• Over the last few centuries, behavioral psychologists have documented all kinds of ways of modifying our actions and the actions of various animals • From the famous Skinner boxes to many modern video game mechanics, animals and humans alike can learn through the addition or subtraction of various rewards and punishments • And it doesn’t only impact simple actions either; [Everything is Hacked] took this idea to the extreme,using painful electric shocks to teach himself to avoid making blunders while playing chess • This positive punishment system uses a medical device called transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) to deliver an electric shock to the skin • The electrical jolt is routed through a custom-built, conductive chess board where each square is isolated from the others and controlled by its own relay • The pieces are conductive as well, so if one is placed on a square where it shouldn’t go a relay will switch on to quickly provide the behavioral modification

Article Summaries:

  • Over the last few centuries, behavioral psychologists have documented all kinds of ways of modifying our actions and the actions of various animals. From the famous Skinner boxes to many modern video game mechanics, animals and humans alike can learn through the addition or subtraction of various rewards and punishments. And it doesn’t only impact simple actions either; [Everything is Hacked] took this idea to the extreme, using painful electric shocks to teach himself to avoid making blunders while playing chess. This positive punishment system uses a medical device called transcutaneous elec

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