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The weirdest thing about American culture (lemmy.ml)

submitted 3 days ago by cm0002@toast.ooo to c/funny@sh.itjust.works

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[–] velma@sh.itjust.works 11 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

There are so many, but one of the biggest is Project MK Ultra. They literally dosed people with LSD (unknowingly to the patient) and various other terrifying methods to try to figure out different ways of interrogation through human experimentation.

Project MKUltra began in 1953 and was halted in 1972.[3][4] MKUltra used numerous methods to manipulate its subjects' mental states and brain functions, such as the covert administration of high doses of psychoactive drugs (especially LSD) and other chemicals without the subjects' consent. Additionally, other methods beyond chemical compounds were used, including electroshocks,[5] hypnosis,[6][7] sensory deprivation, isolation, verbal and sexual abuse, and other forms of torture.[8][9]

Source

[–] Oni_eyes@sh.itjust.works 7 points 3 days ago (1 children)

And as best I understand it, didn't even use proper scientific method to even make their study replicate to prove what they were doing worked to any extent.

Which isn't the worst part at all, but just shoves it waaaaaaaay further down the torture side and removes any scientific use at all.

[–] velma@sh.itjust.works 4 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

They learned from the Nazis that way.

I think about the guy who killed himself after the CIA, his employer, dosed him with LSD without him knowing pretty often.

[–] Oni_eyes@sh.itjust.works 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

And the Japanese

[–] velma@sh.itjust.works 5 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Yep! Though Project MK Ultra was founded on Nazi experiments specifically:

During the early 1940s, Nazi scientists working in the concentration camps of Auschwitz and Dachau during World War II conducted interrogation experiments on human subjects. Substances such as barbiturates, morphine derivatives, and hallucinogens such as mescaline were employed in experiments conducted on Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Jewish, and other prisoners of war.[22] These experiments aimed to develop a truth serum which would, in the words of one laboratory assistant to Dachau scientist Kurt Plötner, "eliminate the will of the person examined."[22] American historian Stephen Kinzer said that the CIA project was a continuation of these earlier Nazi experiments, as evidenced by MKUltra's use of mescaline on unwitting subjects, replicating previous Nazi experiments conducted at Dachau.[23] Numerous Nazi scientists would be employed by the United States government after the war as part of Operation Paperclip, with some figures such as Kurt Blome becoming involved in MKUltra.[24]

[–] Oni_eyes@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Oh I thought you were referring to the whole "not reproducible and not following basic scientific method" part

[–] velma@sh.itjust.works 2 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

I am. Neither the CIA nor the Nazis followed the basic scientific method and the results are not reproducible. They were really just torturing people and using their goal of developing a "truth serum" as justification.

Japan had a similar unit that was torturing people under "scientific advancement".