National Petroleum Radio

NPR carried a story about The Stanford Prison Experiment, a classic study of how groups of people are capable of engaging in--well, vile acts--when properly motivated. Such motivating factors include a pervasive secrecy, belief that the detainees are somehow less-than-human, and so on. I recall coming across the site above via either Slate or Salon, I think. It was several years ago. In spite of the rather lengthy amount of time it takes each page to load, it makes for compelling reading. As Zimbardo said today on the radio, the really shocking element of the experiment was that EVERYONE involved had been thouroughly vetted and deemed pretty normal.

We have met the good Germans, and they are us.