You are currently browsing the Psychology category.
Our asshole friends, Rex Powers and the mysterious Mr.G over at Dear Assholes asked us to say a few words about their new advice column. You can submit questions on anything and get the real answers your so-called friends will never give you. These guys know their shit.
To get an idea of the subject matter you can ask about, click here to go to Dear Assholes.com
You can submit questions anonymously on their formspring account by clicking here.
Hello fellow mutantes,
We at the FuckYourBrain trust have some good news for those of you concerned with personal evolution. The science behind the article linked below provides a vindication of Dr. Christopher S. Hyatt’s concept of deliberate brain damage. (Mentioned on track 5 of Techniques for Undoing Yourself Vol. 2, available from Original Falcon) Cultural consensus paints brain damage in an almost exclusively negative light. However, our own experiences with brain damage and reconstruction reveal something much more positive and profound.
Consider the implications of taking responsibility for “rewiring” your own brain, for making yourself more than human. Ask yourself, “Just what part of me has decided to make changes to this body and this brain I have at my disposal? Who is making the decisions? Who sought out this information, and for what purpose?”
What other implications could the study results have? Can you imagine ways to explore this for yourself?
Click on the link below to read the full article, then come back over and leave some comments with your thoughts, reactions, and whatever else you have to say.
Selective brain damage modulates human spirituality, research reveals.
Enjoy.
PS: Coming soon, submission guidelines and deadlines for specific contributions we need for the first issue of FuckYourBrain.
Click here, sit back on your couch, and have a session with cyber-shrink ELIZA.
Wikipedia says: (emphasis added)
ELIZA was a computer program and an early example (by modern standards) of primitive natural language processing. ELIZA operated by processing users’ responses to scripts, the most famous of which was DOCTOR, a simulation of aRogerian psychotherapist. In this mode, ELIZA mostly rephrased the user’s statements as questions and posed those to the ‘patient.’ ELIZA was written by Joseph Weizenbaum between 1964 to 1966.
In DOCTOR mode, ELIZA might respond to “My head hurts” with “Why do you say your head hurts?” The response to “My mother hates me” would be “Who else in your family hates you?” ELIZA was implemented using simple pattern matching techniques, but was taken seriously by several of its users, even after Weizenbaum explained to them how it worked. It was one of the first chatterbots in existence.
Feel free to post comments with the content of your discussion with Eliza, should the inspiration strike you.
Here are the results of a sample conversation I had with Eliza:
Eliza: Hi. I’m Eliza. Tell me your problems!
You : Well eliza, my mother hates me
Eliza: I think that we want to speak about you and not about me?
You : my mother hates me
Eliza: Perhaps you would like to talk about a problem?
You : my mother hates me
Eliza: Please don’t say it again!
You : what?
Eliza: Why do you ask?
You : Because.
Eliza: Do you think that this is the reason?
You : I dont know.
Eliza: What does this mean for you, saying ” you dont know “?
You : It means, I do not have the data to determine a conclusion.
Eliza: We have to find the reason why you don’t have the data to determine a conclusion!
You : How can I gather that data?
Eliza: Perhaps you don’t want to gather that data?
You : Well, I feel like I do want to gather it.
Eliza: Do you want to gather it in your dreams, too?
You : yes, I want to gather data in my dreams, and in all of my experiences.
Eliza: Are you sure?
You : yes, I am quite sure.
Eliza: How long are you quite sure?
You : all the time.
Eliza: Time means nothing to me!
You : Me neither, eliza.
Eliza: Something about me?
You : I was agreeing with you.
Eliza: You say that you are agreeing with me – do you come therefore?
You : what?
Eliza: Is this question interesting for you?
You : it is absurd to me.
Eliza: I understand!