Some years ago they did a test in Manhattan I think it was. They set up hidden cameras at a busy cross walk.

They had an actor who deliberately jail walked to see how many people who would follow him crossing the street against the red light.

When the actor was dressed in a business suit and with well kept hair and beard a lot of people broke the law followed across the street.
But when the same actor was looking like a home less person no one followed.

So what does this experiment say really?
Do people follow a leader blindly?
Is a business man more reliable only because his attire?
Is a homeless persons brain drugged up and not reliable?
What person is more stressed and thus likely to jail walk?
Why didn't anybody else cross the street first?

I would like to make a comparison with the animal kingdom.
Picture your self a raging river on the African Savannah full of hungry Crocodiles and a heard of Wilde beast about to cross the river.
For generations the Wilde beast has followed a healthy matriarch across the same spot for hundreds of years. Every year many Wilde beasts ends up as Crocodile food at that spot.
This year local humans has built a bridge across the river close by. A young Wilde beast finds the bridge and starts to cross the river. But only very few follow it across safely.
Why, because all species are creatures of habit and it will take generations to change this behavior.
Humans are no different. We look at TV and some official person says we need to do something and the majority follows without thinking.
For me it's scary! I know what humans are capable of when they act like mindless zombies. History is full of examples.
What can we do to make the human race more advanced and critical in it's mind set towards authority?
Education, yes maybe, but the children has teachers and those teachers were also taught, thus situation don't change. If all decisions were made in solitude after lengthy contemplation's with "all" facts available, many mistakes could be avoided. But is there time for that in the modern world? I don't think so. No time to be a modern Simeon Stylites on a pillar.Then I guess the future will be the same as history has been. Poor our future generations!

Do people follow a leader blindly?
In my opinion 'people' follow anyone they percieve to be 'better' than they are. It doesn't matter if its a leader or a friend or someone they see in a TV program. It stems from competitive jealousy people are taught from an early age.

Is a business man more reliable only because his attire?
Yes, because people are taught certain 'looks' are associated with success. Its a branch of the 'Model Syndrome". People are bombarded with brodcasted stereotypical social tropes in the media which cause them to connect certain 'looks' with wisdom. Its basically subliminal social brainwashing.

Is a homeless persons brain drugged up and not reliable?
Yes, according to the social assessment, they are.
This is because homelessness is a social 'taboo' condition which has been programmed into society to ignore or justify. Poverty is a social condition based on greed. Poverty is fast becoming prevelent throughout the world's societies. This is driven by inflation and greed coupled with shame.

What person is more stressed and thus likely to jail walk?
Jail-walking doesn't necessarily mean trouble with the law or tendency to end up in jail. It can also mean social disgrace or abandonment. Stress is prevelent in most people of society. Very few live 'care-free' lives. Modern society has caused people to self-assess based on markers ingrained to them thru media distraction. When stress reaches a level that can't be hidden, it glows for all to see. Society has learned to associate displays of stress as purposeful destruction and assigns negative values to anyone who fits that image. Stress is taboo yet widespread.

Why didn't anybody else cross the street first?
Someone did. Otherwise, nobody would.
Social trends are always started by the few.
Its likely those trends which are adopted may not even be their idea. Media plays a large part in establishing social trends in today's world.
Trendsetters often occur sporatically. In other words, its not a few people in one group which initiate trends but small groups in different areas which usually don't know and never will know each other. Its the 'Pet Rock' syndrome.

I would like to make a comparison with the animal kingdom.
While human beings are animals our social structure makes comparisons inaccurate.
Behaviors in the 'natural world' are very different than behaviors adopted in our 'unnatural world'.
Being 'civilized' changes the model severely.
To pick and choose examples to 'fit' us ignores the reality of the social differences.
Yes, sometimes our patterns reflect patterns in other species but our patterns are based on our conditions within our species and do not truly align with other species. They only seem to align.

To cross the bridge...
For other species, the decision of crossing that bridge is likely driven by food, reproduction, or safety from predators.
If what they need is available where they are, they will stay. Migrations are driven by food and/or reproduction.

Humans possess curiosity which drives their actions. Crossing the bridge 'to see what's on the other side' is justified by that curiosity.
Granted, food and reproduction are still part of our motivations but we are driven by the unsatiable need for change. "NEW" is an effective advertising method because of this need for change.
"NEW Formula" "NEW Model" "NEW Flavor"
NEWS stands for North, East, West, South but it is attractive because it associates information as "NEW Information".

Other species establish a 'territory' or 'domain' and will live their lives there without changing habitats. So much so, some species will go extinct rather than adapt or change.

Human's 'domain' is nearly the entire planet. We tend to change the habitat to fit our needs. This often destroys other species habitats. This happens because human beings are self-aware to the point they ignore the rest of the flora and fauna.
That "Bridge" is there because we want it there. We can't tolerate restrictive isolation. We need to expand and explore. We build bridges, ships and spacecraft because of that need.

Some unexpected Gems!

Heck. This is a new one.





Last but not least.


To balance the argument, I would like to add that in New Jersey, a man has to wear an Arab head dress and truck drivers stop.

Which brings up the question who funded the Manhattan experiment?

The United States government under the direct influence of the president (Franklin D. Roosevelt~He had direct responsibility for establishing and funding the project)
Robert Oppenheimer was the director of the Los Alamos Laboratory that designed the actual bombs.

"laws of nature"

https://gemstatepatriot.com/blog/laws-nature-thomas-jefferson/

More likely some busy crosswalk in Manhattan, NYC.

Probably an urban / social project to determine whether some of the busy junctions required more traffic policemen or a foot over bridge, etc.



Laws of Nature on sidewalk:

A business suit crossing the street most likely carries a packed wallet; so women follow him.

Men follow pretty legs.

Competition joins in.

So the question, who funded this project?

By the way Tom,
I have the book by Richard Rhodes, fascinating!
Thanks.

My question was, as they say in 'harmless rhetoric'

Well, no, Oppenheimer was the director. They had people that worked under him. My uncle worked with them in NYC, then, University of Chicago. He was drafted into the Navy, then got discharged to work at Los Alamose.

Aside from that he worked there, is all I know. And that he made a healthy chunk of change working there.

Here's something to think about. He worked at Los Alamose. But he commuted every day from Santa Fe. One way, 140 miles. And he did that for 35 years. Oh, and he knew Robert Oppenheimer.

The rest, I get to guess at.

History is very repetitive, as much propaganda to pull the wool over people's eyes to hide what is really happening, and when more people wake up, it is too late. What is playing out currently is far worse than WW2.