Comments on: Acts Of Kindness Spread Quickly

By: Darren

Darren — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:54:02 +0000

This just proves that we’re all bloody sheep and that our moral compass is dictated to us via consensus rather than personally decided upon. BAAAA!

By: Dan

Dan — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:26:05 +0000

Hate to say, Buddha told you so.

People misquote and misinterpret his teachings on acts of kindness because they were codified in the context of the times, namely in hindu society, where the idea of reincarnation was deeply ingrained in people’s minds.
When you read his words, and take them literally, he was saying exactly what this study says, that acts of kindness will propagate, and as such even the smallest act of kindness can have supreme importance as the seed of greater kindness.

Buddhism’s great… apart from the vegetarianism. :p

By: roz

roz — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:59:11 +0000

@jameshogg, yeah, i”ve come to that conclusion too. but that’s OK, as long as people are kind!

By: jameshogg

jameshogg — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:36:48 +0000

@roz: Well I doubt the genes for survival came about after the genes for morality.

Besides, even if there is such a thing as doing something without expecting anything in return, there’s still some self-pleasure/satisfaction involved, so everybody essentially has their own interests in mind.

And to anyone who puts someone else’s survival ahead of their own, it’s so they can avoid the guilt of NOT doing it that will be with them for a long while. So it’s still down to self-interests.

By: Raymond

Raymond — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:00:53 +0000

A whole movie was based on this fact already. Called Pay it Forward with Haley Joel Osmond and Kevin Spacey.

By: roz

roz — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:34:31 +0000

is there such a thing as a completely unselfish act? or are all the things we do motivated, however slightly, by our own self-interest?

By: spiderabc1

spiderabc1 — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:13:14 +0000

Being nice to some “catholic” school kids this morning! That hurt. Want them all to know non-believers can be decent because at times I am paranoid at my atheism being frowned upon. Being kind makes me feel good so it must be an unselfish selfish act.

By: chris

chris — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:36:35 +0000

This is kinda a no-brainer. Just make a conscious effort act just a little nicer to the people around you in a non-fake way for just a few days (especially to some of the folks you consider to be @$$holes) and then see what happens.

By: roz

roz — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:28:43 +0000

as anyone who has ever studied U.S. history knows, acts of nastiness spread even more quickly!

but, thanx fer the encouragement…we shall keep on keeping on.

By: Brookerfan

Brookerfan — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:46:27 +0000

“….looting in Haiti” was a myth promoted by Sky News and other more ret@rded areas of the press.

Charlie Brooker in screenwipe showed the reports of looting in Haiti were voice-overed in the UK by hacks who had never been to Haiti – they showed people mucking about with cardboard boxes and portrayed them as evil black persons fighting over food.