In Andro Veritas

In Commentary And Analysis by GW46 Comments

From PLOS One, Testosterone Administration Reduces Lying in Men:

In a double-blind placebo-controlled study, 91 healthy men (24.32±2.73 years) received a transdermal administration of 50 mg of testosterone (n = 46) or a placebo (n = 45). Subsequently, subjects participated in a simple task, in which their payoff depended on the self-reported outcome of a die-roll. Subjects could increase their payoff by lying without fear of being caught. Our results show that testosterone administration substantially decreases lying in men.

Individuals were dosed with testosterone or placebo and asked to roll the die once, then were payed a few euros (or not) based on the results of that roll. The researchers evaluated honesty of each group based on the collective payouts. Interestingly, the "juiced" group was quite a bit more honest.

 

Now, far be it from me to point and smirk while "integrity of the game" types wrap their collective heads around the possibility that illegal steroid usage could make baseball a more honorable game on the field. I am convinced now more than ever, though, that in The Bizarro World, PEDs are legal and everyone is just as obnoxious and pious about their respective views on the matter. Sportwriters write long diatribes criticizing non-juicing Eckstein-types:

…some say he doesn't have the commitment to his team, rarely lifting weights after games and between innings… has a questionable moral compass as evidenced by the frequency with which he steals second, not having earned it with an extra base hit… instead of trying to hit the ball as far as possible as was intended by Doubleday, he occasionally taps it in front of home plate and tries to scamper to the first base…

Meanwhile, bizarro bloggers defend the collectively-bargained rights of the players not to use steroids, while suggesting that maybe it's time to hire an unbiased third party to make judgement calls about balls and strikes instead of relying on the honor system.

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  2. Rice Cube

    Were the juiced up honest folk angry at their low payouts? I guess I’ll read this paper later šŸ˜‰

    Also the Cubs should try to pluck away all the Pirates’ good prospects before they are all destroyed.

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  3. mb21

    ā€¦some say he doesn’t have the commitment to his team, rarely lifting weights after games and between inningsā€¦ has a questionable moral compass as evidenced by the frequency with which he steals second, not having earned it with an extra base hitā€¦ instead of trying to hit the ball as far as possible as was intended by Doubleday, he occasionally taps it in front of home plate and tries to scamper to the first baseā€¦

    (dying laughing)o(dying laughing)o(dying laughing)

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  9. mb21

    @ Aisle424:
    I don’t understand how they’re getting away with this. The Pirates cannot even argue that these people willingly signed on. Most of them did not. They were part of a system that puts them in one organization or another. They get no choice whatsoever. I’m not sure I’d care that much about it if those players actually had a choice, but they don’t. It’s bullshit and MLB needs to put a stop to it.

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  12. josh

    I mean, not everything they do has to be baseball related. Workouts rarely revolve around swinging bats and nothing but, b/c they build muscles that lend their body strength and balance and all that, but this is bizarre. My thinking is that they’re trying to take a page from the military playbook not so much in the workouts, but in unifying the team. I don’t know if there’s any credence to that theory, though. Being a member of the Pirates at all should provide plenty of pain to bond them together.

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  17. josh

    @ mikeakaleroy:
    I wonder how many SS’s would get stabbed before people realized that this shit was serious. My guess is three. The first would look like a fluke. The second would be a tragic coincidence. By three, SS’s would be knifing any runner who came close.

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  24. Aisle424

    Here is a completely non-baseball question, but one I’d really like some feedback on:

    What do you do with a pet’s ashes?

    We got Schultz’s ashes back and he’s been sitting on our bookshelf ever since as we try to figure out what to do. He was an indoor cat his whole life, so there is no place outside that has any special meaning to spread the ashes.

    So he just sits there in this stupid little plastic urn and every time I see it, I just get really sad. I have no clue what to do, so is anyone has ideas, I’d be grateful.

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  26. josh

    @ Aisle424:
    Well, if you’re like my mom with my grandmother’s ashes, you’ll keep them, but put them in a closet so you don’t get sad seeing them, then bring them out on Xmas and other special occasions until, several years later, you finally feel okay enough to leave them in an urn on the sideboard.

    Otherwise, I’m not sure. Locket? They made jewelry and stuff like that to keep that stuff, if you are sentimental. There’s always scattering, burying, or placing them in a decorative urn. Not much you can do about the pain, unfortunately.

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  27. Brett

    @ Aisle424:

    You can do the jewelry thing, if that isn’t too weird. A little easier to keep than an urn, but with the same connection.

    I’m sorry again about your loss, but I’m glad you shared it – we have three indoor cats and I’d never given a moment’s thought to what we were going to do at the end. Now I’m thinking and planning ahead. Thanks.

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  28. GBTS

    @ Aisle424:
    My parents planted a new tree in the back yard when my dog died and spread the ashes in the soil. It was symbolic because she was mostly an outdoor dog. A few months later a bunny gave birth in the yard and nested them right under the tree. My mom thought she had reincarnated into one of the baby bunnies in some beautiful circle-of-life moment. (I personally think it was karma because she fucking hated bunnies and had killed several in that yard. (dying laughing))

    So, yeah. Maybe you can think of a similar way to spread the ashes in a symbolic gesture of life. A tree or a plant is way less depressing to see every day than an urn.

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  30. GBTS

    @ Rice Cube:
    I was seriously kind of pissed at those bunnies though. Imagine if your mortal enemy hung out at your grave site for weeks after your death. They were just rubbing it in. Not cool. (dying laughing)

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  31. Rice Cube

    @ GBTS:

    We have many bunnies living around our neighborhood even though it’s so urban. I expect the squirrels and the rats and the birds, but the bunnies are actually a surprise to me. I wonder if they’re the good kind of bunny or the evil piss-on-your-dog’s-grave bunny.

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  32. Aisle424

    @ GBTS:

    I like that idea, but we live in a condo. My GF’s parents offered to have us bury/spread his ashes at their cottage in Lake Geneva, but that has no real connection to him. He visited a couple of times last year when we didn’t feel comfortable leaving him anymore, but that’s it.

    @ josh:

    i hadn’t thought of the locket idea. That’s something to think about. Not that I’d wear it or anything, but it’s more of a keepsake than an urn.

    Thanks, everyone, for the ideas.

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  33. Aisle424

    To change the subject, one of my friends pointed out the other day that we have talked a n awful lot about Uptons lately without posting this:

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