Are you really an individual?

Discussion in 'Human Science' started by Carcano, May 26, 2008.

  1. Carcano Valued Senior Member

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    All protruding nails will be hammered flat...

    As the saying goes in the far east, where social conformity is far more esteemed...but in western civilization at least, most people would like to think of themselves as individuals.

    Did you know however that a person's ability to 'stand out' for any particular truth (as they see it) is something that can be tested.

    I first heard about this a few months back while reading something on stock market behaviour.

    Research was conducted by psychologists many years ago that reveals much. Cant remember the name of the experiment, but it goes something like this:

    Ten people are called into a room and seated on chairs in a semi circle. A paper is passed from one to the next with three lines on it, and the subjects are asked to say which line is the longest...A,B or C.

    Except only ONE of the subjects is being tested, the other nine are instructed beforehand to say that C is the longest line, when its actually very obvious that B is the longest.

    The one test subject is always seated last, and lo and behold, the researchers discovered that ONLY one in four randomly chosen people are able to corrected identify B as the longest line, in the face of a unanimously contrary group opinion!!!

    This phenomena has been called 'groupthink' (William Whyte...Irving Janis) and has been described in detail as exhibiting a number of symptoms.

    1. Illusions of invulnerability creating excessive optimism and encouraging risk taking.

    2. Rationalising warnings that might challenge the group's assumptions.

    3. Unquestioned belief in the morality of the group, causing members to ignore the consequences of their actions.

    4. Stereotyping those who are opposed to the group as weak, evil, disfigured, impotent, or stupid.

    5. Direct pressure to conform placed on any member who questions the group, couched in terms of "disloyalty".

    6. Self censorship of ideas that deviate from the apparent group consensus.

    7. Illusions of unanimity among group members, silence is viewed as agreement.

    8. Mindguards — self-appointed members who shield the group from dissenting information.

    Strangely enough, I can hardly see any of these traits in the sciforum membership...where it seems that dissent itself is the prevailing mode of conformity.

    Could it be that you folks are the one in four???

    Or is your sense of groupthink practiced only at large, in the wider world of reality?:bugeye:
     
    Last edited: May 26, 2008
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  3. Varda The Bug Lady Valued Senior Member

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    inividuality is overrated
     
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  5. Mr.Spock Back from the dead Valued Senior Member

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    i think its the exact opposite.
     
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  7. Varda The Bug Lady Valued Senior Member

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    well, after a while you've just seen everything out there... and then you keep seing more and more of that stuff, and it just gets sickening to watch people make complete fools of themselves trying to stand out
    oh, but I' so zany... I'm craaaazy

    yawn

    what's wrong with being just like everyone else?
    there's some serious advantages to being able to just vanish in a crowd
     
  8. EmmZ It's an animal thing Registered Senior Member

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    I f**king hate people to be honest. Most of them seem to be stupid and careless. I can't abide normality, it feels like white noise drilling into my mind. People and their inane conversations about who gives a shit. They can't seem to apply any abstract thought to problems and their solutions to things are void of any logic and reason. I can't abide superficiality and unimportant rubbish that seems to make up most of the day for the average Joe. I don't ever want to be like everyone else, I'd rather pull the veins from my arms with my incisors than be anything like them. Most people are like animals who can talk, who think they're really f**king clever because they can add up big sums or pose wonderfully insightful philosophical questions. Bullshit. The problem with being a sheep is... you're just another lamb to the slaughter.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 8, 2015
  9. domesticated om Stickler for details Valued Senior Member

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    3,277
    I am unique to the very core - unfortunately. Assuming my mutated genetic code has a chance to propagate, I am STILL the very last of my line you will see. There is nothing I can be truly paired with except another composite.
     
  10. sargentlard Save the whales motherfucker Valued Senior Member

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    no, it's overstated. 95% of individuals who consider themselves to be individuals are anything but.
     
  11. Dr Lou Natic Unnecessary Surgeon Registered Senior Member

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    Sargentlard?

    Anyway, he's right, real individuality is excessively rare. Look at sciforums, one person (me) out of how many? Thousands?
     
  12. draqon Banned Banned

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    35,006
    I am a conglomerate of universe
     
  13. greenberg until the end of the world Registered Senior Member

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    But what is an individual, really?
    What is there that one could really call one's own and that at the same time, nobody could claim to be theirs as well?


    But this doesn't yet make a person an individual. Only "accurate" or "critical thinking".


    I don't think this is the case here. I think we must take into consideration that Sciforums is a discussion forum, and for there to be any discussion, there must be basic differences of opinions and knowledge, there must be dissent, disagreement, and disapproving. Otherwise, there is nothing to talk about.

    Other than that, what makes you think there is no group think at Sciforums?

    Let's look at the symptoms of groupthink as they appear at Sciforums.

    First of all, though, we must note that Sciforums as a whole is not a group, at least not always; usually, the membership of Sciforums is made up of several groups or cliques, alliances, and a few loners. The cliques and alliances are to some extent dynamic, though, which might give the impression that there are none, and that Sciforums as a whole functions as a group.

    But back to groupthink:

    Observe smaller groups at Sciforums or alliances between individual members - how bold individual members get when "amongst the brethren". Or when one group gets together to fight another one or an individual.
    (Hint: The Shorty vs. Orleander series and the way sides were taken by other members. Or the Reiku situations.)


    See above. Witness threads that complain about bannings, infractions, warnings.


    Again, see above. The war against JamesR, for example.


    Happens directly, and also reversed - ie. one group in a straw-man manner accuses another of accusing them of lowliness, preemptive strikes.


    Whenever someone says something to the effect of "I thought you were on my side. Liar."


    Again, on all counts, look especially at forum fights. Granted, they won't make much sense unless you first figure out who's siding with whom, who belongs to which group or clique.
     
  14. Read-Only Valued Senior Member

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    10,296
    Not really. It doesn't require "standing out" to make one different. I and you are totally unique - it doesn't make us special but there's no true 100% duplicate anywhere. Our personal experiences - in total - cannot be perfectly matched with anyone else's. And it's our experiences along with our outlook that makes each of us what we are.

    So to say that there's no such thing as an individual is sheer nonsense.
     
  15. redarmy11 Registered Senior Member

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    7,658
    'Je suis unique': that was a popular t-shirt a few years back. Black with silver glitter lettering. Every two-bit slag in England had one. Gor, it were a laff.

    I'm... normal.
     
  16. S.A.M. uniquely dreadful Valued Senior Member

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    Like they say, you're unique, just like everyone else.
     
  17. Oli Heute der Enteteich... Registered Senior Member

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    If you really are normal then you're very probably unique.
     
  18. Mr.Spock Back from the dead Valued Senior Member

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    :roflmao:
     
  19. cosmictraveler Be kind to yourself always. Valued Senior Member

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    Since normal is just a society telling everyone what they must do in order to keep within the boundries of their own laws and morals I am probably just like everyone else to a certain degree. I do once in awhile go off the deep end but soon realize that no one is there with me so I get back to the group in order to survive.
     
  20. EndLightEnd This too shall pass. Registered Senior Member

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    I can play the "normal" game for society, but privately Im anything but.
     
  21. Jozen-Bo The Wheel Spinning King!!! Registered Senior Member

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    Yes and No!
     
  22. Enmos Valued Senior Member

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    All people are animals that can talk.
    It's just that most people have some sort of superiority complex towards nature.
    You are not one of them as far as I can deduct. At least you're not among the worst kinds.
     
  23. Varda The Bug Lady Valued Senior Member

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    6,184
    pssst... you are just like everyone else
     

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