I've started reading Permutation City and even though I basically philosophically agree with all of its claims about consciousness/personhood so far, it's still a bit spooky sometimes.

Prompted by this: What's the spookiest scientific experiment you know of?

My candidates: single-particle double slit, Michelson-Morely experiment failing to demonstrate luminiferous aether.

Deliberate induction of false memories also definitely counts as a spooky experiment.

creepy science 

Oh, here's a super creepy one: electrically disrupting someone's temporo-parietal junction causing them to perceive a "shadow person" behind them, mirroring their movements.
news.nationalgeographic.com/ne

@starkatt not an experiment, per se, but the report from NASA today that human VLF communication is actually pushing the Van Allen belts farther away.

@starkatt Source: nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2017/

Not just pushing the belts higher, but acting as a second layer of shielding against incoming high energy particle radiation.

Astroforming. (Cosmoforming?)

@starkatt My vote's for prisonexp.org/ if only because it shows in really uncomfortable detail just how quickly the idea of things like "society" breaks down under the flimsiest of narrative excuses.

On the other paw, it also demonstrates just how reprogrammable people are if they're willing to take control of their own narratives.

"You cowered before me; I _was_ frightful," says Jareth. I think this shows us just how important that idea really is, and how terrifying.

@literorrery I kind of take issue with the general characterization of that as an "experiment" given that the PI also took a lead role in the activities cited. But, yeah.

@literorrery "stanford prison case study" doesn't have quite the same ring to it.

@starkatt Well, "psychological meat grinder" is kind of a muzzleful, you know?

@starkatt idk if this is spooky, but I find the idea that this petroglyph represents the crab supernova in the year 1054 quite haunting en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ana

Sign in to participate in the conversation
Awoo Space

Awoo.space is a Mastodon instance where members can rely on a team of moderators to help resolve conflict, and limits federation with other instances using a specific access list to minimize abuse.

While mature content is allowed here, we strongly believe in being able to choose to engage with content on your own terms, so please make sure to put mature and potentially sensitive content behind the CW feature with enough description that people know what it's about.

Before signing up, please read our community guidelines. While it's a very broad swath of topics it covers, please do your best! We believe that as long as you're putting forth genuine effort to limit harm you might cause – even if you haven't read the document – you'll be okay!