[LINK] Magnetic Waves & Morals

[stephen at melbpc.org.au]

One wonders if those 'quality' headphones, with largish speaker magnets,
might trigger the experimental effects recorded by these MIT researchers.


Study: Magnetic Waves Alter Moral Compass

MIT Researchers Find That Magnetic Pulses Directed at Brain Change 
People's Ability to Tell Right from Wrong  By Alex Sundby, March 30, 2010

<http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/03/30/tech/main6347079.shtml>


(CBS)  A device that emits an invisible beam affecting a person's ability 
to tell right from wrong might sound like the kind of weapon a comic book 
villain would use to wreak havoc around the world. 

Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say such a device 
allowed them to observe the effects magnetic rays have on a person's 
sense of morality. 

In a new study, volunteers were subjected to magnetic pulses just above 
and behind of the right ear, focusing on the area of the brain believed 
to be the area controlling morality. 

The pulses were intended to block cell activity that contributed to the 
volunteers' sense of right and wrong. 

MIT's researchers explain the study in Proceedings of the National 
Academy of Sciences. 

"You think of morality as being a really high-level behavior," Dr. Liane 
Young, the study's lead researcher, told the British Broadcasting 
Corporation. "To be able to apply a magnetic field to a specific brain 
region and change people's moral judgments is really astonishing." 

To see what effect a 500 millisecond magnetic pulse had, researchers gave 
the 20 volunteers a series of tests. In one test, the volunteers were 
given an ethical dilemma: should a man let his girlfriend walk across a 
bridge he knew wasn't safe? 

The volunteers based their answers on how the scenario played out. If the 
girlfriend crossed with bridge safely, the man wasn't at fault. The 
volunteers based their decision on the outcome of the dilemma, not the 
moral principle, because of the magnetic pulse, the researchers wrote. 

In another test, volunteers were exposed to 25 minutes of weak electric 
currents that prevent brain cells from functioning normally. They then 
had to read stories about morally questionable characters and judge 
whether the characters' actions caused harm. 

Researchers found that the volunteers accepted morally dubious actions 
that resulted in a "happy" ending.  ©MMX, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights 
Reserved.  

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Cheers,
Stephen