You know, 'cause you'd prolly need a 1 for 1 controlling ratio.
Let's take this completely hypothetical scenario. First, we will say that the electrode exerts a form of pleasure that is 100 times as powerful as heroin. This is rather unlikely, but we really have no idea how strong the shock is, and it may be possible. You're an oppressive dictator at war with another country, and you capture a few hundred of the enemy troops. You wire them up, and give them a shock twice a day for a week. Then you tell them, "Go attack this regiment of your old commrades, who outnumber you about two to one, come back alive and you'll get another week's worth of shocks." Do any humans possess the ability to resist this sort of training? And, if this is the case, what percentage can do so?
The other bit, about hooking up the pleasure center: well, it beats having your genitals electrocuted.
In general, I agree with you. However, most of the people who experienced a form of pleasure strong enough to be useful in interrogation would spend the rest of their lives thinking about nothing but how to get the electrode placed back into their brains. A good portion of who they were, their hopes and goals, might be effectively destroyed.
While I am in favor of this technology, it possesses a hell of a lot of potential for abuse. In addition, it also has the potential to answer a few really serious questions about free will, and what a human is. And, my worries about the answers to these questions disturb me more than the potential abuses. |
