Topic: Does anyone know what this urge is called?

[Sordid]

They do not, in fact, bounce. 

They do if you slam 'em hard enough!

[Miisanthrope]

They just kinda make this splat noise.

Aren't certain types of Tourette's linked to this as well, not being able to stop yourself from doing or saying whatever pops into your mind?

[Hanes]

Me too. I have also done things harmful to myself just because I couldn't resist the urge.

It's more like a catastrophic failure of self control in my case.

I didn't care about the consequences. I had to say what needed to be said. I've never had a room full of company management paying such close attention. I thought the CEO and half the people in the room where going to have the big one. LOL

That's the sort of thing that needs to be recorded.  My friend's in the IT world and has the same "don't give a shit" attitude, and I would love to be there when one of the "this isn't going to work and why did you think it would" conversations goes down.

Thankfully when Colbert did it to Bush, it was.

[Shadow Of A Doubt]

"l'appel DU vide"

…  Vertigo is anguish to the
extent that I am afraid not of falling over the precipice, but of
throwing myself over. A situation provokes fear if there is a
possibility of my life being changed from without; my being provokes
anguish to the extent that I distrust myself and my own reactions in
that situation.
                                                              Sartre - Being & Nothingness.

I always "see" the worst possible thing I could do. Like, I could jump in front of that car. Or say something inappropriate. Or drop a baby I'm holding. I think it's maybe why I didn't get my driver's license - when I was driving I could see myself letting go and running into a car. Not that I would do it, but the thought crossed my mind. I think it's part of the decision making algorithm in our brains and we're not supposed to see it, but sometimes we do.

These two quotes describe perfectly the feelings I've had in similar situations. For me the realisation that it's perfectly possible for me to perform a simple task that would lead to my death or kill someone else is quite unpleasant. There is a weird thrill in remembering those situations but actually being in the moment makes me feel queasy. You know, there's no alarm that goes off saying warning: what you are about to do is seriously evil, it will take a superhuman effort on your part to actually go through with it. The only thing stopping me doing it is me; and do I really trust myself not to do it? Err, well I did, but now that I think about it I'm not so sure, it's not like I spend every waking moment thinking don't push that person into the path of a car, don't jump off the cliff, etc. What if I did it in one of those seconds when I'm not thinking about it? 

[Citizen Skeptic]

Me too. I have also done things harmful to myself just because I couldn't resist the urge.

It's more like a catastrophic failure of self control in my case.

I didn't care about the consequences. I had to say what needed to be said. I've never had a room full of company management paying such close attention. I thought the CEO and half the people in the room where going to have the big one. LOL

That's the sort of thing that needs to be recorded.  My friend's in the IT world and has the same "don't give a shit" attitude, and I would love to be there when one of the "this isn't going to work and why did you think it would" conversations goes down.

Thankfully when Colbert did it to Bush, it was.

This was before phones had cameras. Otherwise, I'm sure it would be on youtube.

[pandamonium]

"l'appel DU vide"

…  Vertigo is anguish to the
extent that I am afraid not of falling over the precipice, but of
throwing myself over. A situation provokes fear if there is a
possibility of my life being changed from without; my being provokes
anguish to the extent that I distrust myself and my own reactions in
that situation.
                                                              Sartre - Being & Nothingness.

I always "see" the worst possible thing I could do. Like, I could jump in front of that car. Or say something inappropriate. Or drop a baby I'm holding. I think it's maybe why I didn't get my driver's license - when I was driving I could see myself letting go and running into a car. Not that I would do it, but the thought crossed my mind. I think it's part of the decision making algorithm in our brains and we're not supposed to see it, but sometimes we do.

These two quotes describe perfectly the feelings I've had in similar situations. For me the realisation that it's perfectly possible for me to perform a simple task that would lead to my death or kill someone else is quite unpleasant. There is a weird thrill in remembering those situations but actually being in the moment makes me feel queasy. You know, there's no alarm that goes off saying warning: what you are about to do is seriously evil, it will take a superhuman effort on your part to actually go through with it. The only thing stopping me doing it is me; and do I really trust myself not to do it? Err, well I did, but now that I think about it I'm not so sure, it's not like I spend every waking moment thinking don't push that person into the path of a car, don't jump off the cliff, etc. What if I did it in one of those seconds when I'm not thinking about it? 

Yeah, the feeling of free will is powerful in us. It definitely does feel like it's just a simple matter of choosing to do something crazy whack, but there's reason we don't: we stop ourselves. It's good to remember that there's not much to stop us from doing something stupid like stepping into traffic. It's probably a brain hiccup, like meg sez, and it's a scary one to have. I wonder how many people do crazy stupid things because their brain hiccuped for just a second too long--and they ended up doing something that they normally wouldn't seriously consider.

That's my fear--not that I have this curiosity, but that one day my curiosity will get the better of me.

[Jay_One]

I know that Tourette's syndrome can cause people to feel the need to do inappropriate things at any given situation, eg, jumping off bridges, hitting people, throwing things. Whether this is Tourette's, a related illness or something different entirely, I don't know. I'm basing this off aa single documentary.

[pandamonium]

The thing about Tourette's, though, is that you ultimately can't control the urge. I've consistently controlled my urges to jump in front of moving trucks. There might be similar underlying mechanisms, or related brain hiccups, but I wouldn't call it Tourette's.

[Henning]

That's the sort of thing that needs to be recorded.  My friend's in the IT world and has the same "don't give a shit" attitude, and I would love to be there when one of the "this isn't going to work and why did you think it would" conversations goes down.

Thankfully when Colbert did it to Bush, it was.

This was before phones had cameras. Otherwise, I'm sure it would be on youtube.

Colbert at the Correspondents' Dinner, 2006

(click to show/hide)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7FTF4Oz4dI

[Hanes]

Colbert at the Correspondents' Dinner, 2006

(click to show/hide)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7FTF4Oz4dI

Less a man than a god.

[pandamonium]

It's less impressive when you know the speech has to be approved beforehand, but it's still awesome.

[Hanes]

It's less impressive when you know the speech has to be approved beforehand, but it's still awesome.

I believe the government that governs best is the government that governs least. And by these standards, we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq.

I stand by this man. I stand by this man, because he stands for things. Not only for things, he stands on things, things like aircraft carriers and rubble and recently flooded city squares. And that sends a strong message, that no matter what happens to America, she will always rebound with the most powerfully staged photo-ops in the world.

See who we've got here tonight. We’ve got General Moseley, Air Force Chief of Staff. We’ve got General Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. They still support Rumsfeld. Right, you guys aren't retired yet, right? Right, they still support Rumsfeld.  Look, by the way, I've got a theory about how to handle these retired generals causing all this trouble: Don't let them retire! Come on, we've got a stop-loss program; let's use it on these guys. I've seen Zinni in that crowd on Wolf Blitzer. If you're strong enough to go on one of those pundit shows, you’re strong enough to stand on a bank of computers and order men into battle.

Mayor Nagin is here from New Orleans, the chocolate city! Yeah, give it up. Mayor Nagin, I'd like to welcome you to Washington, D.C., the chocolate city with a marshmallow center and a graham cracker crust of corruption.

It only makes me think that whoever did the preapproval hasn't gotten a raise in years.

[azinyk]

I occasionally have thoughts like that - I'll be minding my own business on the curb, and suddenly have the idea to step into traffic.  I decide not to do those things, though.

I worry that one day my frontal lobes will fail, my inhibitions will evaporate, and I'll do something absolutely stupid.  That's one of several reasons that I don't drink.

[Jolimont]

"l'appel DU vide"

I love that you know that!

[Johnny Slick]

It's less impressive when you know the speech has to be approved beforehand, but it's still awesome.

I believe the government that governs best is the government that governs least. And by these standards, we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq.

I stand by this man. I stand by this man, because he stands for things. Not only for things, he stands on things, things like aircraft carriers and rubble and recently flooded city squares. And that sends a strong message, that no matter what happens to America, she will always rebound with the most powerfully staged photo-ops in the world.

See who we've got here tonight. We’ve got General Moseley, Air Force Chief of Staff. We’ve got General Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. They still support Rumsfeld. Right, you guys aren't retired yet, right? Right, they still support Rumsfeld.  Look, by the way, I've got a theory about how to handle these retired generals causing all this trouble: Don't let them retire! Come on, we've got a stop-loss program; let's use it on these guys. I've seen Zinni in that crowd on Wolf Blitzer. If you're strong enough to go on one of those pundit shows, you’re strong enough to stand on a bank of computers and order men into battle.

Mayor Nagin is here from New Orleans, the chocolate city! Yeah, give it up. Mayor Nagin, I'd like to welcome you to Washington, D.C., the chocolate city with a marshmallow center and a graham cracker crust of corruption.

It only makes me think that whoever did the preapproval hasn't gotten a raise in years.

Yeah, I remember watching that when it came out. Bush was seriously *not* amused. It looked like he was about to walk out a couple times except that would have been MASSIVELY rude to do at his own press correspondence dinner.