1
00:00:01,200 --> 00:00:03,880
Speaker 1: Welcome to How Stuff Works Now. I'm your host, Lauren

2
00:00:03,920 --> 00:00:08,000
Speaker 1: Volga Baum, a researcher and writer. Here at How Stuff Works.

3
00:00:10,039 --> 00:00:12,360
Speaker 1: Every week, I'm bringing you three stories from a team

4
00:00:12,360 --> 00:00:15,840
Speaker 1: about the weird and wondrous developments we've seen in science, tech,

5
00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:19,400
Speaker 1: and culture. Today's episode is about how new technologies are

6
00:00:19,440 --> 00:00:23,799
Speaker 1: shaping our minds and our movie spoilers. Disney might be

7
00:00:23,880 --> 00:00:26,880
Speaker 1: using aerial drones to protect Star Wars filming locations from

8
00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:31,040
Speaker 1: being photographed. And meanwhile, in the lab, virtual reality is

9
00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:35,160
Speaker 1: helping patients treat crippling paranoia. But first, my fellow writer

10
00:00:35,240 --> 00:00:37,960
Speaker 1: in researcher Christian Seger brings us news about a wearable

11
00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:40,479
Speaker 1: device that claims it can help you get over your

12
00:00:40,520 --> 00:00:44,360
Speaker 1: bad habits and fast. But can a gizmo really delete

13
00:00:44,400 --> 00:00:51,560
Speaker 1: your temptations by delivering electric shocks? Everyone has bad habits

14
00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:56,080
Speaker 1: they want to break. Drinking, smoking, shoplifting expensive underwear from

15
00:00:56,120 --> 00:01:00,960
Speaker 1: department stores. A new product promises they supposedly solution, not

16
00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:04,600
Speaker 1: unlike attaching a car battery clamp to yourself. Pavlock is

17
00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:08,920
Speaker 1: a one device you wear on your wrist that shocks

18
00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:12,120
Speaker 1: you with between fifty and four hundred and fifty volts.

19
00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:16,959
Speaker 1: To create negative associations with bad habits. According to The

20
00:01:16,959 --> 00:01:20,600
Speaker 1: New York Times Jennifer Jolly, at its worst, Pavlock feels

21
00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:23,319
Speaker 1: like getting stung by a bee with a stinger the

22
00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:26,520
Speaker 1: size of an ice pick. Just download the app, choose

23
00:01:26,520 --> 00:01:29,960
Speaker 1: your bad habit, and get zapping. The company that produces

24
00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:33,120
Speaker 1: Pavlock says it takes at least five days to blast

25
00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:36,240
Speaker 1: the bad habit out of you. It's creator, an entrepreneur

26
00:01:36,400 --> 00:01:40,000
Speaker 1: named Maniche Saeti, raised Pavlock funding on indie go go

27
00:01:40,200 --> 00:01:44,600
Speaker 1: and from angel investors. He's only now planning clinical trials

28
00:01:44,600 --> 00:01:47,840
Speaker 1: of the device, despite the fact that ten thousand people

29
00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:51,440
Speaker 1: have already used it, So by my math, that's two

30
00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:55,040
Speaker 1: million dollars he's made without any regulation or review. Let's

31
00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:58,240
Speaker 1: be clear, this isn't electro convulsive therapy like they did

32
00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:01,880
Speaker 1: that Poor Lady and Requiem for a Dream. No. Pavlock

33
00:02:02,040 --> 00:02:05,280
Speaker 1: purports to be based on the research of Ivan Have Love,

34
00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:10,160
Speaker 1: get It, pav Love Pavlock. Yeah, anyway. Pavlov is known

35
00:02:10,200 --> 00:02:12,960
Speaker 1: for ringing a bell whenever he fed his dogs. He

36
00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:15,919
Speaker 1: did this so many times that the dogs began salivating

37
00:02:16,040 --> 00:02:18,720
Speaker 1: just when they heard the bell. This kind of training

38
00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:22,320
Speaker 1: is called classical conditioning and led to psychological theories about

39
00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:25,000
Speaker 1: how it might work in US humans. But hold up.

40
00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:29,239
Speaker 1: While some conditioning relies on punishment instead of rewards, pavlock

41
00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:32,680
Speaker 1: is more like aversion therapy, where a patient learns to

42
00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:37,000
Speaker 1: associate discomfort with an undesirable behavior, kind of like in

43
00:02:37,040 --> 00:02:40,880
Speaker 1: Clockwork Orange when Alex is electrocuted and given nauseating drugs,

44
00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:44,680
Speaker 1: so he'll associate his violent urges with sickening feelings. But

45
00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:48,680
Speaker 1: what about drinking or smoking? Would pavlock work on that well.

46
00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:52,000
Speaker 1: Some hospitals have reported success with a version therapy, and

47
00:02:52,120 --> 00:02:55,200
Speaker 1: ones even interested in using this new device, But the

48
00:02:55,280 --> 00:02:59,239
Speaker 1: long term success of aversion therapy is questionable and its

49
00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:03,160
Speaker 1: use in a using patients is still criticized. So until

50
00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:05,920
Speaker 1: padlock has been further studied, we don't know if it's

51
00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:08,480
Speaker 1: any better than just snapping a rubber band on your wrist.

52
00:03:09,160 --> 00:03:13,360
Speaker 1: Doctors recommend other long term therapeutic options for dealing with

53
00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:21,840
Speaker 1: your bad habits. Next up, senior writer Robert Lamb reports

54
00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:24,160
Speaker 1: on the study of patients who are dealing with fears

55
00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:25,880
Speaker 1: that make it difficult for them to get around in

56
00:03:25,919 --> 00:03:35,080
Speaker 1: public spaces, therapy involving virtual reality proved incredibly effective. The

57
00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:38,760
Speaker 1: researchers brought in thirty people diagnosed with illusions of persecution.

58
00:03:38,920 --> 00:03:42,000
Speaker 1: They each underwin a five minute behavioral test that forced

59
00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:45,680
Speaker 1: them to engage with a real world, high stress social situation,

60
00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:49,000
Speaker 1: like venturing to the local tube station and catching a train.

61
00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:53,400
Speaker 1: Then the researchers rolled out some virtual reality cognitive therapy.

62
00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:56,520
Speaker 1: They strapped them into some VR headgear and thrust them

63
00:03:56,520 --> 00:04:00,080
Speaker 1: into a simulated version of the same stressful environment to

64
00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:02,480
Speaker 1: be instructed. Some of the patients to use their normal

65
00:04:02,520 --> 00:04:06,120
Speaker 1: defensive strategies such as avoiding eye contact, while the rest

66
00:04:06,160 --> 00:04:09,520
Speaker 1: were encouraged to lean into their fears to actually approach

67
00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:12,080
Speaker 1: the virtual strangers on the train and look them in

68
00:04:12,120 --> 00:04:16,040
Speaker 1: their uncanny eyes. Essentially, it amounts to exposure therapy only

69
00:04:16,080 --> 00:04:20,159
Speaker 1: within the safe but immersive confines of a virtual world. Now, granted,

70
00:04:20,200 --> 00:04:22,039
Speaker 1: this was a small study and we don't have the

71
00:04:22,040 --> 00:04:24,720
Speaker 1: benefit of long term follow up here, but the results

72
00:04:24,760 --> 00:04:27,920
Speaker 1: are encouraging. Even the group that's stuck to their defensive

73
00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:32,240
Speaker 1: behaviors experienced some reduction in paranoia, while the rest reported

74
00:04:32,279 --> 00:04:36,479
Speaker 1: greater reductions, with more than half exhibiting snow severe paranoia

75
00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:38,920
Speaker 1: at the end of testing. Now, don't expect the entire

76
00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:41,840
Speaker 1: landscape of psychiatric care to change overnight, but this is

77
00:04:41,920 --> 00:04:45,919
Speaker 1: yet another study that demonstrates virtual realities potential as a

78
00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:49,839
Speaker 1: treatment option for mental health professionals. Past studies have explored

79
00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:53,919
Speaker 1: the use of VR and the treatment of addiction, PTSD, depression,

80
00:04:54,120 --> 00:04:57,240
Speaker 1: and autism. Now we can add paranoia into the mix,

81
00:04:57,600 --> 00:04:59,760
Speaker 1: so long as no one accidentally pops one of those

82
00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:10,920
Speaker 1: kulis riffed hard titles into the VR rig instead. Finally, today,

83
00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:14,040
Speaker 1: senior writer Jonathan Strickland explains how on the set of

84
00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:17,160
Speaker 1: the new Star Wars movies, these are the drones you're

85
00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:26,280
Speaker 1: looking for. The Den of Geek website reported a while

86
00:05:26,360 --> 00:05:28,840
Speaker 1: back that the production crew for Star Wars eight had

87
00:05:28,839 --> 00:05:34,320
Speaker 1: a problem with pests, specifically the robotic flying kind. While

88
00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:37,120
Speaker 1: the crew was shooting in the UK, drones with cameras

89
00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:41,800
Speaker 1: hovered around locations trying to capture images and video. According

90
00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:44,200
Speaker 1: to Dinner Geek, things were about to change as the

91
00:05:44,200 --> 00:05:47,560
Speaker 1: crew prepared to move to Croatia. The movie Security Force

92
00:05:47,640 --> 00:05:51,320
Speaker 1: would have some new members pilots operating drones of their

93
00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:55,120
Speaker 1: own with the mission to bring down any pesky spies

94
00:05:55,680 --> 00:05:58,960
Speaker 1: and while drone on drone combat can be exciting to

95
00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:03,000
Speaker 1: watch as proof and by organizations like the Aerial Sport League.

96
00:06:03,200 --> 00:06:07,159
Speaker 1: The question remains, is it legal if not all parties

97
00:06:07,200 --> 00:06:11,040
Speaker 1: are consenting, and by it we mean any of it?

98
00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:13,039
Speaker 1: Is it legal to use drones to spy on a

99
00:06:13,080 --> 00:06:15,680
Speaker 1: movie production? Is it legal for a movie crew to

100
00:06:15,760 --> 00:06:19,120
Speaker 1: bring down a drone, whether with a counterattack drone or

101
00:06:19,360 --> 00:06:22,039
Speaker 1: some other means. That's where we get into a pretty

102
00:06:22,120 --> 00:06:26,040
Speaker 1: big mess. In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration

103
00:06:26,120 --> 00:06:28,200
Speaker 1: has been drafting rules for u a v s, but

104
00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:31,359
Speaker 1: the process has been pretty slow. The f a A

105
00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:36,320
Speaker 1: encourages drone hobbyists to follow community based guidelines, which aren't law.

106
00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:39,960
Speaker 1: Those guidelines typically include a section that says you're not

107
00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:43,039
Speaker 1: supposed to use drones to spy on people or businesses.

108
00:06:43,320 --> 00:06:46,240
Speaker 1: If the drone operator is planning on selling the images

109
00:06:46,279 --> 00:06:50,039
Speaker 1: and video, then things get more complicated. That bumps the

110
00:06:50,080 --> 00:06:53,960
Speaker 1: pilot from hobbyist to civil operator. To fly a drone

111
00:06:54,080 --> 00:06:57,160
Speaker 1: legally as a civil operator, you first must obtain a

112
00:06:57,240 --> 00:07:00,480
Speaker 1: Section three thirty three exemption from the f a A

113
00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:04,400
Speaker 1: that allows for commercial air flight, and civil operators are

114
00:07:04,480 --> 00:07:08,240
Speaker 1: legally bound to follow more rules than hobbyists. As for

115
00:07:08,320 --> 00:07:11,760
Speaker 1: whether it's legal to bring down a drone, that's largely

116
00:07:11,880 --> 00:07:15,960
Speaker 1: something that gets determined in individual court cases. For example,

117
00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:19,880
Speaker 1: last year, William Meredith was arrested for wanton endangerment and

118
00:07:19,920 --> 00:07:23,400
Speaker 1: criminal mischief for shooting down a drone flying over his property.

119
00:07:23,760 --> 00:07:26,480
Speaker 1: The judge on the case dismissed all the charges. It's

120
00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:30,120
Speaker 1: a mess, is what we're getting at. Technology has once

121
00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:33,640
Speaker 1: again outpaced the law, and we're all left waiting to

122
00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:36,760
Speaker 1: find out what happens next. Will the skies be filled

123
00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:39,240
Speaker 1: with drones knocking each other to the ground, Will we

124
00:07:39,280 --> 00:07:43,080
Speaker 1: need to carry drone proof umbrellas everywhere we go? Or

125
00:07:43,120 --> 00:07:45,559
Speaker 1: will the f a A take all the toys away

126
00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:48,880
Speaker 1: until we prove that we're responsible enough to use them appropriately.

127
00:07:53,920 --> 00:07:55,920
Speaker 1: That's all we've got for this week. Thanks so much

128
00:07:55,920 --> 00:07:58,480
Speaker 1: for tuning in. Subscribe now for more of the latest

129
00:07:58,520 --> 00:08:01,760
Speaker 1: and strangest science news, and hey, send us your ideas

130
00:08:01,800 --> 00:08:05,320
Speaker 1: for new stories, plus any feedback or fabulously grown worthy

131
00:08:05,400 --> 00:08:07,800
Speaker 1: dad jokes that you might have. Shoot us an email

132
00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:10,640
Speaker 1: at now podcast at how stuff works dot com, and

133
00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:13,480
Speaker 1: to access thousands of other stories like these, check out

134
00:08:13,480 --> 00:08:22,040
Speaker 1: our home planet Now dot how stuff Works dot com