Le Jeu De La Mort

There's a documentary/book/'study'/fake game show resembling the 'Milgram shock experiment' that seems to be getting some press right now. My first reaction was "Really? Why did they do the Milgram experiment again?"

As it turns out, at least part of the motivation, as quoted in the Time article, was the idea that "Milgram's findings about the human submission to authority figures were particularly applicable to TV." While I most definitely appreciate the critique of [reality] television and the attempt to increase awareness of how people can be influenced, I have to ask: did they really need to use the Milgram paradigm? The ethical concerns are the same and possibly worse (by my reading, participants' faces were shown on television). On top of that, I worry that the controversy is going to detract from rather than add to the intended cultural critique (and awareness of the pseudo-scientific findings).

I hear the Milgram study on obedience (this is, I believe, the now-rarely-used phrasing of the original title) cited during explanations of why institutional review is important, but it's rare that I hear anyone but a psychologist reflect an understanding of what it suggests about humans' susceptibility to influence. (In fact, the first story I saw about this said nothing about Milgram, authority/obedience, social influence, the influence of television, etc. The Time article, and several others I've seen, do a bit better.) I certainly think that ethics are more important than theories of social psychology, but when there exists evidence of a theory of human behavior -- especially when it's relevant to ethics in settings that don't have the same oversight that occurs in academia -- I find it sad to see it misunderstood, overshadowed, or ignored completely.

Another thing that bothers me is that from what little I can tell, this is a pretty shoddy research design. They report that 81% of their 'subjects' went to the highest setting, vs. 62% in the Milgram experiment. The superficial conclusion, which seems plausible, is that the tv-show context makes people even more susceptible. But there are so many reasons that the comparison of these two samples is suspect. For starters, that's 81% of people willing to participate in a reality TV show in the first place. One titled "Zone Xtreme," no less. There was also a "goading studio audience," which was probably highly influential and isn't, strictly speaking, an intrinsic part of the TV show context. For work that comes at a such a potentially high cost to the subjects, it would be nice to see a little more attention to validity, to say nothing of mitigating the harm, though I'll grant (and hope) that may be some things that went unreported in the popular press, especially for the latter.

Happiness

Happiness is not circumstantial... it's what you make of those circumstances that makes you happy. Lately I have noticed people struggling with the fact that they have been failing to be happy or to essentially find happiness. However, after a long drive back from college, and stressed about my work meetings and loads of projects, with my frustration, I did what any other girl would do--to do some shopping therapy.. So I stopped at store to pick up a few things. I became even more frustrated when the things I wanted were on the opposite side of the store. As I waited in the long line I realized that only two lanes were open for a great amount of customers.

When I was the second person in line, I realized the cashier was taking her sweet time but greatly interacting with each customer. The crazy thing was, she was deaf. She grunted and tried her hardest to express her joy for certain items the customers were purchasing as she put them in their bags. When she started scanning my items she just smiled at me and was so excited to help me out. She used sign language to thank me for visiting the store, and I signed back to her "no, thank you". Her contagious happiness had me crying with tears of joy all the way out the doors and to my home. This amazing act of happiness in helping people completely boggles my mind.

I know we missed things for a reason, and why it took so long to find the things we wanted. Wow. We really need to start thinking of situations in a less negative way. This encounter has greatly changed the perception of the ability to obtain happiness. This ability is in all of us, we just need to feel it more... and most importantly we need to live in its beauty.

My role-model

I draw inspiration from my grandmother. She motivated me go in search of the American Dream. Her goal was to ensure a high quality of life for her children so that they could achieve what she had not. Living in an one-bedroom home with her husband and three children, she would wake up at five in the morning to battle the bone-chilling morning frost and walk to school where she worked as the principal. While trying to assimilate to the mass of modern society, she still was able to pass on her traditional identity by training my mother in Indian classical singing, dancing and, later in me, instilling a great sense of moral rectitude and cultural pride. Her efforts to substantiate a means for success paid off because she single-handedly guided my entire family into the life that we value today. Growing up, each time that I gazed into her omniscient eyes, which were full of experience and wisdom, I would get a reaffirming sensation—one that lands in the heart and flows through the veins. When her eyes met mine, I knew that she approved of the person I had become and will be in the future. In that hint of blue that encircled the earth-brown iris of her eyes I could see the power of the ocean, the beauty of skies, and the majesty of the wind that connects both. I could feel the energy of the electricity that binds everything together. I, essentially felt life. She would approve of my decision to pursue life the way I am, so that I may carry forward the torch of life: of knowledge, of humanity, of hard-work, and of love. Even today, I feel her presence in my blood, in my conversations, in my personality, and in my surroundings. Tonight and for the rest of my life, Granny, I understand your purpose, and I understand myself better than I have ever been able to do so before. Thank you for giving me a model to mold myself into, and thank you for inspiring me. You are the flower in the forest, the breaths that I take, the message in the bottle, and the stars in the sky. May you grace every day with even the smallest reminders of hope and of love: the smiles that we exchange and the music that we make. The brilliancy that encompassed your life encourages my faith, and moreover, gives me proof—proof that life has direction. I miss you and love you more than words can describe—I’ll settle with “infinitely”.

Yours,
Deepa