Making Science Happen

[TheInventor]

Day 8:

The joke:
"what do you call a bear with no teeth? Gummy bear."

Appearance:
6. Hair looked decent. Glasses. Black pants, grey shoes, light yellow t-shirt with clever graphics.

Psychological effects:
Nothing really.

Confidence:
6

Note:
It’s pouring down rain. I did my best to not let my pheromones get wet. The intensity of the rain was somewhat distracting, and is makingit difficult to specifically remember each experience, but the numbers should hold true. One cute girl smiled at me. Then I told her a joke.

Person 1:
7. Woman 40s unattractive. Seemed to enjoy the joke pretty well.

Person 2:
5. Woman 40s unattractive. Humored me politely. Gave a reasonable laugh.

Person 3:
6.Woman 40s somewhat attractive. Laughed at the joke.

Person 4:
6. Woman early 20s. Cute. When I first saw her, she smiled at me. It seemed more like a smile of kindness than a smile of attraction. Humored my joke and laughed a little.

Person 5:
6. Woman in her 40s. seemed startled at first but then laughed pretty genuinely.

Thoughts on whether I was wearing the pheromone:
4. The day that I got the best reactions was day 5. The was just a certain something that I got from people that wasn’t there today, Still, the reactions were decent, and I did get one smile, so I wouldn’t be shocked if it turned out to be a pheromone day. I’m still going to guess that it wasn’t.

[TheInventor]

Day 9:

The joke:
"what do you call a bear with no teeth? Gummy bear."
Appearance:
4. Messy hair. Glasses. 2 days unshaven. Black pants, grey shoes, brown t-shirt.
Psychological effects:
I felt very comfortable approaching people today.
Confidence:
8
Note:
no looks.
Person 1:
7. Elderly woman. Laughed after the setup and the punchline. Continued talking a little as I was walking away, saying “I can’t think that fast!”
Person 2:
7. Woman 60s probably attractive when she was younger. Enjoyed the joke.
Person 3:
5.Woman 30s. politely humored me and walked away.
Person 4:
5. Woman 50s. humored the joke. Laughed.
Person 5:
5. Woman 40ish. Humored me, said “good one” and moved on.
Thoughts on whether I was wearing the pheromone:
5. I really have no idea.

[TheInventor]

Day 10:
Appearance:
3. Messy hair. Crappy glasses. Unshaven. Blue grey tshirt. Black gym pants. Grey shoes.
Confidence:
6. High 6
Psychological effects:
Nothing significant.
Notes:
One older lady smiled at me.
Person 1:
6. Woman 20ish. Somewhat attractive, athletic. Seemed open. Laughed. Said "Good one."
Person 2:
6. woman 50s. Enjoyed the joke.
Person 3:
6. Woman 50s. Enjoyed the joke without making a big deal.
Person 4:
5. Woman 40ish. Was polite but not interested.
Person 5:
6. Woman 30s. Enjoyed the joke. Said "good one"
Thoughts on whether I was wearing the pheromone:
6. Not sure at all but the responses were positive overall.

[TheInventor]

And here are the results from the first 10 days:

day 1 Placebo

day 2 Placebo

day 3 Pheromone 1 dabs

day 4 Placebo

day 5 Placebo

day 6 Placebo

day 7 Pheromone 2 dabs

day 8 Placebo

day 9 Pheromone 3 dabs

day 10 Pheromone 4 dabs


What fascinates me the most are days 5 and 6. These were the days that I got the most significant results. On 5, I had girls smiling at me and great reactions. On 6, people were rude to me. Both days were placebo. The thing is, if I'd been purposefully wearing pheromones those days (as in not doing a placebo controlled experiment), I would have come home and reported that pheromones work, that day 5 I got crazy hits, and that day 6 I got an OD effect. What I think I've instead demonstrated is just how powerful and deceiving a placebo can be.

It's important to understand that placebo is more than just positive thinking. It also means self-confirming bias, reporting bias, etc. To test pheromones, we naturally put ourselves out in front of people more, and we actively look for signs that its working. These actions will naturally make us perceive better interactions with women.

I'm a little bummed out, because I really want pheromones to work. Granted, none of these results conclusively show that pheromones don't work. I might have used them incorrectly or made any number of errors. What it does show is how much nothing but placebo can look like true pheromone hits, including OD, dihl, and everything else. It gives a better understanding of how we should read anecdotal accounts of pheromone success.

I'd still like to finish the test, and see if the quantitative analysis yield better news than my qualitative analysis. I might give it a break for a while though, while I catch up on life stuff.