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A Gripping, Scary Viruscore Tale in Free, Online Novel "Vector"
Short Fiction About the Future of Gawker Media Gets It Right
The Man Who Could Turn Anyone into a Torturer in Minutes
Massive Zombie Clusterfuck in New Anthology "The Living Dead"
George Dyson's New Scifi Story About How Google Achieves Consciousness
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cybergrunt
11/30/08

In reply to Short Fiction About the Future of Gawker Media Gets It Right
Gawker Media, aka you guys have almost single-handedly killed the blog and squashed any hope of the individual to have a say in this world. What a great achievement, you must be very proud.
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Annalee Newitz
12/18/08

@cybergrunt: And yet here you are, an individual, using a Gawker blog to have your say in the world. I think Alanis Morrisette would call that ironic.
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DrFish
11/29/08

In reply to Short Fiction About the Future of Gawker Media Gets It Right
It's interesting that the post below this one features a picture from Dawn of the Dead. If that movie had been done in the style of The Gambler passage posted here, Dawn of the Dead dialogue would have gone a little something like this...

"I don't even mind the fact that the world's been overrun with zombies since we get to do whatever we want in this mall."

"I feel that way too. But now that you say it out loud I realize that our feelings are really a comment on society."

"Look at the zombies shuffling through the mall. It's not too different from before the apocalypse!"

"The only thing I miss about life before the apocalypse is TV ads. They were so entertaining and gave meaning to my life."
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Annalee Newitz
11/29/08

@DrFish: I'd see that movie! Sounds like dialogue from Zombie Strippers!
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Meirelle
11/28/08

In reply to Short Fiction About the Future of Gawker Media Gets It Right
This story bangs me over the head with its (not so) hidden political agenda. Hell, it's even a political stance I agree with-- less crap celeb stories and more important stories please-- but the exerpt you provided makes this sound less like a short story and more like an angry blog rant.

No thanks.
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Banned for pointing out blatant misrepresentation by io9
11/28/08

In reply to Short Fiction About the Future of Gawker Media Gets It Right
The title and much of the content make it seem this post's purpose is to draw attention to and complain about problems with the way Gawker Media does business. Was that its intent?
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Annalee Newitz
11/28/08

@Mandrock: No that wasn't my intent. If you read the story, I don't think you'll see it that way.
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Banned for pointing out blatant misrepresentation by io9
11/28/08

@Annalee Newitz: I did read the story. And if myopically chasing after the almighty "feed numbers" rather than chasing feed-poor but "important" news, wasn't what the story got "right" about "the future of Gawker Media", then I am very curious what it is you are saying the story did get right about Gawker Media's future.
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phoenix
11/28/08

@Mandrock: Perhaps it was commentary about the state of news dissemination and blogging with an eye-catching title, without being a pointed reference to the current workings of any specific company? I don't know, out on a limb here, but maybe - just maybe - your interpretation isn't the only one possible given the information provided?
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Banned for pointing out blatant misrepresentation by io9
11/28/08

@phoenix: "maybe - just maybe - your interpretation isn't the only one possible given the information provided"

Since I was specifically asking for Annalee's "interpretation" as you put it, your "out on a limb" suggestion is a bit redundant, eh?

Annalee clearly states the story got something right about the future of Gawker Media. I am very curious to learn what she thinks it got right about their future.
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phoenix
11/28/08

@Mandrock: fair enough, I did say it was out on a limb, didn't I?
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LuciaDeiphontes
11/28/08

@nnl Nwtz: h, nw gt t. Thr's bn ntcbl ptk n btchng bt th qntty vrss qlty rt f psts n 9. s tht hw Nck Dntn dcds whch f hs sts lvs r ds? Tht xplns tht. Vllywg ddn't pt t hh? Tht scks.
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mitchel_stevens
11/28/08

@LuciaDeiphontes:

Never bring up "Vllywg." That does not exist in Soviet Gawker.

Gawker Prevails!
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Pope John Peeps II
11/28/08

In reply to Short Fiction About the Future of Gawker Media Gets It Right
But Ong only wants to focus on stories that are beloved by scientists and policy wonks, and they don't represent a demographic the advertisers care about.

haha. Slightly inaccurate. They don't represent a demographic that REGULAR PEOPLE care about. You seem to think it's some sort of conspiracy to numb regular folks. It's the other way around. Regular folks DESIRE numbness, and conspire with themselves to achieve it.
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Annalee Newitz
11/28/08

@Pope John Peeps II: They don't represent a demographic advertisers care about because it's a small demographic. It's not a conspiracy; it's just common sense.
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phoenix
11/28/08

@Annalee Newitz: I couldn't have said that better myself.
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phoenix
11/28/08

@Annalee Newitz: or more appropriately, I like your ideas; do you have a newsletter I could subscribe to?
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Pope John Peeps II
11/28/08

@Annalee Newitz: But it's their scientific stance regarding the world that doesn't resonate with people, right? Climate scientists themselves are not the people that advertisers target.
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twophrasebark
11/03/08

In reply to The Man Who Could Turn Anyone into a Torturer in Minutes
Milgram also did another experiment where he created a experiment showing that people blindly follow authority. He then made this experiment famous throughout the world. He made sure it was taught to school children throughout the world.

He then tested people again to see if they still blinded followed authority. As they followed blindly, he asked them if they remembered his famous experiment. They said, "Yes, of course. How much voltage do your want me to feed into this guy?"

Milgram then jumped off the roof of a building.
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LittleDragon
11/03/08

In reply to The Man Who Could Turn Anyone into a Torturer in Minutes
It says that people were invited to go to his lab and help him use a machine to shock people. Does this mean the people knew they were going to be electrocuting people? If so that may speak more for about the people who volenterally showed up. What they should have done was just grab some people and ask them to take part in an experiment and that things would be explained to them by the doctor after they agree.
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Annalee Newitz
11/03/08

@ldevitt: Sorry I was unclear. They were just told they would be doing an experiment. When they got there he told them that it would involve administering shocks.
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russdanger
11/03/08

In reply to The Man Who Could Turn Anyone into a Torturer in Minutes
I've seen film made during this experiment. It's the some of the most frightening and outrageous footage I've ever seen. It really made me do a lot of thinking about the nature of evil, and how "ordinary" people become monsters as they did in Nazi Germany and Rwanda. People feel free to do terrible things if they believe that Someone in Authority, be it the Fuhrer, the General, the President , Jesus or Allah will absolve them...
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jajbowler
11/03/08

@russdanger: i read about it in a book called 'becoming evil: how ordinary people commit genocide and mass killing.' it seems like it speaks exactly to the same point as the film you watched in that a portion of it uses this case among other things to illustrate the point that perhaps some of the lower level nazi soldiers didn't necessarily believe in what they were doing, but they were just afraid of getting killed themselves if they didn't follow orders. this is some weird, wild stuff.
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GitEmSteveDave_ForgotNametag
11/03/08

In reply to The Man Who Could Turn Anyone into a Torturer in Minutes
There's a good book called "Elephants on Acid" that documents many similar studies. I wish I had it with me, but I know one involved a puppy and electrical shocks, and I want to say that the obedience level was lower. I guess we love our pets.
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Slatz_Grobnik
11/03/08

@Git Em SteveDave loves this guy-->: There were a series of other experiments. The puppy got used because a number of people complained about his methods, oddly enough, and that the experimented upon could see through the experiment.

So, enter the puppy.

As I recall, you're wrong that the obedience level was lower. What made the puppy scenario remarkable was that it's the only, as I recall, where there's a distinct difference in terms of gender.

Run it with people, men and women are about the same in terms of obedience. With the puppy, the male refusal rate was notably higher than the female.
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rugbysteve
11/03/08

In reply to The Man Who Could Turn Anyone into a Torturer in Minutes
I read an article about this once called "If Hitler Asked you to Electrocute a Stranger Would you?"
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GitEmSteveDave_ForgotNametag
11/03/08

@rugbysteve: I did to. I read it in the Star Trek course my college offered.
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NefariousNewt
11/03/08

In reply to The Man Who Could Turn Anyone into a Torturer in Minutes
Yale went on to get its revenge by allowing George Bush to graduate and eventually become President of the United States.
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Shell_Krackerश्रमण
11/03/08

In reply to The Man Who Could Turn Anyone into a Torturer in Minutes
Being told by a doctor that you are participating in a harmless experiment, and being told by an officer that you must do it or be a traitor, are a bit different arnt they?
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92BuickLeSabre
11/03/08

@Shell_Kracker: In all sincerity I don't get the difference. I'm not even sure which way you are saying the value judgment tilts. Can you elaborate a little?
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