Saturday, January 22, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Trafficker to traffickest
Wow, that was quick. When I said yesterday that we were very close to passing Lovefraud on Alexa, I thought it would take at least a week or two. But last time I checked our momentum had pushed us past them. Congrats!
As promised, to celebrate this occasion I will reply to people in the comments section all day today. I have a couple meetings scheduled and have to sleep and eat, among other bodily functions, but otherwise should be relatively responsive throughout the day.
Another thing I promise to do soon is change the emo "lightning" background for the site. I used it initially because it had the best readability out of the default blogger designs, and it has grown on me a little... but not quite enough. Email me if you have any suggestions for its replacement -- preferably black and white (but mainly gray) and not too busy of a design. My frontrunners so far are the Mondrian trees, maybe this one or this one.
Another thing I promise to do soon is change the emo "lightning" background for the site. I used it initially because it had the best readability out of the default blogger designs, and it has grown on me a little... but not quite enough. Email me if you have any suggestions for its replacement -- preferably black and white (but mainly gray) and not too busy of a design. My frontrunners so far are the Mondrian trees, maybe this one or this one.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Traffic
A reader pointed out that this site is now within spitting distance of beating out lovefraud for traffic, at least according to Alexa (which may surprise some of you who assume that she makes a living from her site). This is particularly satisfying for me because the purpose of the blog has always been to shape the discussion of sociopathy to include a more balanced representation, which we are accomplishing little by little.
When we outrank them, we'll have to celebrate. Something token, like maybe I'll actually reply to people's inquiries in the comment section for a day (by the way, my suggestion of what to say to Dexter while on the table waiting to be killed: "We've got to stop meeting like this."). Email me if you think you have a better idea.
Next step, showing up on the first page of google search results for the word "sociopath."
When we outrank them, we'll have to celebrate. Something token, like maybe I'll actually reply to people's inquiries in the comment section for a day (by the way, my suggestion of what to say to Dexter while on the table waiting to be killed: "We've got to stop meeting like this."). Email me if you think you have a better idea.
Next step, showing up on the first page of google search results for the word "sociopath."
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Scans and video games
This Daily Mail article discusses one scientist's attempt to locate the anxiety center of the brain using fMRI scans. Apart from being a welcome reminder of how little we really know about the human brain, there was also this juicy bit of moralizing:
We could round them all up and intern them somewhere, maybe call the place an internment camp. Or better yet, let's concentrate them all in the same area, maybe call it a concentration camp. Let's make the brain scans mandatory to be enrolled in public school like up-to-date vaccinations, that way we'll be sure to get them all before they poison our precious youth. Better yet, let's get everyone scanned annually, just to make sure no one slips through the crack.
But you know what? This whole thing is sounding like a lot of work. Why don't you just leave all the sociocamp details to me. I'll make sure that it's all taken care of. ;)
The worst combination, apparently, is a combination of extremely low anxiety levels and ‘dubious morality’ - the stuff of serial killers and psychopaths.Wow! That's great news! I can't wait until the days of detecting sociopaths with video games and a scanner are soon upon us. I hope the video game is World of Warcraft!
Fortunately, or perhaps not, we are a long way from being able to scan potential troublemakers to see if they have the makings of a killer.
But the more we learn about the brain, and especially the more we learn what an abnormal mind looks like on a computer screen, the day when we can spot a psychopath with the aid of a video games and a scanner may one day be upon us.
We could round them all up and intern them somewhere, maybe call the place an internment camp. Or better yet, let's concentrate them all in the same area, maybe call it a concentration camp. Let's make the brain scans mandatory to be enrolled in public school like up-to-date vaccinations, that way we'll be sure to get them all before they poison our precious youth. Better yet, let's get everyone scanned annually, just to make sure no one slips through the crack.
But you know what? This whole thing is sounding like a lot of work. Why don't you just leave all the sociocamp details to me. I'll make sure that it's all taken care of. ;)
Monday, January 17, 2011
Morning after pill for conscience
A reader writes:
I came across this article in the Village Voice. It’s about the possibility of a “morning after pill” for the conscience. This pill would prevent moral emotions like remorse and regret. As you’ll see in the article, the thought is that they’d ostensibly use this kind of medication to ease the effects of PTSD, especially for active duty, on the battlefront soldiers. After all, who wants to live with the self-imposed emotional suffering that seems to accompany killing people in a war zone? But of course, the ramifications of being able to do away with remorse and guilt with a pill will come with debate on how moral using such a pill would be. Is it morally right to deny our fighting men and women a means to effectively eradicate the most painful emotional effects of being on the front lines in a war that the nation asked them to fight in the first place? On the other hand, is it morally right to create a pharmaceutical that might turn off emotions that act as a safeguard against mankind’s less than ethical impulses? We all know such a drug would not stay within the confines of the military forever. Does science really want to, in effect, sell sociopathy in a bottle?
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