Monday, December 5, 2011

Pavlovian Response

Hi there.

An excerpt from Wikipedia:

"The original and most famous example of classical conditioning involved the salivary conditioning of Pavlov's dogs. During his research on the physiology of digestion in dogs, Pavlov noticed that, rather than simply salivating in the presence of meat powder (an innate response to food that he called the unconditional response), the dogs began to salivate in the presence of the lab technician who normally fed them. Pavlov called these psychic secretions. From this observation he predicted that, if a particular stimulus in the dog's surroundings were present when the dog was presented with meat powder, then this stimulus would become associated with food and cause salivation on its own. In his initial experiment, Pavlov used a bell to call the dogs to their food and, after a few repetitions, the dogs started to salivate in response to the bell."

(It's fun to learn about conditioning http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_conditioning)

It's also important that we all learn about conditioning in our environments and surroundings. We should try to identify things we may have been conditioned to, and may even be unaware of. You know? Ever react a certain way when someone said a certain thing in a certain type of manner? It happens at home, at work, with family or even with no other person involved. Whether intentional or happenstance, when the stimulus is issued it sparks an automatic reaction of some form in us. For example, in my life it happens when my roommate makes his way to the bathroom for a shower and sings Rick Astleys's, "Never Gonna Give You Up".

See, Matt's been singing this for almost a year when this event of heading to the shower occurs. (See http://zerofunjohn.blogspot.com/2011/02/green-vibrance-rick-astley-guy-who-is.html for some background info). No big deal there right? It's just a good-humored song. A song that makes me cringe now because it is delivered by a short, hairy-backed lunatic with a towel wrapped around his midsection...go ahead, picture that shit. Many people in my life know of this terrible thing he does. Some of them even laugh at this attempt on my sanity. Well people, it's changed a bit.

The other day I realized that Matt is now singing the tune differently. He is now singing the melody to the song IN A LANGUAGE THAT I BELIEVE DOES NOT EVEN EXIST. Correct reader, you did read that right. I had already become so conditioned to this that I developed a terrible nervous reaction in the form of cringing/"aaargh!"/feeling of isolation from the world, when it happens. Discovering this high-level conditioning attempt in a fake language was a shocking discovery for me. But even more shocking was the fact that I had not noticed the made-up language for almost a month.

Apparently I had become so conditioned to the Rick Astley stimulus that my conscious mind repressed the fact that it was now being sung in a language never heard before. My conscious mind simply issued the same reaction as if it was being sung in English (the reaction of cringing/"AAAARGH"/feeling of isolation from the world). Regardless, am I "ok" with people attempting to evoke that terrible nervous reaction by singing that song? No, I am not. Am I "ok" with it being sung in a pretend language?? NO. No way.

But when I mention to Matt, attempting to make light banter out of it in hopes it may stop someday, I'll say something like "hey man, that's really funny...making up a new language and all when singing Never Gonna Give You Up..." etc. He responds with "I don't know what you're talking about...". So, he is either pretending that he's not really using a faux-language to continue his mental torment campaign against me, or he actually isn't singing it in a silly, made-up language but I'm hearing it that way. Due to the high-level conditioning attack he's employed to date, my mind is so fucked up that, at this juncture, I can't really tell.


...it's working....


~ZFJ

2 comments:

Bernard said...

That may be the ultimate Rick Rolling... Have to respect it... As sick as it is!

Zero Fun John said...

It is pretty ultimate...I swear he's doing it...just won't admit it...I know it happens....just so fucked up now that I can't tell real from fake...

~ZFJ