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January 2009 
Pavlovian Conditioning & Wall Clocks
Posted on Nov 18th, 2007
by 
L'el
L'el
So apparently I have some strong Pavlovian response to wall clocks.
I instinctively glance at them expecting they will tell me the time.
Even when they don't work, and I encounter them everyday.
Such as the one in our bathroom. It has not been operational _the entire time_ I have lived in this apartment (since August).
Yet I would say at least 50% of the time I step out of the shower, I glance at it and expect it t tell me something useful.
And that's not even the only broken clock in my life right now. There's also the one I encounter every Tuesday evening at my science fiction writing workshop. I expect it to tell me whether it's break-time yet, or whether there's still a chance the coffeeshop downstairs hasn't closed yet. Actually, so do many of the other people there.
So at least I'm not alone in being so incredibly conditioned...
I instinctively glance at them expecting they will tell me the time.
Even when they don't work, and I encounter them everyday.
Such as the one in our bathroom. It has not been operational _the entire time_ I have lived in this apartment (since August).
Yet I would say at least 50% of the time I step out of the shower, I glance at it and expect it t tell me something useful.
And that's not even the only broken clock in my life right now. There's also the one I encounter every Tuesday evening at my science fiction writing workshop. I expect it to tell me whether it's break-time yet, or whether there's still a chance the coffeeshop downstairs hasn't closed yet. Actually, so do many of the other people there.
So at least I'm not alone in being so incredibly conditioned...
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