Is it ethical to turn rats into gamers?

It was tested on humans first

apgwoz 3 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I think it might be _unethical_ to not spread the joy of playing Doom for the first time? Though, I’m not entirely sure there’s been enough research done about the effects of violent video games in rat gamer populations.

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autoexec 3 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

We've been putting rats in skinner boxes for a lot longer than we've been subjecting human gamers to them. I'd be more worried about the health effects of all that sugar water.

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stephenlf 3 days ago | parent [-]

10 microliter doses though. Pretty teeny tiny. But it is a valid concern.

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chickenhun 3 days ago | parent [-]

Giving them slightly acidic water off-rig and normal water while playing is another option - not the best either. I opted for sugar in the end, because they didn't spend much time on the setup; but this should be reconsidered if they on-rig for hours daily.

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shawn_w 3 days ago | parent [-]

The trick is to save the treats till the end. They can learn to do a lot if they know they'll be rewarded later.

Check out Shadow The Rat on YouTube; she has a whole series on training them.

	▲	neom 3 days ago \| parent [-]
		Gotta love Shadow!!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AV9z0c1hjnA

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efskap 3 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

It's more like locking humans up in the matrix. Note lines like "preventing it from leaving the apparatus" in the build guide. Would an ordinary gamer be restricted from exiting such a contraption?

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duskwuff 3 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I mean-- how do you think they made gaming mice? :)

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ginkoleaf 3 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Gamers: no, hot-tub streamers: yes