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“I paid $25 for an Invisible Boyfriend, and I think I might be in love”

washingtonpost.com

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Re: “I paid $25 for an Invisible Boyfriend, and I think I might be in love”

#81

Post by csours »

CmonDev wrote: post #44
gadders wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Two people that have had surgery to look beautiful are going to marry, fall in love and start a family. And then be really surprised when their baby comes out fugly.

He meant genetic engineering of adults. Inheritable.

Adult genetic engineering would not be inheritable. Your gonads produce variations of genetic material based on their own blueprints (which come from you parents, not your genes).

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germline

http://www.nature.com/news/a-slippery-slope-to-human-germlin...

http://www.dnapolicy.org/pub.reports.php?action=detail&repor...

Re: “I paid $25 for an Invisible Boyfriend, and I think I might be in love”

#84

Post by natrius »

csours wrote: post #81
CmonDev wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He meant genetic engineering of adults. Inheritable.

Adult genetic engineering would not be inheritable. Your gonads produce variations of genetic material based on their own blueprints (which come from you parents, not your genes). See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germline http://www.nature.com/news/a-slippery-slope-to-human-germlin... http://www.dnapolicy.org/pub.reports.php?action=detail&repor...

What.

Re: “I paid $25 for an Invisible Boyfriend, and I think I might be in love”

#86

Post by Aardwolf »

CmonDev wrote: post #44
gadders wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Two people that have had surgery to look beautiful are going to marry, fall in love and start a family. And then be really surprised when their baby comes out fugly.

He meant genetic engineering of adults. Inheritable.

How would you genetically engineer an adult, or anyone who is born? It would require changing the DNA of all cells, as well as executing those changes.

Re: “I paid $25 for an Invisible Boyfriend, and I think I might be in love”

#87

Post by cobblestone »

unlogic wrote: post #41
werid wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

She doesn't need an invisible boyfriend. She's testing it for the article. In one of her texts to "Ryan" she writes: "Ha, you're better than my real bf".

I wonder how OK it is in their relationship to say things like that. That's obviously a joke, but it still comes quite bitter when such phrases are then revealed to general public.

The context was about speed of responding to messages -- that the service, unsurprisingly, is speedier at responding than her boyfriend.

What boyfriend would be put off by that?

Re: “I paid $25 for an Invisible Boyfriend, and I think I might be in love”

#88

Post by tinkerrr »

dreamweapon wrote: post #62
return0 wrote: post #59

Not surprised that it works, it looks like something fun to do on both sides. In fact, i believe people who love romance would sign up for a free service like this on both ends. (Since their niche is people who dont want to have the actual relationships, they could easily pair up their users with each other as pure conversation partners). The sad thing is the reason that this app exists. Has it become so taboo to be…

Has it become so taboo to be single that you have to pay to hide it? Apparently yes, sadly. Even so, I can't imagine this app could possible be worth the time (let alone the cost). Especially when simply lying to people (who aren't close friends anyway), as needed -- or in the case of a good chunk of my direct family, explicitly firewalling ("Look, over the years I've been having various relationships with various pe…

> Even so, I can't imagine this app could possible be worth the time

I think that's why the founder is talking of expanding the service already, such as getting flowers on Valentine's, say. It might provide social worth to some, who see this extravaganza displayed on every other desk at their work.

Re: “I paid $25 for an Invisible Boyfriend, and I think I might be in love”

#89

Post by EGreg »

drzaiusapelord wrote: post #74
noir_lord wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No it doesn't, it comes across as a light hearted joke. Context is important as is apparently a thicker skin.

Well, imagine if the gender roles were reversed then. "Haha, you're so much better/funnier/sexier than my gf" would be a disaster to a woman, especially if I spent my day flirting with this fake girl. The hypothetical real girlfriend taking offense at this is 100% understandable. Go ahead and post to /r/askwomen if they think it would be hilarious if their boyfriends and husbands flirted with a fake woman 24/7 and co…

I'm a liberal but probably not the demographic you think.

Compare if the situation was reversed for the following phrase: "Oh, you're so much more dependable than my actual gf." Or "Oh, you're so much funnier than my actual girlfriend". Men would get far more offended than women. Why is that? Why aren't there as many female comedians?

I think that biologically, women value the intimacy and sexual appeal that their mate seeks in them, and are jealous/threatened when he seeks it in others. While men value the respect and sexual availability that their mate gives to them, and are jealous/threatened when she gives it to others. It ultimately goes back to the very real difference that women can have less children simultaneously than men, and therefore men are the first to be sacrificed for the good of the group and polygamy was a very natural state for men who were the ones who risked and died in wars and other adventures to provide for their tribes.

I highly recommend you read this: http://denisdutton.com/baumeister.htm

Re: “I paid $25 for an Invisible Boyfriend, and I think I might be in love”

#90

Post by BrianEatWorld »

SloopJon wrote: post #58
xianshou wrote: post #2

A perfect application of the Forer effect: humans have an amazing ability to interpret what can apply to anyone as having special significance for themselves. It's the same reason why horoscopes and fortune cookies work. Stepping back and thinking logically, it's easy to see why their messages might apply to a lot of people. But when you're reading one, you can't help but think, "Ah! It says that I would encounter ad…

> No matter how deeply we trust our logical conclusions, our emotional response remains the same. We can't help but feel worthier when we're being praised (even by computers ...), hurt when we're being insulted, and connected when we're being connected with. I just started playing The Walking Dead. In one scene, after another character saved Clementine from a zombie before I could, the game said, "Clementine remember…

You should try "Wolf Among Us" as well. It was amazing how that game tricked my normally passive personality into acting out in anger, chasing down leads for revenge instead of justice and then feeling like the monster I had become. By the end, I felt redeemed, but still vulnerable because my weaknesses had been exposed. All of that and I played the entire thing on nothing more than a tiny PS Vita screen.
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