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

[Togo]

I dunno, in retrospect this seems obvious.

Would you rather sit alone in a cube with nothing to do... or play with an electric shock machine? I think it's clear that, if left unsupervised with such a machine, a fair few people would shock themselves simply because it's a novel experience and a novel gadget. So all we're measuring is whether people choose to do dangerous things when bored.

 

[doubtingt]

The study would be far more interesting if they measured other variables that predicted the willingness to get the shock, such as time per day using a smart phone or ipad, etc..
It is certainly an interesting question of what the long term effects are of people having a constant distraction (mostly filled with inane and mindless info) at their fingertips and/or constantly in their ears. People definitely spend much less time now "alone with their thoughts" than they did up until 10-15 years ago. In addition, when something in their environment requires them to think, so many don't bother and just "look it up" before making any real effort to retrieve the info from memory or reason it for themselves.
Given the evidence that thinking about and using what your already know is vital for cognitive development, this has to have a major impact not only on people's need to have a constant stream of inanity spilled into their senses but many aspects of intellectual and emotional development. OTOH, the effects could go either way depending on various individual differences. 20 years ago, when people were on the bus or waiting in line somewhere they didn't all deeply reflect. For those that are inclined to internally reflect, having an external source of constant distracting stimuli might be a negative to their development, but for people that would otherwise just stare into space and eat their boogers, maybe that stream of stimuli (no matter how vacuous) is an improvement over the absence of mental activity that otherwise would be occurring.

 

[Malintent]

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.

Not true at all... the prongs on any plug are live just a few mm in.. not a few mm out. This is why it has recently become good practice (but not code) to mount 3 pronged outlets "upside down". That is, with the center ground pin "up" (upside down face). This is to prevent a short if the plug is partially inserted and an object slides down the wall at hits the prongs... it would only hit either the common or hot , as well as the ground... but not both hot and common.

 

[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.

Not true at all... the prongs on any plug are live just a few mm in.. not a few mm out. This is why it has recently become good practice (but not code) to mount 3 pronged outlets "upside down". That is, with the center ground pin "up" (upside down face). This is to prevent a short if the plug is partially inserted and an object slides down the wall at hits the prongs... it would only hit either the common or hot , as well as the ground... but not both hot and common.

That's not upside down; that's the right way up.

Americans are really strange. One of the strangest things about them is that they think they are the standard by which normality is measured. What you say may be true for any US plug, but it isn't true in the developed world.

From Wiki:

Pin insulation

Initially, BS 1363 did not require the line and neutral pins to have insulating sleeves. Plugs made to the recent revisions of the standard have insulated sleeves to prevent finger contact with pins, and also to stop metal objects (for example, fallen window blind slats) from becoming live if lodged between the wall and a partly pulled out plug. The length of the sleeves prevents any live contacts from being exposed while the plug is being inserted or removed. An early method of sleeving the pins involving spring loaded sleeves is described in the 1967 British Patent GB1067870. The method actually adopted is described in the 1972 British Patent GB1292991. Plugs with such pins were available in the 1970s, a Southern Electricity/RoSPA safety pamphlet from 1978 encourages their use. Sleeved pins became required by the standard in 1984.

It has been commonplace in the UK since the 1960s, and mandatory for the last thirty years, to design plugs in this way.

 

[fromderinside]

We owe it all to Franklin who got current flowing from positive to negative.

 

[Emily Lake]

Regarding the OP... I am pretty sure I could sit quietly without trouble. The problem would arise on the observers end. I have a very active imagination, you see... and left to my own devices, without proper distraction, I tend to start imagining scenarios and conversations. That in itself is not an unusual thing for humans to do. I am also very expressive though. So I end up making gestures and facial expressions along with the imagined conversation

I might end up shocking myself just to save the potential embarrassment of someone testing me for a mental illness!

 

[TV and credit cards]

Not true at all... the prongs on any plug are live just a few mm in.. not a few mm out. This is why it has recently become good practice (but not code) to mount 3 pronged outlets "upside down". That is, with the center ground pin "up" (upside down face). This is to prevent a short if the plug is partially inserted and an object slides down the wall at hits the prongs... it would only hit either the common or hot , as well as the ground... but not both hot and common.

I've noticed this practice with 30A dryer outlets which is odd because the molded plug/cord has to loop up over and down. Strange for a dryer outlet as they are generally up at waist height and flipping them puts the ground on bottom if I recall. I don't know why anyone would flip them but I've seen this a few times and on homes varying in age. I had never considered the "falling object" scenario. I had noticed this with newer 20A outlets that accept dedicated 20A plugs, their being flipped ground up. I had thought it was an additional practice to differentiate them from 15A outlets. Consider many power tools run right up to 15A. Probably be best to use a 20A if available.
I always look to see if something is code or practice. If it's practice, I look to see if there is a valid safety concern or if it looks like a money maker. For example pushing costly GFCI breakers over a GFCI outlet as the lead. I wonder about some wiring practices like having one circuit hop around to different rooms. I read in a handbook that 12AWG is preferred over 14 for lighting. With lighting going more and more low wattage, I wonder why.

Shocking. I'll have to sit and ponder this.

 

[Emily Lake]

Shocking. I'll have to sit and ponder this.

*snort giggle*

 

[spikepipsqueak]

Not true at all... the prongs on any plug are live just a few mm in.. not a few mm out. This is why it has recently become good practice (but not code) to mount 3 pronged outlets "upside down". That is, with the center ground pin "up" (upside down face). This is to prevent a short if the plug is partially inserted and an object slides down the wall at hits the prongs... it would only hit either the common or hot , as well as the ground... but not both hot and common.

I lost a good metal tape measure, and nearly lost an unobservant SO to this scenario.

The OP. I can happily sit waiting for things, thinking my own thoughts, and have experienced enough 240v and 50v shocks that I am not keen to volunteer for more. But I would share Emily Lake's problem that I might get too involved in what I was thinking and get carted off to the rubber room.

 

[fast]

Sit and think versus electrical shock? Sit and think.

Stand and think versus electrical shock? Electrical shock.

No thinking on my feet for me

 

[Malintent]

Not true at all... the prongs on any plug are live just a few mm in.. not a few mm out. This is why it has recently become good practice (but not code) to mount 3 pronged outlets "upside down". That is, with the center ground pin "up" (upside down face). This is to prevent a short if the plug is partially inserted and an object slides down the wall at hits the prongs... it would only hit either the common or hot , as well as the ground... but not both hot and common.

That's not upside down; that's the right way up.

Americans are really strange. One of the strangest things about them is that they think they are the standard by which normality is measured. What you say may be true for any US plug, but it isn't true in the developed world.

From Wiki:

Pin insulation

Initially, BS 1363 did not require the line and neutral pins to have insulating sleeves. Plugs made to the recent revisions of the standard have insulated sleeves to prevent finger contact with pins, and also to stop metal objects (for example, fallen window blind slats) from becoming live if lodged between the wall and a partly pulled out plug. The length of the sleeves prevents any live contacts from being exposed while the plug is being inserted or removed. An early method of sleeving the pins involving spring loaded sleeves is described in the 1967 British Patent GB1067870. The method actually adopted is described in the 1972 British Patent GB1292991. Plugs with such pins were available in the 1970s, a Southern Electricity/RoSPA safety pamphlet from 1978 encourages their use. Sleeved pins became required by the standard in 1984.

It has been commonplace in the UK since the 1960s, and mandatory for the last thirty years, to design plugs in this way.

No need to drag the whole world into this... I was speaking about American electrical code, not global. Must Americans always precede every sentense with "In America" when exchanging ideas on the Internet (that America invented). Aren't you just a guest here? hehe.

 

[GenesisNemesis]

I'm pretty used to sitting and doing nothing since that's what I usually do.

 

[Keith&Co.]

I'm pretty used to sitting and doing nothing since that's what I usually do.

I used to have a t-shirt with an elephant in the pose of The Thinker.
"Sometimes i just sits and thinks.
And sometimes i just sits."

 

[Emily Lake]

Not true at all... the prongs on any plug are live just a few mm in.. not a few mm out. This is why it has recently become good practice (but not code) to mount 3 pronged outlets "upside down". That is, with the center ground pin "up" (upside down face). This is to prevent a short if the plug is partially inserted and an object slides down the wall at hits the prongs... it would only hit either the common or hot , as well as the ground... but not both hot and common.

I lost a good metal tape measure, and nearly lost an unobservant SO to this scenario.

The OP. I can happily sit waiting for things, thinking my own thoughts, and have experienced enough 240v and 50v shocks that I am not keen to volunteer for more. But I would share Emily Lake's problem that I might get too involved in what I was thinking and get carted off to the rubber room.

Nothing wrong with the rubber room. The bouncy balls bounce extra well there.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

I have no problem sitting by myself and being alone with my thoughts.

...

So that button shocks me? That's weird.

...

Ya, my thoughts are great. I'm an interesting person.

...

So what does a "mild" electric shock mean anyways?

...

How bad could it be?

...

It's a new experience.

...

But that's stupid. Why would anyone choose to do something that dumb?

...

Ow. That hurt.

 

[Keith&Co.]

...

But that's stupid. Why would anyone choose to do something that dumb?

...

Ow. That hurt.

...

I wonder if I could build up a tolerance?

 

[Kharakov]

Electric shock can be pleasurable. Especially when you control the voltage and who gets shocked.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

...

But that's stupid. Why would anyone choose to do something that dumb?

...

Ow. That hurt.

...

I wonder if I could build up a tolerance?

Well, you have to figure that once you know what the shock feels like and can prepare yourself for it, it wouldn't have nearly the impact it does the first time you get shocked.

There's really only one way to find out for sure, though.

 

[Emily Lake]

Well, you have to figure that once you know what the shock feels like and can prepare yourself for it, it wouldn't have nearly the impact it does the first time you get shocked.

There's really only one way to find out for sure, though.

I question your assumption. You may be able to prepare yourself for the pain associated with the shock, provided it's a relatively low level of pain. But it is still electricity entering your body. I don't know that it's a good assumption that one can condition themselves to continued external electrical jolts being applied to the system.

 

[fromderinside]

Well, you have to figure that once you know what the shock feels like and can prepare yourself for it, it wouldn't have nearly the impact it does the first time you get shocked.

There's really only one way to find out for sure, though.

I question your assumption. You may be able to prepare yourself for the pain associated with the shock, provided it's a relatively low level of pain. But it is still electricity entering your body. I don't know that it's a good assumption that one can condition themselves to continued external electrical jolts being applied to the system.

Why not. You tolerate radiation to get a tan.

The question is poorly formed. Humans are active social beings. Typically thought is performed in preparation for action. Knowing the button will give one a shock sets the table for preparing to take the shock.