Wait, so can you raise your testosterone (and get the associated health / anti-akrasia benefits) by cheating on online FPSs? What about playing ultraviolent games on easy mode, like one of the newer DOOM games?
I believe consciousness mostly exists to translate complex life situations into a language that can be matched to our instincts. One of the instincts underlying testosterone regulation is probably something like: “If you are victorious in a difficult battle for status you did not expect to win, upregulate.” I doubt it’s easily fooled since your own consciousness is using your full intelligence to map the terms “difficult,” “status”, and “victorious” from the instinct script to the actual situation you’ve placed yourself in.
Wait, so can you raise your testosterone (and get the associated health / anti-akrasia benefits) by cheating on online FPSs? What about playing ultraviolent games on easy mode, like one of the newer DOOM games?
I believe consciousness mostly exists to translate complex life situations into a language that can be matched to our instincts. One of the instincts underlying testosterone regulation is probably something like: “If you are victorious in a difficult battle for status you did not expect to win, upregulate.” I doubt it’s easily fooled since your own consciousness is using your full intelligence to map the terms “difficult,” “status”, and “victorious” from the instinct script to the actual situation you’ve placed yourself in.