Would you rather sit and think or get an electrical shock?

[RavenSky]

Would you rather:

• Be alone and do nothing for 15 minutes, or
• Be administered a mild electric shock

A U.S. study published on Thursday showed that most volunteers who were asked to spend no more than 15 minutes alone in a room doing nothing but sitting and thinking found the task onerous.

In fact, some of the volunteers, men in particular, in one of the 11 experiments led by University of Virginia researchers preferred to administer mild electrical shocks to themselves rather than sit and do nothing.

“Many people find it difficult to use their own minds to entertain themselves, at least when asked to do it on the spot,” said University of Virginia psychology professor Timothy Wilson, who led the study appearing in the journal Science. “In this modern age, with all the gadgets we have, people seem to fill up every moment with some external activity.”

http://richarddawkins.net/2014/07/would-you-rather-sit-and-think-or-get-shocked-youd-be-surprised/

The researchers took their studies further. Because most people prefer having something to do rather than just thinking, they then asked, "Would they rather do an unpleasant activity than no activity at all?"

The results show that many would. Participants were given the same circumstances as most of the previous studies, with the added option of also administering a mild electric shock to themselves by pressing a button.

Twelve of 18 men in the study gave themselves at least one electric shock during the study's 15-minute "thinking" period. By comparison, six of 24 females shocked themselves. All of these participants had received a sample of the shock and reported that they would pay to avoid being shocked again.

"What is striking," the investigators write, "is that simply being alone with their own thoughts for 15 minutes was apparently so aversive that it drove many participants to self-administer an electric shock that they had earlier said they would pay to avoid."

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-07/uov-dsi063014.php

 

[beero1000]

People are weird.

 

[Under the Rose]

Obviously, we are a species that is not very good at entertaining ourselves and our education systems have not taught us the potentials of the human mind. The majority of humans are 'herd animals' and when isolated from others and external stimulation, we perceive the situation as irregular, possibly even alarming and for that reason it becomes more difficult to disengage our default 'fight or flight' response.

 

[Bronzeage]

There's no reason I can't do both.

I can't count how many mild(and worse) electric shocks I have received. I find them conducive to thought, mostly along the lines of, "I think I shouldn't do that again."

Fifteen minutes alone to do nothing and think is a luxurious indulgence. I wish I had that at least once a day and the ability to administer a mild shock to anyone who interrupted me.

 

[Under the Rose]

There's no reason I can't do both.

I can't count how many mild(and worse) electric shocks I have received. I find them conducive to thought, mostly along the lines of, "I think I shouldn't do that again."

Fifteen minutes alone to do nothing and think is a luxurious indulgence. I wish I had that at least once a day and the ability to administer a mild shock to anyone who interrupted me.

I have accidentally shocked myself once or twice, hand slipping while plugging in a cord etc. so now I prefer to be wearing gloves when plugging in the car etc. To contemplate intentionally giving myself a shock instead of enjoying a few blessed minutes of stillness and silence is incomprehensible to me. Makes me wonder if people are so over-stimulated that they actually suffer from 'withdrawals' without the constant backdrop of activity and electronic noise.

 

[bilby]

 

[Keith&Co.]

What the hell?
I'd pay for 15 minutes of the idiots in the next cube just being QUIET, much less solitude....

I swear, a twenty minute discussion about who was Goose's wife in Top Gun, while refusing to look it up until they were satisfied that they knew whether it was Charlize Theron or Geena Davis...
Wait, can i have both? I get solitude and shock THEM?

 

[Bronzeage]

There's no reason I can't do both.

I can't count how many mild(and worse) electric shocks I have received. I find them conducive to thought, mostly along the lines of, "I think I shouldn't do that again."

Fifteen minutes alone to do nothing and think is a luxurious indulgence. I wish I had that at least once a day and the ability to administer a mild shock to anyone who interrupted me.

I have accidentally shocked myself once or twice, hand slipping while plugging in a cord etc. so now I prefer to be wearing gloves when plugging in the car etc. To contemplate intentionally giving myself a shock instead of enjoying a few blessed minutes of stillness and silence is incomprehensible to me. Makes me wonder if people are so over-stimulated that they actually suffer from 'withdrawals' without the constant backdrop of activity and electronic noise.

I think you are right. I can't remember the last time I saw someone sitting alone in a bar, nursing a drink, and they did not have their phone in their hand.

 

[bilby]

There's no reason I can't do both.

I can't count how many mild(and worse) electric shocks I have received. I find them conducive to thought, mostly along the lines of, "I think I shouldn't do that again."

Fifteen minutes alone to do nothing and think is a luxurious indulgence. I wish I had that at least once a day and the ability to administer a mild shock to anyone who interrupted me.

I have accidentally shocked myself once or twice, hand slipping while plugging in a cord etc. so now I prefer to be wearing gloves when plugging in the car etc. To contemplate intentionally giving myself a shock instead of enjoying a few blessed minutes of stillness and silence is incomprehensible to me. Makes me wonder if people are so over-stimulated that they actually suffer from 'withdrawals' without the constant backdrop of activity and electronic noise.

If you need to wear gloves to avoid a shock when plugging something in, you should call an electrician. The only shocks you should ever get are static shocks; if you get a shock from electrical equipment, then it is in dangerously poor repair. No matter how you slip, or misplace your hands, a properly designed plug and socket should have no exposed live parts accessible to give you a shock at any time; the pins shouldn't be live until the gap between plug and wall is too small to admit even a child's little finger.

 

[Bronzeage]

I have accidentally shocked myself once or twice, hand slipping while plugging in a cord etc. so now I prefer to be wearing gloves when plugging in the car etc. To contemplate intentionally giving myself a shock instead of enjoying a few blessed minutes of stillness and silence is incomprehensible to me. Makes me wonder if people are so over-stimulated that they actually suffer from 'withdrawals' without the constant backdrop of activity and electronic noise.

If you need to wear gloves to avoid a shock when plugging something in, you should call an electrician. The only shocks you should ever get are static shocks; if you get a shock from electrical equipment, then it is in dangerously poor repair. No matter how you slip, or misplace your hands, a properly designed plug and socket should have no exposed live parts accessible to give you a shock at any time; the pins shouldn't be live until the gap between plug and wall is too small to admit even a child's little finger.

In 1975, all auto manufacturers switched over to electronic ignition. This raised secondary voltage from around 30k volts to 75k or higher. I could definitely tell the difference. The latest models can produce 125k volts. They didn't call it high energy ignition for nothing.

When working with regular household or commercial electrical systems, especially old work, sometimes things happen.

 

[bilby]

If you need to wear gloves to avoid a shock when plugging something in, you should call an electrician. The only shocks you should ever get are static shocks; if you get a shock from electrical equipment, then it is in dangerously poor repair. No matter how you slip, or misplace your hands, a properly designed plug and socket should have no exposed live parts accessible to give you a shock at any time; the pins shouldn't be live until the gap between plug and wall is too small to admit even a child's little finger.

In 1975, all auto manufacturers switched over to electronic ignition. This raised secondary voltage from around 30k volts to 75k or higher. I could definitely tell the difference. The latest models can produce 125k volts. They didn't call it high energy ignition for nothing.

When working with regular household or commercial electrical systems, especially old work, sometimes things happen.

I can see how you might get shocks from the high-voltage, low current portions of a vehicle's ignition system; but I get the impression UtR is referring to plugging something into the mains - a block-heater or battery charger for example - rather than changing spark-plugs.

 

[Bronzeage]

In 1975, all auto manufacturers switched over to electronic ignition. This raised secondary voltage from around 30k volts to 75k or higher. I could definitely tell the difference. The latest models can produce 125k volts. They didn't call it high energy ignition for nothing.

When working with regular household or commercial electrical systems, especially old work, sometimes things happen.

I can see how you might get shocks from the high-voltage, low current portions of a vehicle's ignition system; but I get the impression UtR is referring to plugging something into the mains - a block-heater or battery charger for example - rather than changing spark-plugs.

That is bad and should not happen if everything is done right. These days, some much of appliance frames and cases are plastic, getting shocked is very rare.

The shock from an ignition system happens not while changing the plugs, but when the engine is running. Back when I was known as "the tune up mechanic," I was the only guy who had to work on the car while the motor was running.

 

[dystopian]

Seeing as how I actually find mild electric shocks quite pleasant (I'm weird), I would totally throw the results in disarray.

I remember being at an event in Germany where these people had created a pong machine with some added tweaks: if you missed, you got one of three punishments depending on the various bonuses that had been played: 1) your hand got shocked, 2) you got really hot air blowed at your hand (hot enough to cause blisters after repeated playing), or 3) you got a small rubber whip smashed repeatedly against your hand (hard enough to cause bleeding after repeated playing). If any of these punishments resulted in you removing your hand from two contact points on the machine, you lost the game and your opponent won. One particularly common tactic people used was to try and get the bonus to the shock punishment, and then multiplying the time it would shock their opponent. This didn't work on me because I got somewhat addicted to the shocks.

In any case, the large number of people who stuck with the various forms of pain just so they wouldn't lose the game was interesting from a psychological standpoint.

 

[James Brown]

What the hell?
I'd pay for 15 minutes of the idiots in the next cube just being QUIET, much less solitude....

I swear, a twenty minute discussion about who was Goose's wife in Top Gun, while refusing to look it up until they were satisfied that they knew whether it was Charlize Theron or Geena Davis...

Pfft. Easy. It was Kelly McGillis.

Show

Okay, I'm kidding. It was Susan Sarandon.

Show

Not really. Meg Ryan.

 

[bigfield]

Alternative title:

Grown-ups hate time-out as much as kids do.

 

[James Brown]

Alternative title:

Grown-ups hate time-out as much as kids do.

Good point. At what point are people ever trained to sit quietly? I can't even pump gas for three minutes without being bedazzled with muzak and video screens broadcasting news snippets and sales on beef jerky.

 

[TV and credit cards]

I just got done getting electric shocks. They are highly overrated.

Sit me under a tree on a warm summer's day and I can stay there well over fifteen minutes. Whether any mental productivity is occurring is another matter.

I have accidentally shocked myself once or twice, hand slipping while plugging in a cord etc. so now I prefer to be wearing gloves when plugging in the car etc. To contemplate intentionally giving myself a shock instead of enjoying a few blessed minutes of stillness and silence is incomprehensible to me. Makes me wonder if people are so over-stimulated that they actually suffer from 'withdrawals' without the constant backdrop of activity and electronic noise.

I know down in the lower 48, three wire electrical wasn't code until the late 60's I believe. Everything before that was two wire (no safety ground) and you had to rely on the return. If this just happens on your one outlet where you plug the car in, perhaps it's a corroded connection on the outlet, especially if this outlet is more exposed to the elements. Also, there shouldn't but may be outlets downstream of this one on the same circuit that may be affected.
The older the home and the more owners it's had, the worse the electrical is likely to be. People do some jacked up stuff. They get electricity flowing to where they want it and think it's mission accomplished.

Safety derailment.

 

[Under the Rose]

It has been a very long time since I received a direct electrical shock and as I recall, I was unplugging a vacuum cleaner or some such and my sweaty hands made contact with the prongs just as they were coming free. Plugging the cars in at work, one has to always watch for wind driven snow or moisture in the wall plug ins if the covers are not returned to place. Any trace of moisture in the female receptacle will result in crackling and possibly throwing a breaker. Our store is indeed a very old building and will be getting an upgrade very shortly.

I am just very apprehensive of electricity and when working around it outdoors, I use gloves as a precaution. We have GFI circuits for most of the outside plug-ins and the house was wired by a certified electrician. This is a very dry climate and static electricity shocks are very frequent during the winter. Hubby and I make a point of grounding ourselves before kissing, lol.

http://goaskalice.columbia.edu/hot-and-bothered-static-electric-shocks

 

[Bronzeage]

It has been a very long time since I received a direct electrical shock and as I recall, I was unplugging a vacuum cleaner or some such and my sweaty hands made contact with the prongs just as they were coming free. Plugging the cars in at work, one has to always watch for wind driven snow or moisture in the wall plug ins if the covers are not returned to place. Any trace of moisture in the female receptacle will result in crackling and possibly throwing a breaker. Our store is indeed a very old building and will be getting an upgrade very shortly.

I am just very apprehensive of electricity and when working around it outdoors, I use gloves as a precaution. We have GFI circuits for most of the outside plug-ins and the house was wired by a certified electrician. This is a very dry climate and static electricity shocks are very frequent during the winter. Hubby and I make a point of grounding ourselves before kissing, lol.

http://goaskalice.columbia.edu/hot-and-bothered-static-electric-shocks

It took about 8 years, but I finally peeled away the last layer of non-code jackleg electrical work in my store. Some of the stuff was scary. My building was once a post office, so the 70 year old stuff is very high quality, but under capacity for modern use. The building now has 3 separate AC units. I had to add all the power circuits for the Secret Underground Laboratory. Fortunately there was an unused 50 amp circuit leftover from an old heater blower.

One of the benefits of being in an older building and knowing the electrical code is, as long as I do it right, I can always say it was like that when we moved in.

 

[RavenSky]

Alternative title:

Grown-ups hate time-out as much as kids do.

I wish I'd thought of that!