Mythbusters

by **oh2bpreg** » April 11th, 2007, 2:45 pm

Tonight on Mythbusters (9pm on Discovery) they'll be putting a whole bunch of hypnosis myths to the test. Judging by the previews, it looks like they're covering both hypnosis therapy and stage hypnosis.

by **pengy** » April 11th, 2007, 7:17 pm

:D im watching that right now.

by **groomlakeguy** » April 12th, 2007, 6:26 am

Is the lovely Kari one of the people going under?

by **oh2bpreg** » April 12th, 2007, 2:43 pm

groomlakeguy wrote:Is the lovely Kari one of the people going under?

Yes. However, she was unable to go under with the therapeutic hypnosis, but did have moderate success with the stage hypnosis.

by **ShadowSabre** » April 12th, 2007, 10:56 pm

I missed it! D:

Ah well. I'm sure it'll be on Youtu-- er, on again someday.

by **Jack** » April 13th, 2007, 6:22 am

I'm sure the episode convinced a number of people to be more open, accepting, and willing to use hypnosis.

by **oh2bpreg** » April 13th, 2007, 4:20 pm

Jack wrote:I'm sure the episode convinced a number of people to be more open, accepting, and willing to use hypnosis.

The 2 topics that they covered were can someone be hypnotized to do something they normally wouldn't do and can hypnosis improve memory (i.e. remember more detail about an even while under)

The first one failed miserably. The 2nd one worked great.

For those that missed it, it'll be reshown on 4/14 at 7pm ET, 4/17 at 11pm ET, 4/21 at Noon ET. Check you local schedule. The episode is called "Voice Flame Extinguisher"

by **whatthe75** » April 13th, 2007, 5:39 pm

They Failed to make someone do something they didnt want to and had success in improving someone'e memory.

Sounds like they got it exactly right then.

I am glad they cleared up the thought that so many peoeple have, that hypnosis is mind control.

by **EMG** » April 13th, 2007, 6:54 pm

It isn't??? Well, that's it, time to shut down the whole site ;) I'm glad they covered it well too, and hope to catch it in reruns.

whatthe75 wrote:They Failed to make someone do something they didnt want to and had success in improving someone'e memory.

Sounds like they got it exactly right then.

I am glad they cleared up the thought that so many peoeple have, that hypnosis is mind control.

by **dharden** » April 13th, 2007, 9:56 pm

whatthe75 wrote:They Failed to make someone do something they didnt want to

There were two attempts at that. In the second, one of the staffers (IIRC) was shown refusing a suggestion because it didn't mesh with her reason for agreeing to be hypnotized. In the first, their test subject (Grant) was generally aware of the overall situation, and remembered at least some details of the suggestions.

by **BobbyS** » April 14th, 2007, 4:51 am

Well it is mind control in a way - consensual mind control that is.

by **robtheman** » April 16th, 2007, 2:51 pm

I actually tivo'd it, and will plan on posting it to youtube 4 all of you guys.

by **trancebaby** » April 18th, 2007, 9:50 am

I WAS UNHAPPY WITH MOST OF THERE RESULTS AND I THOUGHT THEY SHOULS EXPLORE THE SUBJECT MORE THEY HAVE THERE OWN FORUMS TO SO IF ANYONE WANTS TO TALK ABOUT IT ON THERE FORUMS THEY CAN , I KNOW I WILL :) XD

by **Glutgod** » April 20th, 2007, 8:19 pm

The mythbusters proved everything on this sight to be wrong. So this sight is just a load of shit I guess...

by **groomlakeguy** » April 21st, 2007, 12:20 am

trancebaby wrote:I WAS UNHAPPY WITH MOST OF THERE RESULTS AND I THOUGHT THEY SHOULS EXPLORE THE SUBJECT MORE THEY HAVE THERE OWN FORUMS TO SO IF ANYONE WANTS TO TALK ABOUT IT ON THERE FORUMS THEY CAN , I KNOW I WILL :) XD

Yes, do go tell them, but let go of your shift key first...

by **oh2bpreg** » June 15th, 2007, 6:58 pm

So this past wednesday, they revisited hypnosis, this time concentrating on self-hypnosis (in this case hypnosis through CD's)

They tried 3 different hypnosis CD's. Cure Seas Sickness, Cure Fear of Bees, and Change Eye Color. All 3 failed. The Sea Sickness one was the only that came close to working as Grant (the subject) did take longer to get seasick after listening to the CD.

Discovery will be repeating it. Episode is called "Grenades & Guts"

by **Draygone** » June 15th, 2007, 8:05 pm

Even though Grant got results, he called it "Busted" because it didn't out-right cure him. They only listened to their hypnosis for a week.

My grandma and I just sat there thinking how wrong they are. (My grandma used hypnosis to eat healthier, and it most definately worked.)

by **bubblebutt** » June 16th, 2007, 1:59 pm

It doubled the amount of time it took him to get sea-sick though. The first time it only took 17 minutes and it was about 34 the next time. Adam remained exactly the same however he passionately felt it would not work. Grant, on the other hand, really wanted it to work and felt it really could work. Imagine if he kept listening. Plus, they only listened to it once a day for a week.

by **OMGWTFBBQ** » June 16th, 2007, 4:14 pm

They don't understand science. What they've 'proven' is that hypnosis isn't effective in under a week. If the myth was "Hypnosis will totally reform your psychology after seven listens of a self-hypnosis tape, while under the pressure of a TV production crew." then they can call it busted. Otherwise, they can go fuck themselves.

by **oh2bpreg** » June 17th, 2007, 9:57 am

For those saying "well, they only gave it a week!" Keep in mind that that they followed the instructions that came with the self-hypnosis CDs. They said Grant's and Adam's CDs said they could cure them in a week.

by **Jack** » June 17th, 2007, 1:54 pm

Is it possible that the CD instructions said "as little as"?

by **bubblebutt** » June 17th, 2007, 7:48 pm

If they tried half as hard as they did with any explosives myth Grant would go on a three week cruise and Adam would take up bee-keeping as a hobby.

oh2bpreg wrote:For those saying "well, they only gave it a week!" Keep in mind that that they followed the instructions that came with the self-hypnosis CDs. They said Grant's and Adam's CDs said they could cure them in a week.

On the show it said listen once a day but they never said that the instructions said it would only take one week. Thats just what they assumed which was pretty uneducated. A. No prior trancing experience (Do they even know what to look for?) B. Only Grant wanted the results (and he got decent results) C. Adam thought that there was no way that it could ever possibly work (In other words, he didn't even really make an attempt) D. Only seven listens? (You would need to be incredibly susceptable or experienced to make it work that fast) E. Finally, that one girl (forgot her name) had one that was genetically caused and was not the effect of anything sub-concious. It wasn't a hallucination it was an attempt to actually change her eye color permanently.

by **oh2bpreg** » June 17th, 2007, 8:21 pm

bubblebutt wrote:A. No prior trancing experience (Do they even know what to look for?)

Grant were tested to see if they were susceptible to trance (testd as in having their brain hooked up to monitors while a trained hypnotist tranced them)

B. Only Grant wanted the results (and he got decent results)

Actually his results were well within the negligible range. Anyone who tells sufferes from motion sickness can tell you that it does not always start in at a set time. Plus post hypnosis, he was also meditating in the beginning which he did not do the 1st time. Plus, there's also the placebo effect.

C. Adam thought that there was no way that it could ever possibly work (In other words, he didn't even really make an attempt)

Untrue. He actually said earlier on how he thought that the hypnosis could work. It was when he was about to be tested the 2nd time he said he thought it was total BS.

D. Only seven listens? (You would need to be incredibly susceptable or experienced to make it work that fast)

A quick look on the internet finds several places promising success within a week, and some even promise success after just one listen.

E. Finally, that one girl (forgot her name) had one that was genetically caused and was not the effect of anything sub-concious. It wasn't a hallucination it was an attempt to actually change her eye color permanently.

Yes, and how many files on this site promise actual genetic changes?

I am a firm believer that hypnosis can work, yet I find absolutely nothing wrong with either episode (in fact I was surprised the stage hypnosis worked as well as it did) I just believe that there are limits to what it is capable of. And I believe a more interactive trance is more likely to work than a pre-recorded one.

One of the great things about Mythbusters is that they do read their message boards over at Discovery.com and will often revisit myths and make modifications to their tests based on what people post there. So for all those that are crying foul, go tell them what they did wrong and maybe they'll try again.

In the mean time, may I suggest also watching the Penn & Teller BS episode on hypnosis.

by **getpumped87** » June 17th, 2007, 10:51 pm

WHAT!?! something said on TV ISN'T true?! come on ladies and gentlemen, 'tis just a show for entertainment, who cares if they were wrong if we still believe and know the truth

by **bubblebutt** » June 18th, 2007, 3:09 pm

Grant were tested to see if they were susceptible to trance (testd as in having their brain hooked up to monitors while a trained hypnotist tranced them)

Exactly that...Grant

Actually his results were well within the negligible range. Anyone who tells sufferes from motion sickness can tell you that it does not always start in at a set time. Plus post hypnosis, he was also meditating in the beginning which he did not do the 1st time. Plus, there's also the placebo effect.

His results may not have been negligible because any ACTUAL experiments are repeated more than once to prove their results. Not to mention that hypnosis is like one big placebo effect. Its all in your sub-concious.

Untrue. He actually said earlier on how he thought that the hypnosis could work. It was when he was about to be tested the 2nd time he said he thought it was total BS.

Thank you for proving my point but rewording just to argue.

A quick look on the internet finds several places promising success within a week, and some even promise success after just one listen

Could it be true? Does the Internet lie? Ever see the pop-ups "Win a $100*******" Read the fine print.

Yes, and how many files on this site promise actual genetic changes?

None really... Many on the voting page but none on the actual file section. There is a difference between eye color and aesthetic gender. Eye color is based upon the pigments in the eye which are decided through genetics. Gender is also genetically controlled but you can change the hormones released through hypnosis. You cannot have a full functional genetic change through hypnosis being that that is decided before birth but you can change gender aesthetically even though I doubt it goes near the extremes of some of these files.

I am a firm believer that hypnosis can work, yet I find absolutely nothing wrong with either episode (in fact I was surprised the stage hypnosis worked as well as it did) I just believe that there are limits to what it is capable of. And I believe a more interactive trance is more likely to work than a pre-recorded one.

Something to agree on... Except that they didn't give it enough time is my point. They spent like 3 months or so on the rolling stone gathers no moss one, which was probably a lot less interesting but with budget constraits and time limits they probably weren't allowed more time if they wanted to. Having a hypnotist actually changing their straegey depending on the patient's reaction is bound to work a lot better especially considering everyone reacts differently. Stage hypnosis was pretty much bound to work since from my understanding it just makes the patient want the attention of the audience and being that it is a show watched by tons of people, the suggestion was probably pretty strong.

by **mudbunny** » June 18th, 2007, 8:31 pm

bubblebutt wrote:It doubled the amount of time it took him to get sea-sick though. The first time it only took 17 minutes and it was about 34 the next time. Adam remained exactly the same however he passionately felt it would not work. Grant, on the other hand, really wanted it to work and felt it really could work. Imagine if he kept listening. Plus, they only listened to it once a day for a week.

The Mythbusters have also done a previous episode testing various anti-sea-sickness recipes. Grant has had sea-sickness induced in him quite a number of times, and IIRC, his time to sea-sickness is quite reproducible (+/- 5 minutes I think)

by **mudbunny** » June 18th, 2007, 8:40 pm

bubblebutt wrote:
Yes, and how many files on this site promise actual genetic changes?

None really... Many on the voting page but none on the actual file section. There is a difference between eye color and aesthetic gender. Eye color is based upon the pigments in the eye which are decided through genetics. Gender is also genetically controlled but you can change the hormones released through hypnosis. You cannot have a full functional genetic change through hypnosis being that that is decided before birth but you can change gender aesthetically even though I doubt it goes near the extremes of some of these files.

I was interested in your response here, so I looked quickly. Here are some files whose description strongly suggests that the result of the file will be a genetic change.

become that sexy girl you have always wanted to be
This is a visualization file intended to help the user to get a more perfect, blemish-free and hair-free skin below the neck.
Slowly changes your voice until it becomes completely feminine.
Changes your body, making it more and more female.
Reshapes your feet and legs into something more feminine.

That is just from the New Files section.

Now I know that Genetic changes cannot be done through hypnosis, however, that doesn't stop people from claiming it, on this very site, despite your assurances that they don't.

by **whatthe75** » June 19th, 2007, 4:12 am

Every human has male and female chromosones in them. It's just the number mix that is different.

by **bubblebutt** » June 27th, 2007, 9:15 pm

I was interested in your response here, so I looked quickly. Here are some files whose description strongly suggests that the result of the file will be a genetic change.

become that sexy girl you have always wanted to be

This is a visualization file intended to help the user to get a more perfect, blemish-free and hair-free skin below the neck.

Slowly changes your voice until it becomes completely feminine.

Changes your body, making it more and more female.

Reshapes your feet and legs into something more feminine.

That is just from the New Files section.

Now I know that Genetic changes cannot be done through hypnosis, however, that doesn't stop people from claiming it, on this very site, despite your assurances that they don't.

Yes, many, many places may say it is possible and even on this site but I guess I have been filtering them out after first realizing the impossibility (possibly some sub-concious effect of my own) but I agree that they are impossible. Some I can see possibily happening (the hair-loss/blemish free ones and even so after spending a great deal of time and effort) but many are too far. Anyway, I was simply spointing out that not enough time was spent on the expirement nor were the files well picked before another person like Glutgod comes along. But I also think that they did summarize it well. Most files don't seem to work for me unless I spend a lot of time on them and/or attempt to record my own files with my voice and wording.

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