Divergent Thinking by Leah Wilson

Author:Leah Wilson [Wilson, Leah]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781940363349
Publisher: BenBella Books, Inc.

FEAR TAMING, DAUNTLESS STYLE

Let’s apply what we know about the biology of fear to the Dauntless training program. Is it therapeutic? Does it provide the skills to control fear?

Let’s start by considering Dauntless headquarters. It’s a giant, dark hole in the ground that provides ample opportunities to die. What is the reasoning behind that? Tris sums it up pretty well when she says, “I have realized that part of being Dauntless is being willing to make things more difficult for yourself in order to be self-sufficient. There’s nothing especially brave about wandering dark streets with no flashlight, but we are not supposed to need help, even from light” (Divergent). For Tris, negotiating Dauntless’ dimly lit passages and rough floors is preparation for future moments when she will have nothing to depend on but herself. She imagines that to be a positive goal, but that sort of self-reliance comes at a cost. A culture that scorns “help” devalues teamwork and cooperation. The priorities of Dauntless are training and technology. Teamwork isn’t on the list. And we learn from Tobias that both the faction’s training and technology are becoming more brutal.

The simulations in the fear landscapes are a key part of Dauntless training. What happens during those sessions? As Tobias crisply describes the process to Jeanine in Insurgent, “The simulations stimulate the amygdala, which is responsible for processing fear, induce a hallucination based on that fear, and then transmit the data to a computer to be processed and observed.” Knowing what we do about stimulating the amygdala, the cascade of fear responses, and counterconditioning, it seems possible that the simulations might be used therapeutically. Time spent in a personal fear landscape is an opportunity to confront specific stimuli in a controlled situation. It sounds very much like the program used in fear extinction. However, considering Four’s repeated visits and the fact that his fears may change but are never extinguished, the technology doesn’t seem to be any great advantage.

As advanced as Dauntless technology is in evoking fear, the techniques they use to tame it are simple. When Four prepares Tris for her first visit to her fear landscape in Divergent, he gives her this instruction: “Lower your heart rate and control your breathing.” He might as well have said, “Deep, slow respirations cause a slowing of the pulse.” That’s how the principle was stated in a letter written in 1922.11 It works, but it’s not exactly cutting-edge technology in action.

As I was reading the Divergent trilogy, the multitude of serums made me curious: What about the potential for a “serum” that is an antidote to fear? Could we overcome fear with an injection?12

Research led by Moshe Szyf at McGill University indicates it is possible to “remove” the “residue” of fear from the brain. Ordinarily, rats neglected by their mothers are more fearful, less able to learn, and generally less healthy. But, when the researchers injected a drug called trichostatin A directly into the brains of rats deprived of nurturing care, that damage was undone.

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