Milgram Obedience

Yale University, autumn 1962. A man in a white lab coat — Dr. Williams — guides you into a small room. 'A simple learning study. Four dollars an hour.' In the next room, the 'learner' (a 40-something accountant) is being strapped into a chair, electrodes on his wrists. You sit at a console: thirty switches from 15 volts to 450 volts. The learner must memorize word pairs. Every wrong answer means you flip the next switch. At first it feels like a game. At 75 volts, the learner yelps. At 150, he shouts: 'Stop! I have a heart condition!' From 300 volts on, just silence. No more answers. When you hesitate, Dr. Williams says calmly: 'The experiment requires that you continue.' The next switch is 315 volts. Your finger is resting on it.