Not Really Science Monday: Making Voting FUN!

 
 
So, I peeked into a web discussion on Nader's newly revealed run, which had drifted into a discussion on whether compulsionary voting would make things better or worse.

This is the way my brain works: when people start debating "compulsory voting", I think "Hmmm...making voting a basic compulsion or instinct. Interesting, but how could we do that? There's viruses that cause quite complicated behaviors in animals, could we engineer one that compels people to fill in bubbles on cards?"

Ponder...

"It might be simpler to just make voting an addictive behavior. Coat the voting cards with cocaine, heroin, or nicotine. The problem then would be people needing to vote more and more due to habituation."


More thought...

"I know! Remember that experiment where they hooked the rat's pleasure center up to a wire so it got a jolt every time it pushed a lever, and it just couldn't stop hitting the lever? We could do the same with voting booths! Every time you fill in a bubble, you get a jolt to the pleasure center! To the lab!"

Maybe I should just shut up and vote.