
The Science of Compliance - zackattack
http://www.zacharyburt.com/2010/06/the-science-of-compliance/
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wdewind
This is pretty interesting but I'm not sure about your example of Kitty
Genovese. Although I think you use it in the standard way, I think the
standard way is actually pretty wrong.

I live in NYC and have since I was born. The number of times I've heard
screams going to bed is definitely in the 100s. So, I do think the Kitty
Genovese story is a story of bias, but I think it's one of "boy who cried
wolf" more than "herd mentality."

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btilly
If you follow the link in the article to the story of Kitty Genovese,
Wikipedia offers a lot of information pointing to exactly how wrong the
standard view of the episode is.

There is something ironic about offering a bad example, and then linking to an
explanation of how bad your example is which you clearly have not read.

~~~
zackattack
Where does it say "exactly how wrong the standard view" is? The example is
only arguably "bad" because the number of reported witnesses to the murder may
have been exaggerated.

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camccann
The number of witnesses may be exaggerated, how much of the attack any given
witness saw is probably exaggerated, and the extent to which any of those
witnesses could have plausibly realized the severity of the attack is likely
exaggerated.

 _(...) no witness saw the entire sequence of events. Most only heard portions
of the incident without realizing its seriousness, a few saw only small
portions of the initial assault, and no witnesses directly saw the final
attack and rape in an exterior hallway (...) Additionally, after the initial
attack punctured her lungs (...) it is unlikely that she was able to scream at
any volume."_

Not exactly a happy story either way, but nowhere near as bad as "a group of
people watching a woman be raped and killed and choosing not to do anything",
just your ordinary, garden-variety, this-is-clearly-someone-else's-problem
bystander effect.

Does this negatively impact the incident's use as an example? Not really.

More importantly, it doesn't change the fact that the correct reaction to the
incident is clearly to don a mysterious mask and become a costumed, crime-
fighting vigilante.

~~~
btilly
_More importantly, it doesn't change the fact that the correct reaction to the
incident is clearly to don a mysterious mask and become a costumed, crime-
fighting vigilante._

Which will inevitably result in your winding up in the hospital, with a bunch
of metal in you, and a complete inability to feel pain. Which no doubt will
help you the next time you feel inclined to be so stupid. Which will get you
into trouble that you need _real_ superheros to get you out of.

(If you don't understand this comment, you probably didn't watch _Kick Ass_.)

