
Interview with Philip Zimbardo of the Stanford Prison Experiment - happy-go-lucky
http://m.nautil.us/issue/45/power/the-man-who-played-with-absolute-power
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jplayer01
It's been nearly fifty years. It was a flawed experiment. He's been
interviewed countless times. Why do we need yet another article about it that
doesn't say anything new?

~~~
mmjaa
Because new kids graduate from the decadence of their family-provided
lifestyle and come out into the world fresh, looking for ideas that help them
gain an understanding for why the world is so broken: so such things as the
conclusions made by this experiment are ever-more valuable.

It is disingenuous to assume that because something is 'old' in your eyes,
'everyone knows it already'. This is clearly not the case - if everyone knew
just how bad human beings can be when granted power, perhaps there wouldn't be
such heinous conditions in the halls of power as we have today.

Fact: either we re-fresh discussing the uncomfortable truths about human
existence on frequent occasions, or we end up unwittingly repeating them.
Also, frequently.

~~~
andrewclunn
Except none of that speaks to the flawed nature of the experiment. This is
ideological junk that refuses to die.

~~~
mmjaa
Says you. But, are you 'an authority' on the subject, or just a willing
participant looking to increase your influence over the world?

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aaron695
If you still think this was a 'scientific' experiment in 2017 then I'd be a
bit worried.

Related - Philip Zimbardo is worried that excessive gaming or porn watching is
crippling masculinity.

[https://www.theguardian.com/science/head-
quarters/2015/may/1...](https://www.theguardian.com/science/head-
quarters/2015/may/11/the-professor-who-thinks-video-games-will-be-the-
downfall-of-men-zimbardo)

~~~
0xcde4c3db
It seems like Zimbardo always wanted to be a "thought leader" rather than a
scientist. He has a history of promoting novel theories/diagnoses/techniques
with catchy names that don't especially pan out (the Lucifer Effect, Social
Intensity Syndrome, time perspective therapy).

