by liberal japonicus
Currently working on a paper on metaphor, and in Galinsky & Glucksberg, (2000) Inhibition of the literal: Metaphors and idioms as judgmental primes, the following was used as an experimental prime:
Donald spent a great amount of his time in search of what he liked to call excitement. He had already climbed Mount McKinley, driven in a demolition derby, shot the Colorado rapids in a kayak, and piloted a jet-powered boat without knowing very much about boats. He had risked injury, and even death, a number of times. Now he was in search of new excitement. Other than business engagements, Donald's contacts with people were rather limited. He felt he didn't really need to rely on anyone.
What is an experimental prime?
Posted by: byomtov | July 15, 2017 at 09:01 PM
This was the story that subjects were supposed to react to after reading it and then being exposed to metaphoric language that was either literal or figurative in an attempt to tease out the effects of inhibition and background knowledge, specifically fire (he was playing with fire vs he was on fire) and the idiom 'break a leg'. It's probably not, strictly speaking, the prime, (the prime is the stuff they give afterwards), but the presence of that first name confused me...
Posted by: liberal japonicus | July 15, 2017 at 09:34 PM
When you try dividing by a lot of good numbers, and it just doesn't work, you've got yourself an 'experimental prime'.
The difference between 'experimental prime' and 'mathematical prime' is that the first one is defined by your level of patience.
Posted by: Snarki, child of Loki | July 15, 2017 at 10:02 PM
An experimental Prime is NOT Prime, so MorningLightMountain exterminated them (see Peter Hamilton's Commonwealth series).
MorningLightMountain was just getting around to the metavores.
Posted by: Yama | July 19, 2017 at 10:00 AM
...gone to distant lands with his nephews and his uncle Scrooge in search of treasure to loot from the indigenes...
Posted by: Matt McIrvin | July 20, 2017 at 02:39 PM