what? Don't believe I ever used the words "beneath me".  Merely that I didn't feel like doing it because I've done it so it's not really spectacularly amazing to me. A newer mind-trick/illusion/whatever, I'd be game, but it's the same with a lot of the visual illusions I see online lately. I'll them a go, but unless it's really really cool for reals then I'm not going to spend my time looking at the same illusion over and over. Simple as that. I'm still not sure what I'm proving that I'm above, but I'm responding to this thread because I'm bored and feel like it. Need some way to make the rest of my work last the next hour and half I'm gonna be here.