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An equally valid interpretation is that Tolkien rots your brain. This is shoddy science, because their "control" experiment is little more than a fig leaf.
by Estragon 16y ago
An equally valid interpretation is that Tolkien rots your brain. This is shoddy science, because their "control" experiment is little more than a fig leaf.
- GiraffeNecktie 16y agoIt seems unlikely that Tolkien rots your brain, but I agree that it would have been more useful to compare meditation to just sitting quietly or taking a nap (and to reading Tolkien). I recall some previous studies on meditation found that it didn't make much difference if you were doing specific meditation or just spending some quiet time.
- gcheong 16y agoI don't see how that is an equally valid interpretation. In the abstract all they claim is that both meditation and listening to a recorded book improved mood, but only the meditation group improved along other dimensions. It did not note any negative effects from listening to Tolkien. The aim was to have both groups engaged actively on something (meditation vs listening to a recorded book) and to compare the outcomes. Why is that an invalid comparison?
- tokenadult 16y agoControls are always the toughest issue in experimental research. http://norvig.com/experiment-design.html http://norvig.com/experiment-design.html
- silentbicycle 16y agoWhat would make a good control group against meditation? Sleeping? Sitting quietly? Playing cards? Deliberately "carrying on" doesn't suggest anything in particular. Tolkein is a funny choice, though.