Skinner's Touch!

Most days when I have the time, I head for my morning walk to Lal Bagh, the 600 acre botanical garden in South Bangalore, laid by Hyder Ali, in the 18th century. The Bagh is a lovely, unspoilt place & many trees probably predate Hyder Ali & his more famous son Tipu Sultan, who died fighting the British at Mysore.

Before I meander into history, I'll get to the point ( I've been accused of rambling & writing blogs which are unnecessarily long ). This morning while taking the said walk I bumped into a seemingly well heeled gent taking a leak at the foot of a very bushy shrub. My senses were appalled & I impatiently waited for the bloke to finish his job to enquire if his occiput was totally devoid of grey matter, as a wonderfully constructed toilet was just 100 meters away & could be used for the princely sum of Rs.1. After the enquiry I walked away in a huff, thinking about the time I carried a paper ( Eco friendly )cup of coffee, for half a day in Singapore, because I could not locate a suitable bin.

Why are we so shameful in our public behavior? I think it can be explained by delving into our history, but how we stop this behavior may be explained by Ope rant Conditioning a concept well enunciated by B.F.Skinner.

The following throws light on Ope rant Conditioning:

In Punishment a particular behavior is weakened by the consequence of experiencing a negative condition.

For example:

A rat presses a bar in its cage and receives a mild electrical shock on its feet. The shock is a negative condition for the rat. The rat presses the bar again and again receives a shock. The rat's behavior of pressing the bar is weakened by the consequence of receiving a shock.

In Extinction a particular behavior is weakened by the consequence of not experiencing a positive condition or stopping a negative condition.

For example:

A rat presses a bar in its cage and nothing happens. Neither a positive or a negative condition exists for the rat. The rat presses the bar again and again nothing happens. The rat's behavior of pressing the bar is weakened by the consequence of not experiencing anything positive or stopping anything negative.

If you folks have any suggestion, please let me know. As for me I'm trying to fix a meeting with the Director, of the LB to see if he can rig a device to deliver a potent shock ( to you know where ) to guys who piddle at plants & trees within the Lal Bagh till they are better toilet trained.

As for Skinner, he can consider himself lucky to have lived in another era, otherwise he would have had animal activists ( Maneka Gandhi) at his throat - Electrocuting rats???????????

Was this blog too long? Please tell me. I wait with bated breath...........