How good people turn evil...
Interesting interview in Wired, accompanied by some harrowing new photos from Abu Ghraib. The interview is with psychologist Philip Zimbardo, who, as Wired explains:
...conducted a now-famous experiment at Stanford University in 1971, involving students who posed as prisoners and guards. Five days into the experiment, Zimbardo halted the study when the student guards began abusing the prisoners, forcing them to strip naked and simulate sex acts.
His book, The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil, explores how a "perfect storm" of conditions can make ordinary people commit horrendous acts.
For more on the Stanford University prison experiment, Wikipedia (as always) is extremely helpful.
