Help! Brainworms

[Amber]

@Tim James It's that na na na, na-na-na-na-na bit that does it, I find

@Marc Joan...they found out nuffink common sense could not predicted, and my parents felt bad about it afterwards.

I was filmed, shut alone inside a lift and left there, with a life size mannequin sitting propped in one corner, head slumped, dressed like a man.

I was immediately uneasy. 1) small space 2) shut in alone 3) weird object They watched me staring, then frowning, then the lip started to wobble, the face creased and then tears and then sobbing. I wasn't sure whether or not it was a person. If it was a person, there was something terribly the matter with him. If it wasn't, then what was it, and why was it there, and what if it suddenly started moving? Homunculus syndrome. Huge, sinister dolly. Agh....primal terror!

Ohhhhh..... it took me a minute. You were part of a fear experiment. Shame on them. Not your parents. Just ... general shame on the general 'them' for not knowing better.

They used to say Skinner did things to his daughter. He's the operant conditioning guy. It's the behaviorists who always get accused of messing around with people and their lives.

And to be fair, they often do advocate what other people would call manipulation. I can't find the story now but a woman trained her husband to put his towels in the hamper. I think she withhold sex or something like it. Maybe it was that she offered him sex every time he successfully put a towel in the hamper.

Anyway... I had a huge argument once with a behavioral psychologist who thought this was an excellent example of getting what you wanted without conflict. I thought it was manipulative.

 

[Emily]

Maybe it was that she offered him sex every time he successfully put a towel in the hamper.

He must have been the most-showered male in the country.

 

[Amber]

He must have been the most-showered male in the country.

That was the general consensus.

 

[Marc Joan]

And that is how a thread goes from earworms to laundry sex.

 

[Leonora]

And that is how a thread goes from earworms to laundry sex.

Maybe we should call them yarns, not threads.

 

[Katie-Ellen]

Well, this IS us, after all.

Ha, wait till he showered 10 times a day and died worn out, or she did. Or wait till he you know whatted every time he so much as looks at the laundry hamper. Any laundry hamper. And then the only thing that can save him is Taoism. Because...you know....his chi....
Might be less tiring in the end just to put the darn thing in herself. A smaller reward perhaps, more sustainable. A toffee or ...healthier...a nice bit of broccoli.

 

[Leonora]

Well, this IS us, after all.

Ha, wait till he showered 10 times a day and died worn out, or she did. Or wait till he you know whatted every time he so much as looks at the laundry hamper. Any laundry hamper. And then the only thing that can save him is Taoism. Because...you know....his chi....
Might be less tiring in the end just to put the darn thing in herself. A smaller reward perhaps, more sustainable. A toffee or ...healthier...a nice bit of broccoli.

Yes, it did occur to me that the laundry connection might make her less than enthusiastic.

 

[Katie-Ellen]

Ohhhhh..... it took me a minute. You were part of a fear experiment. Shame on them. Not your parents. Just ... general shame on the general 'them' for not knowing better.

They used to say Skinner did things to his daughter. He's the operant conditioning guy. It's the behaviorists who always get accused of messing around with people and their lives.

And to be fair, they often do advocate what other people would call manipulation. I can't find the story now but a woman trained her husband to put his towels in the hamper. I think she withhold sex or something like it. Maybe it was that she offered him sex every time he successfully put a towel in the hamper.

Anyway... I had a huge argument once with a behavioral psychologist who thought this was an excellent example of getting what you wanted without conflict. I thought it was manipulative.

I agree @Marc Joan. It's disrespectful. Ultimately counterproductive. Things that need doing, need doing for their own sake, and reward and withholding of reward ought have no part of the equation. I hope Skinner's daughter gave him hell.

 

[Rachel Caldecott]

Y

@Tim James It's that na na na, na-na-na-na-na bit that does it, I find

@Marc Joan...they found out nuffink common sense could not predicted, and my parents felt bad about it afterwards.

I was filmed, shut alone inside a lift and left there, with a life size mannequin sitting propped in one corner, head slumped, dressed like a man.

I was immediately uneasy. 1) small space 2) shut in alone 3) weird object They watched me staring, then frowning, then the lip started to wobble, the face creased and then tears and then sobbing. I wasn't sure whether or not it was a person. If it was a person, there was something terribly the matter with him. If it wasn't, then what was it, and why was it there, and what if it suddenly started moving? Homunculus syndrome. Huge, sinister dolly. Agh....primal terror!

Your parent's let them do that to you? Good grief that is abuse!

 

[Robinne Weiss]

Okay...I was going to comment on the ear worm, but I'm obviously too late. This thread has just gone ... weird.

But if it helps anyone, I find that singing Swing Low, Sweet Chariot gets the ear worm out, but doesn't remain stuck itself. Works every time. Well, almost every time--NOTHING removes tunes from The Greatest Showman. You get one of those, and you're doomed.

 

[Paul Whybrow]

Connected to earworms is the randomness of music heard on cars that pass you or hissing through someone's earbuds...why is it, that it's always songs one detests?! Why can't it be a song you love, making you think that person's as cool as you?

 

[Paul Whybrow]