Comments on: Gene mutation associated with ‘Internet addiction,’ German researchers suggest

By: Scienco

Scienco — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 20:41:26 +0000

How can women be more affected than men if the same number of males and females have the mutation?
Read it: “For males it was 18 vs. 15 for controls and for females it was 18 vs. 7 for controls.)”!
That is, the same number of males and females (18) addicted to internet have the mutation! So can you say that women are more affected?!!!!

By: Jan Parker

Jan Parker — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 20:46:08 +0000

moron phd fodder, welcome to the obvious. But the genes are plastic, maybe being on the computer changed the genes to better adapt to the new tech? Oh that would be Dr. Captian Ovious.

By: Guy from Germany

Guy from Germany — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 19:17:49 +0000

As a German myself, I can safely say that Germany is still a very conservative country and they play the “addiction” card whenever they can, mostly to conjure up some new draconian proposals / a new law or policy to restrict internet freedom or scapegoating certain undesirable fragments of the population. So it’s always very insidious if so called experts use the word “addiction”. The whole country and politics are interspersed with the Post Hoc fallacy.

By: Gorden Russell

Gorden Russell — Sat, 01 Sep 2012 00:22:43 +0000

Just think what it will be like when we have computers in the hippocampus. We’ll be enmeshed in the world-wide-web 24 hours a day. We’ll be online in our sleep, surfing the cybersphere in our dreams.

By: Foye Lowe

Foye Lowe — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 21:14:13 +0000

Certainly some of the diction in ads is questionable, but perhaps that’s how language evolves. :)

p.s. For some of us, impulsivity and compulsivity is simply due to having a pulse.

By: Khannea Suntzu

Khannea Suntzu — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 15:09:11 +0000

KurzweilAI is my daily hopeporn.
Its what gets me out of bed in the morn.
if only people would listen when I warn
right here right now the future is born

By: Bri

Bri — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 13:54:41 +0000

You know of course that if they do find it addicting, then you are a dealer. Uh ohhhhh! Here comes the thought police!

By: Bri

Bri — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 13:13:04 +0000

Here I though I’d have to seek a rehab program for my KurzweilAI addiction!

By: Giulio Prisco

Giulio Prisco — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 11:12:34 +0000

I am sure pre-verbal apes growled against addiction to language, in their caves, looking at the outrageously unPC new generation of talking apes.

This is usually one of the last defenses of luddites, when they are already outclassed and outsmarted, and know that.

By: Editor

Editor — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 10:59:39 +0000

There are some addictions that are healthy, like air, water … and KurzweilAI! :)

By: melajara

melajara — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 08:46:37 +0000

Internet is a mirror of the world, you find in it everything the world has to offer. Can you have an addiction to the world or its mirror? Put that way shows how loose a concept as “internet addiction” really is.

I suggest a much more specific study on kurzweil.ai.net internet addiction ;-)

And no, thanks, I don’t want to be cured from my epistemophilic drive.

By: Editor

Editor — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 08:08:53 +0000

A good question. UPDATE 8/31/2012:

* 36 subjects (out of a total of 132 participants with problematic Internet use, after screening 850 participants) had the T- variant (CC genotype) of the rs1044396 polymorphism on the CHRNA4 gene vs. 22 out of a total of 132 for controls. For males it was 18 vs. 15 for controls and for females it was 18 vs. 7 for controls.)

“Given our a priori hypothesis together with the significant statistics (which hold for multiple testing), I am convinced that the results are robust,” lead author Dr. Christian Montag told KurzweilAI. “Nevertheless there is a BUT: in molecular genetics replication studies are of special importance and we’d like to encourage other work groups to look at this issue.”

By: Editor

Editor — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 05:59:54 +0000

Right. Headline modified. Ray is not involved directly on this site.

By: Gabriel

Gabriel — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 05:09:37 +0000

Sorry if I’m mistaken, but as far as I know..the only thing Kurzweil himself does on this website is the rare ‘Ask Ray” q&a’s….he doesn’t actually post the topics himself or anything…I imagine he’s too busy to actually manage this site, especially on a daily basis.

Unless of course you were referring to the website and not the actual person; in which case, ignore me.

By: Khannea Suntzu

Khannea Suntzu — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 05:02:01 +0000

w…what??

By: Lord Penguin

Lord Penguin — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 03:03:13 +0000

There are statistics about the study, including the total number of subjects, the number of “addicts”, and the time spent on the internet for each group, but it’s missing the most important part… the amount of “addicts” that have the gene, vs “non-addicts” with the gene.

By: BipedalJoe

BipedalJoe — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 00:38:04 +0000

No gene mutation does not cause internet addiction.. gene mutations predispose addictive phenotype. C´mon Kurzweil, u know better then to use pseudo-thesis’s as topics. If I see another one on my twitter, you´re off my sponge-web-ish cloud ;)