Midnight Oil

[Powderworks] Re: (powd) Re: Terrorism/Negative reinforcement

Jeff McLean jeffmof@replicant.apana.org.au
Thu, 13 Sep 2001 08:09:43 +1000


<!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en">
<html>
<body text="#000000" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" link="#0000EE" vlink="#551A8B" alink="#FF0000">
thank God for people like you.
<p>it makes me UNBELIEVABLY angry to hear people making blanket statements
about muslims, who number some of the most peaceful people i know on earth.&nbsp;&nbsp;
and this is no glib statement.&nbsp; i really mean it, and i have much
interaction with people from central and western asia and the middle east.
<p>and where was our emotional outpouring when our 'side' has done this
to innocents overseas.&nbsp; oh, who gives a shit, they're only &lt;insert
downtrodden race here>
<p>it's all too sad.
<p>Rob O'Neill wrote:
<blockquote TYPE=CITE>First of all, I teach these concepts and procedures
for a living, so just want to correct Mr. Callahan's post re: "negative
reinforcement"... It does not equal "punishment", as he says.&nbsp; Negative
reinforcement is an approach for <b><i>reinforcing and increasing/maintaining
behavior </i></b>by removing aversive stimuli contingent on a behavior
(e.g., when terrorist attacks stop and a country "behaves" appropriately,
we take away aversive sanctions).&nbsp; Punishment procedures are intended
to reduce/eliminate behavior (e.g., we'll bomb you until your terrorist
activities cease).
<p>Secondly, just want to publicly express my dismay at the vast array
of bloodthirsty sentiment I've seen on multiple e-mail/internet forums
today.&nbsp; How can people not see that it's just such attitudes and perspectives
that led to the hideous events we've witnessed today?&nbsp; Just as the
death penalty is not a deterrent to crime (i.e., not a punisher that stops
behavior), I sincerely doubt that nuking countries, "turning them into
parking lots" as I read on one internet forum, etc., will have the desired
effect on the behavior of religious and political fanatics, etc., whose
behavior is controlled by other contingencies.
<p>Flame me, bomb me, whatever, had to get it off my chest,
<p>Rob O'Neill</blockquote>

</body>
</html>