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Subliminal Learning Thru the PC? 30

Posted by Cliff from the osmosis-jones-and-the-last-monitor dept.
dieckert_heath asks: "I spend so much time in front of the PC, I recently started wondering if there was a way to learn what interests me (cisco routers and networking in general) via subliminal messages flashed on my PC. Anyone done anything like this?" Good idea! I wonder why no one hasn't thought of it, until now?
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Subliminal Learning Thru the PC? More

Subliminal Learning Thru the PC?

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  • with the crap that Ask Slash has been putting out lately, this could have been posted on any day
    • Agreed.

      If I read this on Tuesday, I'd think it was a real one. In fact, I saw the Ask Slashdots first today and thought "wow, they didn't even do their usual April Fools thing."

  • Just what I was thinking. (Score:3, Funny)

    by Lendrick ( 314723 ) on Monday April 01, 2002 @04:44PM (#3267203) Homepage Journal
    Subliminal messages are a fun, safe way to make learning easy! Imagine the incredible advances that would be possible if this technology were made available to the consumer.

    All hail Bill Gates, our benevolent leader.

    Lendrick
  • Subliminal messages are already built into Windows XP. Micorsoft is great. Buy only Microsoft products. Give *ALL* of your money to Microsoft

    • Wait, what you meant to say is:

      Subliminal messages are clearly NOT built into Windows XP. On a completely unrelated note, Microsoft is great. Buy only Microsoft products. Give *ALL* of your money to Microsoft.

  • Subliminal.. (Score:5, Funny)

    by zulux ( 112259 ) on Monday April 01, 2002 @04:45PM (#3267209) Homepage Journal
    Origionally.. I was interested in the case mods that most Linux uses do to their boxes, but what really impressed me and my Windows using freinds, was the tremendous up-times that Linux users have.

  • I tried something like that (Score:3, Funny)

    by Deanasc ( 201050 ) on Monday April 01, 2002 @04:47PM (#3267219) Homepage Journal
    I spent so much time looking at my Organic Chemistry text books that I thought it would be interesting to see if I could learn some of it subliminally. It probably would have worked better if I wasn't drunk at the time.
    • Yeah, I used the Learning Trough Osmosis Method for an entire semester in my Physics I class. This method involves placing the text book on a table and then firmly placing your forehead on the book. You can then take a nap and assimilate entire chapters a one period. I used this method exclusively and still got a C in the class.
    • I tried it too, but my subconscious can't read.

  • What if (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Darkstorm ( 6880 )
    Well, I'd only be willing to use it if it was open source....for a completely different reason than most people would think. Now we all know from time to time there has been subliminal messages here and there to try and sell items to people. Now think of the marketing potential of a program that would flash stuff into peoples minds as they sat in front of the computer.

    Very scary thought of someone being able to pump something into my mind I don't want...so I'd have to be able to see source of that so I would know it wasn't going to make me want to buy the latest version of windows xp....

    • I haven't (knowingly) seen an example of subliminal advertising on the web, but this Flash animation [yimg.com] used in an ad on Yahoo sure seems aimed at hypnotizing at least half the websurfing population. I'm thinking that if I make it my start page either I will buy a new car, or at least make sure my windshield is clean.


      You Will:

  • Been done (Score:2, Interesting)

    by iamjim ( 313916 )
    Years ago (while using Windows 3.1 or 95) I met a piece of software that tried to do this. It did it, very poorly. Flashed messages, intrusively.

    They intended to help you stop smoking, stop eating, live healthier, increase self esteem, pay for registration fees. You were able to select banks of things you wanted to get into your subconcious. You could drill-down and select specifics. Not a bad setup but:

    It was very intrusive and didn't work well. NOt a bad idea but if it worked better then i'm sure you would;ve heard about it.
    • I remember that... if memory serves, it was all done on the title bars... I think it had more of a placebo effect thn any real use.
  • It is clear that subliminal messages won't help you learn anything because as is widely known subliminal messages don't work. That's just as good because they cannot be used by the evil companies to force on us the belief that UNIX is better than Windows.

    While right now I cannot give you a pointer to any of the many scientific studies that prove subliminal messages don't work, I know they don't, and my knowledge is reinforced every now and then, especially while browsing the web.

    Oh... Shit!

  • Link number three at Google [google.com]: PC Screen Brainwave Synchronizer [elixa.com].

    And you thought you were being silly.

    • Re:Google! (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Deagol ( 323173 )
      I don't think this is quite the same thing as the poster asked for.

      However, binaural beats are cool to play with. There's a lot of discussion about this somethines on the alt.dreams.lucid newsgroup.

      If you want to try "brainwave" stuff, check out either Cool Edit from Syntrillium software (Windows) or use the open source program sbagen. The latter is pretty cool, and I have hopes for it, but it's not nearly as easy to work with as Cool Edit.

      Can't say the brainwave sync stuff has done much for me except help me fall asleep more easily. Of course, I haven't been a diehard user, so I'm no authority.

  • xsublim (Score:4, Funny)

    by Some guy named Chris ( 9720 ) on Monday April 01, 2002 @04:59PM (#3267263) Journal

    It exists as an Xscreensaver module called xsublim.

    man 1 xsublim

    We used it to program a friend to randomly lick their keyboard.

    This is a real program, written by Greg Knauss, of Suck.com [suck.com] fame.

    • That's just beautiful. I can't believe I didn't know about this before.

      Limitless potential! Now all I've gotta do is get some friends to "xhost +" my box . . . Bwahahahahaha!

  • Good Insight (Score:3, Funny)

    by 4of12 ( 97621 ) on Monday April 01, 2002 @04:59PM (#3267264) Homepage Journal

    I used to think that there was something intrinsically interesting about all those pr0n sites that I visited.

    That is, until I found out the ugly truth: that they were flimsy front organizations displaying subliminal messages about computer technology, the OSI layer model, router configuration, and other lurid topics.

    You can imagine that I was simply outraged at having been used in this way.

    I thought I really wanted Britney in the worst way, when, all along, it was really just her routers that formed the basis of her great attraction.

  • *click*
    *click*
    *type type type*
    Hmmm.. let's play some FreeSpace2 while the Boss isn't looking
    Alright, you alien bastards in your color-coordinated Judas Priest ships, time to die!!
    Why, I think I'll punch my credit card information in to the chat window...
    TFTP server on my machine... Sure!
    Firewall..? Who needs one! *click* *click* *click*
    Yes, I think I'll send my porn collection to the global address list..

    ****connection lost****
  • you have a good idea... a computer monitor is a much better medium for testing the effects of subliminal messages... than television would be... because you have an easily controlled testing situation...
  • And for one strange day, stories about bullshit subliminal learning fit right in on /.
  • This idea was suggested in an issue of MAD magazine, I think it was in the 70s or early 80s. I knew reading MAD would prove valuable one day.

    Anyhow, the problem with subliminal messages - if they at all work - as a thing for learning is that they target one's sub-consciousness. What good is it learning everything there is to know about Cisco routers and networking when you have to be put into hypnosis in order to retreive the information ? Heck, I have a hard time remembering things I learn the ordinary way.
  • What the heck do you think X-10 has been doing these past few years with thier "pop-unders"?


  • I can only point you to the following internet standard:

    Subliminal Telnet [faqs.org]

    So yes, someone thought of it before.

    Dave.

  • I'm sure we've all heard the one where you put a book under your pillow and the knowledge will just osmose into your brain. I always figured that with my luck, I'd just end up with a smart pillow (Honest, teacher, I wasn't sleeping, I was studying!).

    Had a roomate once who dispensed with the pillow and slept with his head on a book. Never asked him why. His pillow stayed in the closet.

  • Imagine [joinaol] the opportunities for [hotsex] abuse? It's just like any other technology [supportmicrosoft], and can be used for good [joinaol] as well as evil [uninstalllinux].
  • Unlike that 'distance learning' and other quackery, unconscious learning [bbc.co.uk] is possible [cosmiverse.com]. The brain can so some very wacky [brynmawr.edu] things that you aren't always fully aware of.

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