Re: Is Suicide Contagious? A Case Study in Applied Memetics

From: Wade T.Smith (wade_smith@harvard.edu)
Date: Fri Apr 20 2001 - 21:15:31 BST

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Subject: Re: Is Suicide Contagious? A Case Study in Applied Memetics
Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2001 16:15:31 -0400
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From: "Wade T.Smith" <wade_smith@harvard.edu>
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    On 04/20/01 15:48, Robin Faichney said this-

    >But is anyone really suggesting that genuinely
    >non-suicidal people might be influenced to commit suicide?

    More to my original ethical consternation about these experiments, and
    JR's original wording, how else can you offer proof of influence except
    that you've managed to make someone kill themselves?

    And how can you prove that unless you have people who have no inclination
    to do anything like that in the first place?

    I, personally, don't 'believe' in hypnosis because I am not hypnotizable-
    although I totally agree that some people are highly suggestible and
    respond as if hypnotizing were a real phenomenon. But, yes, "They Call It
    Hypnosis".

    Well, they call it media influence, too.

    - Wade

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