Comments on: It Isn’t The Masturbation That Makes You Go Blind, It’s The Porn

By: Creeping Jenny

Creeping Jenny — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 23:02:53 +0000

There’s a large body of non-sexy research on this phenomenon (which I think goes by the name of “attentional fatigue”). Basically, if you attend to a stimulus, you have a harder time remembering a stimulus that comes immediately after it (whether or not the stimulus is sexual/violent).

A related phenomenon is attentional blindness, which is best illustrated by this awesome demo that I totally love and I’m going to link to. But before I give you the link, here are some important instructions. The link will lead to a video of people in black and white shirts, passing a basketball in a complicated pattern. Watch the video, and count the number of times the players in white shirts pass the ball to each other (you will need to pay pretty close attention). If you think you’ve lost count, don’t give up; just try to get a ballpark figure. You may need to watch the video a couple of times to figure out the trick: that’s all it’s possible to say without spoiling it.

Here’s the link.

By: The Unapologetic Atheist

The Unapologetic Atheist — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 18:32:24 +0000

You left out the next line, which indicates that men are 40% less likely to get married, given the same increase in IQ. Yet the article hardly mentions men except in terms of who we are “choosing” for marriage.

A more likely explanation, I would offer, is that intelligent men and women are 40% and 35% more likely, per 16 point IQ increase, to see past the cultural rhetoric that says our purpose in society is to be a husband or wife. Frankly I’d be much happier with an American society that has 10 million new single PhDs of both genders in it, than 10 million new married people.

By: Ralph

Ralph — Mon, 15 Aug 2005 22:30:54 +0000

You've got to see this. For every 16 pt increase in IQ, a woman is 35% less likely to get married. Proof that men like dumb women? Or smart women don't get married? You decide.

By: Joel

Joel — Mon, 15 Aug 2005 22:07:52 +0000

Gosh and I thought it was the computer that eroded my vision….what about women walking around in bikinis? Do they have the same effect? If so, I’d better stay away from the beaches….

By: other Ryan

other Ryan — Mon, 15 Aug 2005 21:51:45 +0000

why is sex such a problem, but violence is cool? I stopped watching violent media years ago, and it’s great for the psyche (though I got roped into watching city of god 2 years ago, and I had nightmares about kids in my neighborhood breaking out into gun fights for weeks)

By: Chris Clarke

Chris Clarke — Mon, 15 Aug 2005 21:49:24 +0000

There was a drive-in theatre in Oakland up until a few years ago that was visible from a very busy freeway. It was in a rather industrial neighborhood, and they often showed movies with an R rating or greater. There were a few times I noticed, driving past, that cars ahead of me were doing sudden lane corrections, and sure enough I’d look up and there’d be four-foot nipples on the screen.

I’d love to check the accident records for that stretch of Route 17/I880 with the Highway Patrol.

By: jam

jam — Mon, 15 Aug 2005 20:36:02 +0000

what i find interesting is that everywhere i’ve seen this mentioned everyone & every headline focusses on the erotic images… even though they state clearly that they utilized violent/gory images to induce this ‘emotion-induced blindness’ as well. so i ask all of you: won’t someone please think of the violence??

also, does this mean that if you’re surfing through teh online porn (y’know: hypothetically) & some particular hottie catches your eye that you’ll possibly miss the hottie right afterwards? now that would be tragic…

By: Jim H from Indiana

Jim H from Indiana — Mon, 15 Aug 2005 20:04:22 +0000

I’d like to comment but I’m having trouble reading…oh no, the letters don’t make sense…I’m getting flashbacks of these images… I can’t think…. Oh, I’m better now. It does wear off over time!

I wonder if this goes along with the male “selective hearing” disorder I heard about last week….