Optical Allusionist

Philip Zimbardo is a renowned author, social psychologist, and Stanford professor. He is best known for his direction of the Stanford Prisoner Experiments, but is a well-known expert on the psychology of evil and "situational force".

And he wrote me.

Well, I wrote him first, but he wrote me back. I was pretty dorky when I wrote him, and my friend Kellie said, "Uh, Shelly, you have something on your nose... something brown." Hahaha. Yeah, I did brown-nose him a bit, but hey, we're talking about PHILIP ZIMBARDO!! For a golf fan, this would be like being written by Tiger Woods. For a NASCAR fan, Jeff Gordon. For a Chicago Bulls fan, Michael Jordan. You get the picture. It's practically the same as being written by FREUD! He may not be as famous in the general public as Freud, but he IS as well known within the behavioral science department. And he wrote me. Very friendly man. He must be pretty old, but he says he's "traveling the world"... Here's a copy of my email to him, and his response. It was short, but it was a good enough response. :D


Hello Phillip Zimbardo!

Okay, so this may sound really weird, but because of the way my sociology and psychology teachers taught about you, I thought... until an overjoyed today... you were.. sadly, dead. I hope no hard feelings are carried out though. So, um, emailing you today is like having the ability to write Freud. I have been reading The Lucifer Effect and I find it very interesting.

So, I would like to sound really smart, because I really am-- especially in terms of behavioral sciences, but I don't really have any questions so far, and I have no astounding comments to make. I'm just glad you're alive.

I don't want to fawn over you too much, because you're just another human being like me. But if I could have a simple "Hello" or a "hi. How are you" or even if youi could spare the time, a little bit of an email to tell me what your favorite food or color or book is, I would love it. I was enthralled when I learned about you in sociology, and the idea that I can email you is almost too much to bear.

You are a famous author, social psychologist, and professor, but if it isn't too much to ask, could you email my psychology/sociology teacher and say hi, at mrmckell@gmail.com.

Thanks for your contributions to the world,

Shelly Steele


This was his response:

SS
thanks for the support of my work and I too am glad to discover that rumors of my death are premature
alive and kicking and traveling the world spreading the message of the Lucifer Effect.
see my other sites as well as Lucifers, many goodies there.

Cordially,
Philip Zimbardo, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus
Stanford University

See these web sites:
www.LuciferEffect.com
www.Zimbardo.com
www.PrisonExp.org

www.Shyness.com
www.TimePerspective.com

www.CIPERT.org
www.EveryDayHeroes.org

www.PsychologyMatters.org



All I have to say is... Oh my gosh.