just something interesting I saw in a TV programme...
-
peace all,
I was watching "The Truth About Killing" on channel 4, and some of the stuff I found most interesting was as follows...
When in a high state of emotion (e.g. fear) its nearly impossible to reason logically/rationally with someone. The part of the brain that deals with higher thought shuts down, and reverts to the more "primitive" part to see things through. This may be interesting to those who think one must approach quran with a certain frame of mind to succeed.
Also, it stated the vast majority of fighters in past wars (not very recent ones) found it extremely hard mentally to kill another human being. The figure quoted who found it relatively easy was about 2%. Interestingly, it further stated that half of that 2% would actually be considered psychopathic, clinically.
The site is an interesting read... here is one quote
Whatever the truth behind Marshall's statistics, the US military was so alarmed by his findings that they instigated an entirely new approach to combat training in an effort to overcome this apparent resistance to killing. Out went the traditional rifle practice with bullseye-style targets, and in came battlefield simulations, with man-shaped pop-up targets that fell when hit. Such psychological conditioning seemed to produce remarkable results. In the Korean War, for example, the firing rate had risen from 20 to 55%. By the time of the Vietnam War, the figure had shot up to 95%. Which goes to show that however reluctant we may be as killers, we can always find novel ways to overcome our limitations.
...But it says something tragic about the human condition that we are still looking for ways to improve upon these figures.
Wakas
