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> interviews not reasonably expected to be distressing to the subjects I did some guerrilla street usability testing, of animated science education video fragm
by mncharity 9y ago
> interviews not reasonably expected to be distressing to the subjects
I did some guerrilla street usability testing, of animated science education video fragments.[1] About the size of objects - sort of like Powers of Ten. During red lights at busy street crossings.
Even with a very small test population, I saw people distressed by surprising things.
Mention of millimeters reminded an elderly Brit of unpleasant childhood experiences when learning metric.
A college student expressed distress over a character breaking the head off an (enlarged to arm-sized) T4 bacteriophage.
I had someone run away, across the street, saying "how could you show me something so disgusting!", following a quiet background sound effect, a child's hacking cough, accompanying the word "virus". When I later stopped the video immediately after it to get feedback, most people were "what cough?".
Many people were variously distressed by the mention or discussion of viruses and bacteria. Which I didn't expect, but in retrospect seems unsurprising - for many, they have strong and negative associations. They get very bad press. Think "fun story about viruses!" having the emotional flavor of "fun story about genocide!".
So at this point, I'm unclear on what can reasonably be expected to not distress people.
"How about this nice weather we've been having?"... "Houston has been bringing back painful memories of my family losing its home and business to flooding. :(" Somewhat tongue in cheek, but if you are aiming for do no harm...?
[1] There are some bits of the test videos in the "How to remember sizes" section of http://www.clarifyscience.info/part/Atoms http://www.clarifyscience.info/part/Atoms .
- sevenfive 9y agoI dunno about you but I think myoviruses look creepy as shit. https://i.pinimg.com/236x/cb/e0/59/cbe0591ea18e0afa4686bd3f4f17ddae--biotechnology-virus.jpg https://i.pinimg.com/236x/cb/e0/59/cbe0591ea18e0afa4686bd3f4...
- mncharity 9y agoCreepy? The flailing sticky legs that glom on to you? The teeth that punch a hole in your side? The high-pressure vessel driving high-speed injection? Which only gets the DNA string half way in, so it squirms the rest of the way in, ratcheting as molecules attach and begin transcribing your corruption? The minute from bite, to being doomed? As you frolick in the summer waves, every cup of seawater is war zone, filled with massive and deadly warfare between bacteria and viruses. Ten billion combatants. Bacteria shedding extracellular vesicles like anti-missile flares. Mass dumping of chemical weapons. Suicidal sacrifices. Exploding victims. 2 day bacterial survival - 50%. And most, they haven't been cultured, haven't been sequenced - we haven't even given them names.
- josephg 9y agoI'm not sure if it's politically acceptable to say this these days, but maybe it's ok if people experience discomfort sometimes. It's ok to see icky things, or are 'forced' to remember an unpleasant memory. It's not the responsibility of the people around you to protect your feelings, and your bubble. There is often more value in science existing than in some marginal perceived harms incurred from a handful of people getting interviewed. Your emotional wellbeing is your responsibility, not the responsibility of the people around you. And on a personal level, we don't grow from being comfortable. The opposite - we grow through discomfort. We grow through facing our demons and realising that they don't actually kill us.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]