B.F. Skinner's 1948 paper titled "'Superstition' in the pigeon." is about what happens if you give rewards at completely random intervals.
The experiment involved pigeons in a cage while a food hopper dispensed food at random intervals. While timed intervals would result in operant conditioning, the random intervals introduced "superstition": The pigeons would repeat whatever they were doing when the food was delivered (like spinning or nodding), in the hopes it would bring the food again
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Alice Averlong🏳️⚧️ (foone@digipres.club)'s status on Wednesday, 21-May-2025 09:03:24 JST
Alice Averlong🏳️⚧️
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Mother Bones (_l1vy_@mstdn.social)'s status on Wednesday, 21-May-2025 15:09:07 JST
Mother Bones
@foone Cargo cult pigeons
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Toast, Anonymous Fedi Fungus (shiitaketoast@beige.party)'s status on Wednesday, 21-May-2025 15:09:12 JST
Toast, Anonymous Fedi Fungus
@_L1vY_ @foone Do swallows bring them coconuts to build their airport temple?
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Mother Bones (_l1vy_@mstdn.social)'s status on Wednesday, 21-May-2025 15:09:12 JST
Mother Bones
@ShiitakeToast @foone African swallows or European swallows? 😂
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Dr_Bombay (dr_bombay@mstdn.social)'s status on Wednesday, 21-May-2025 15:09:17 JST
Dr_Bombay
@foone TIL i am essentially a pigeon, lol
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Kōtare :tinoflag: (jdmcg@mastodon.nz)'s status on Wednesday, 21-May-2025 15:09:26 JST
Kōtare :tinoflag:
@foone pretty sure this is a piercingly accurate shot at the entire SEO industry.