Science Proves That Trolls Ruin Everything

[PirateRose]

"To scientists, this behavior bears a strong resemblance to the theory of motivated reasoning, which states that humans are emotional first and rational second....It only gets worse when discussing serious issues like climate change or Mass Effect 3, where opinions are so vitriolic that almost no one is capable of having a fully rational conversation in the first place."

Well if that "game" was more rationally designed, had a more stable story, instead of colossal inconsistent mess of emotional, shock value driven crap, maybe the response to the ending would have been more rational?

 

[Oinodaemon]

No, really? How do you think the church managed to pass witch hunts off as an acceptable thing for so long. Once the first person starts crying witch then it's only natural that other idiots will follow suit. Humans are essentially just big monkeys, when we see someone starting to fling shit, we quite happily join the festivities. Monkey see, monkey do.

Yes, I'm aware people are actually apes. But I still mean it when I call them monkeys.

I am not a monkey. We may have a common ancestry, but any human has the capability to NOT behave like an animal.

 

[DanDeFool]

Nice job, science. Now the trolls KNOW it's working. :\

 

[Nenad]

Okay since we've noticed how they waste or don't waste money on studies like this, how about we put that issue to rest and ask the scientists to make a new study now that they have a foothold on the troll issue - how to solve it?

 

[cidbahamut]

Trolling is an art.

A lot of what's out there is simply people being ill-mannered and contrary.

 

[Xanadu84]

You know, I love science. I think it's wonderful and has made life so much better for our species as a whole.

However.

There are times when I really wish we didn't have to put so much time and effort into studying and analyzing the painfully obvious, just so we can convince idiots that it is, in fact, true.

It was very possible that trolls do not lower the quality of a conversation, and that people are capable of ignoring troll comments. It is also possible that people would not change there beliefs at all, just have disgust for the troll. Perhaps trolls aggression could have encouraged other people to troll as well, and the peer pressure causes people to agree with the trolls opinion because people are less likely to see something as trolling when they agree. Or perhaps trolling will cause people to tend to disagree with the troll out of antipathy. All these things are reasonable hypothesis that were rejected by the study. All of these conflicting outcomes could have been accused of being, "Obvious" by onlookers.

Even if you think that this outcome is the only obvious outcome, that would be the kind of conventional wisdom that science disproves on a daily basis. But you can't disprove conventional wisdom without first being willing to test something that most people consider obvious. Naturally, in unseating deeply held and deeply flawed beliefs that everyone assumes is true, you're often going to just support the obvious. That doesn't mean that putting it to the test and getting quantifiable measurements is not valid.

 

[Caffeine_Bombed]

The main thing I took away from this article is that Science could be observing us right now... ¬_¬

 

[grigjd3]

The main thing I took away from this article is that Science could be observing us right now... ¬_¬

Change could to is and you have it.

 

[sapphireofthesea]

You know, I love science. I think it's wonderful and has made life so much better for our species as a whole.

However.

There are times when I really wish we didn't have to put so much time and effort into studying and analyzing the painfully obvious, just so we can convince idiots that it is, in fact, true.

There are alot of things we took as fact cause they were painfully obvious, only to discover we were wrong. This research is not as obvious as you think. What they are effectively saying is that anyone can put a reasonable argument up, have someone else stir up shit and the result will be a higher chance of everyone siding with their argument on the grounds of irrational response to the shit stirred. This is extremely important information about the human mind and can be used to calm major situation of rage, potential suicidals and high stress environments. It can also be used to better understand and counter coercive situations and reinforce the law with regards to unfair deals made under manipulative environments. It can also be used to better organize a military unit and in general circles get a more honest response from people in any situation.

So it seems minor and obvious, but the potential for it to expand out from the obvious rage against the something that is upsetting is an unexpected and important finding.

And of course there is the negative that govs and advertizes can now use the info to further encourage us to buy their bullshit and products. So be mindful.

 

[Verlander]

No, really? How do you think the church managed to pass witch hunts off as an acceptable thing for so long. Once the first person starts crying witch then it's only natural that other idiots will follow suit. Humans are essentially just big monkeys, when we see someone starting to fling shit, we quite happily join the festivities. Monkey see, monkey do.

Yes, I'm aware people are actually apes. But I still mean it when I call them monkeys.

Somewhat unrelated, but I wanted to point out that when people refer to "The Church", they are generally referring to one of the main Christian churches, usually the Roman Catholic church. Which specifically condemned witch hunts.

I don't disagree that there was a sheep mentality at play, but it wasn't a church conspiracy.

OT:It's not just internet trolls, but anything that makes you angry. It's why, in business, the old ways of "asshole boss belittling those below him" have completely disappeared from the bigger, more successful companies. Happy people are productive and inventive people.

 

[Atmos Duality]

Trolling is an art.

I agree. It's the Dada of the Internet.

 

[Callate]

I feel like Congress suddenly takes on on a whole new light...

 

[CardinalPiggles]

It's funny because most troll comments I see lately are simply looking to get a reaction out of as many people as possible.

I guess they just won.

 

[btenkink]

"Human Beings are emotional first and rational second". It's not every day a scientist admits that.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Do we really needed an scitentify experiment to explain that? I thought everyone who encounter troll already know that?

 

[Texas Joker 52]

You know, while I'm not surprised by the basic result of their study, that certain things bypass the part of our brains that keep us rational and calm, I am surprised about the mention of Mass Effect 3.

And not the fact that those 1,183 participants, were all of Legions runtimes [http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Legion].

I can't help but find that rather funny, especially since he apparently came up with a consensus when it comes to trolls.

 

[Lunar Templar]

I 'train my self' against 'trolls'.

I hang out on the Vindictus forums some times, no mods there so they're all over the place

 

[Sylveria]

I'd be curious to see the effects of draconian moderation on this process. When you see someone saying something inflammatory and ignorant and you come up with that witty, biting come-back but you can't let it loose, thus offering yourself some cathartic relief and returning yourself to a more rational state, because you know you, as a relatively responsible human-being, will likely be punished for your statement as it is directed while the troll itself will often receive no penalty for their behavior because it is non-directed.

Of course, moderation is incredibly inconsistent and often at the whims of the moderators personal bias.

 

[thepyrethatburns]

I'm not sure that I buy into this for two reasons.

1) When I troll, I usually do it for a higher purpose than just saying "U mad, bro?" Trolling, even if it is using reducto ad absurdum responses, can be used to illustrate counterpoints. Even medieval kings recognized the value of having a troll around in the form of the Court Fool.

2) My problem with the study is that it claims that it is that easy to bypass the rational part of our brain. Given the current debate over whether our culture, including video games, shapes us into more aggressive people (if not out-and-out violent people), I would be hesitant to praise this one study as concrete evidence. If trolling on an internet forum can bypass our rational side so easily, how much more so does playing a violent video game whose sole intent is to bypass the rational part of our brain? Worse, how much more stress would losing at an online game such as COD whose population are largely trolls add to the stress that real life already puts on our irrational side? Over time, the long-term exposure could easily make a normal person a completely irrational person. If you add a pre-existing mental condition to the mix, the effects could be much worse.

If we accept this study at face value, then the implications of this study would indicate that we really should take a closer look at our "violence culture", games included. I'm not sure I'm ready to accept such a claim at face value.

 

[Grottnikk]

Don't forget that some "obvious" things aren't really the way we all think. Take William James's Bear, for example, or the Rorschach butterfly. You gotta test things to be sure, even if you THINK it's a no-brainer.