Two links about torture

[nancylebov]

General discussion of why torture is apt to get inaccurate information. It was a pleasure to see that the large majority of comments on the page I read were anti-torture.

Moderate sleep deprivation (35 hours awake) greatly amplifies the effects of negative emotions. This is relevant to torture, because I think people are apt to underestimate the effects of combined tortures.

Links thanks to Andrew Ducker.

Comments

[nancylebov.livejournal.com]

The sleep study didn't call it torture. It said that even that level of sleep deficiency amplified the effects of negative emotions.

You presumably weren't being tortured at the convention.

Also, your tolerance for missing sleep isn't universal.

[sodyera.livejournal.com]

True.

[avram]

Also, there's a tremendous difference between doing something because you want to and being forced. Not just a moral difference -- there's a difference in the psychological states it produces in the person doing it.

[nancylebov.livejournal.com]

Which leaves me thinking about what it would be like to be forced to do all the things you usually do. "You will scratch your nose, or else!" It would be maddening.