The Lucifer Effect - Philip Zimbardo

It was my first time actually completing a non-fiction book. A few months back I was reading David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell but it was so damn dry and factual I just gave up halfway. I never liked giving up on books (and that was what made me toil through Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens a few years back, and I haven't touched a classic since), but non-fiction books are really not my thing. 

I deserve a pat on my back for finishing The Lucifer Effect by Dr. Philip Zimbardo. There were some parts where I skimmed through (will get to that) but I still made it to the end of the 500 plus pages YAY. 

The infamous Stanford Prison Experiment was conducted in 1971, at Stanford University. Actually, I feel this connection with this controversial psychology experiment because I had actually stood outside Jordan Hall (whose basement the SPE was situated at) back a few years ago on a school trip to SFO. 

I'm not gonna elaborate on the SPE itself because I assume everyone should have some knowledge of it. The Lucifer Effect details out the SPE through a day-by-day account, and then extrapolates its findings onto real-life prisons. It then attempts to explain the atrocities of the Abu Ghraib Prison (Iraq 2003) whose leaked photos of torture shook the world. The central theme of Dr. Z's magnum opus is that anyone can have the propensity to do evil ("Banality of evil") even if we think it's completely besides ourselves. But on the flipside, it also means that we are intrinsic heroes.

  

One main takeaway from this book is that we must be circumspect when making 'dispositional' judgement on someone (meaning that you see someone completely culpable for his actions, disregarding the environment, or 'situational' forces acting upon him). Like the apple analogy that Dr. Z uses throughout: Do bad apples exist because they are inherently bad , or because the barrel in which they reside in is bad? We like to use the former in judgement making because we like to believe that we have the willpower to resist any external situational forces that can alter our perceived "born good"-ness, and that bad apples are just one or two outliers that prove that oops, He makes mistakes too. 

No. The SPE shows that normal people can morph into sadistic, violent beings with just a flick of environmental switches. Authority, autonomy, appearance, duty etc. It's actually very, very scary to think about it. Like I know I'm not a sadist nor tyrant, but being aware that deep within my psyche lies a sleeping giant that may be aroused by things I do not have control over is really very scary. 

After the part on SPE was the extension to Abu Ghraib. I skipped the reports because there were too much military names to get mix up with. The photos (go google it) are really sickening, what with unnecessary thumbs-up and grins over  flagrant torture and abuse. Dr. Z highlights that though situational forces lies beyond the forces of our control, it cannot be used as excuses for our metamorphosis for the worse. 

Evil of inaction is something I always believe in. It's a reminder to not remain passive when you see something wrong.

And of course, if Man can fall from grace like Lucifer to Satan, we also can rise up to be one of those unsung heroes, because of "the Banality of Heroism". I loved how the book ended with a succinct quote from The Gulag Archipelago (whatever that is, idk, I just like the quote): 

"The line between good and evil is in the center of every human heart."

And yeah, reading this 500 paged non-fiction within a month is made possibly with my lovely piece of electronic. It's just really really convenient to bring my kindle around; on the bus, during work as opposed to the book (borrowed from the library prior to buying my Kindle).

I'm reading Chuck Palahniuk's Haunted now. This page near made me choke on coffee: 

Kindle + Skios - Michael Frayn

I used to promise myself to never get one of those Ebooks because I prefer to identify myself as a no-frills, pen-and-paper person. Now that reading off a slab of electronic constitutes one of my daily tasks, I'm re-evaluating the merits of the Ebook. Expectantly, I had been too quick to disparage the worthiness of this gadget in the past and now I'm starting to regret why I have not given it a try earlier.

I got a Kindle 7th Generation!!! I didn't get Paperwhite or Voyage because I think the functions of the basic Kindle suffices.

I like the entire E-Ink thing, which, in layman's terms, is like one of those kid play toys which you draw/doodle on, and with a swipe, your screen becomes clean (idk what it's called). Basically, whatever print you see on the Kindle doesn't require additional battery or power to remain there. Each pixel has the ability to display varied shades of grey, and so concertedly, they conjure a letter, or a greyscale image, etc whatever.

Screen-Saver mode

The Lucifer Effect - Philip Zimbardo

The Kindle also automatically reloads where you last left off upon hitting the screen-saver button again. I don't off my Kindle because according to other readers on the net, repeated on and offing will deplete the battery more than how prolonged screen-saver mode does. The battery of the Kindle sustains for a protracted amount of time, so running out of juice is something I don't really have to worry about. 

I'm currently only 31% through The Lucifer Effect, and I'm determined it'll be the first non-fiction book that I'll ever finish!!!

Another great function is the highlighting of text so you can revisit your favourite excerpt. I would highlight actual books with a fluorescent Stabilo highlighter but I'd be defacing the book. Also, the best thing that the Kindle provides is probably the in-built Oxford dictionary; so with just a tap and hold, definitions will appear. Very, extremely, utterly suitable for lazy people like me who sometimes can't bother to lift my arms to reach for my phone's dictionary. Plus, the Kindle also automatically stores and compiles all your searched words in a Vocab list so you can review them as and when you like.

Upon receiving my Kindle, I fed it with all the Roald Dahl books that I have missed, a few of Hubert Selby Jr.'s to try out, and also Books 1 to 11 of A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. Recently, I picked up The Penultimate Peril (Book 12)(Only book 12 and 13 are in my possession) to resume the grim series but I can only vaguely remember Books 1 to 11 from my PRIMARY school days. I'm pretty bent on completing this series because it's so morbidly captivating, and the persona of Lemony Snicket that the author constructed through bits and pieces at the end of each book is very enigmatic and compelling. I love the narrative style of this series, it's like you're a part of the Baudelaires' dark and whimsical journey.

The Kindle also has Wi-fi to allow connection to Amazon and online dictionaries. But oddly, it doesn't have an "Off Wi-fi" option, so the alternative is to switch on Airplane mode. 

Great piece of gizmo, idiot-proof and straightforward. In addition, I can finally read really thick and heavy books while commuting to work, and DURING work. I mean, well, the company contract states that the phone is strictly forbidden, but it has no bearing on books and EBooks what. Plus my immediate supervisor turns a blind eye to phones so I presume it extends to other forms of gadgets ah. (Great working attitude, way to go NX)

I think it'll probably take me many months to finish all my EBooks (34, LOL), and I still have approx. 10 plus paperbacks in my cupboard. 

Skios - Michael Frayn 

Skios was an easy read. It's one of those light-reading stories that takes your mind off things, that sucks you into ludicrous situations. An eccentric man with a taste for risks switches identity with an academic in some sort of mid-career crisis spells an entirely impossible but funny plot, with dashes of screwball humour which makes it quite unforgettable. A messy cocktail of lost identities, lost luggages and fish-out-of-water experiences in a fictional Greek island, Skios.

Towards the end of the book there were many things going on at once - the activities of the 2 main characters and their tangled network of acquaintances (who played minor roles) - culminating to a very, very lackluster ending. I mean, since there were so many things going on, I expected the story to kind of end of with a bang, but I was sorely disappointed as it kinda left it hanging. 

But overall, an enjoyable read, purely for laughs, one of those books that seems to be written for a comedy adaptation.