‘The question of why people like horror has been well-discussed, and tend to hinge on the idea that some people enjoy the rush of adrenaline in a protected atmosphere or the sharp contrast between terror and then relief. But for every person with a season pass to ScareHouse, there are probably five who couldn’t be dragged, even kicking and screaming, into a horror movie. The more interesting question is, then: what predicts which camp you find yourself in?’

Source: Motherboard

‘Death by fright is a phenomenon that was first documented by anthropologists in societies that had strong taboos and a belief in hexes. Individuals who had been cursed or broken a taboo would become so distraught that they would drop dead. When physiologist Walter Cannon brought it to the attention of the medical community, he termed it “voodoo death”—a name that has stuck. “It is a fatal power of the imagination working through unmitigated terror,” Cannon wrote. Of course, the real cause of voodoo death (or psychogenic death, the name I’ll stick with) is a bit more scientific than that. To get an expert to explain things, I called Gregory Davis, a forensic pathologist of 22 years and a chief medical examiner in Alabama…’

Source: Motherboard

‘How should the car be programmed to act in the event of an unavoidable accident? Should it minimize the loss of life, even if it means sacrificing the occupants, or should it protect the occupants at all costs? Should it choose between these extremes at random? (See also “How to Help Self-Driving Cars Make Ethical Decisions.”) The answers to these ethical questions are important because they could have a big impact on the way self-driving cars are accepted in society. Who would buy a car programmed to sacrifice the owner?’

Source: 3quarksdaily