📚 1 Books mentioned in "Selects: The Three Christs of Ypsilanti Experiment | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW" of Stuff You Should Know

Stuff You Should Know

Podcast: Stuff You Should Know

Episode: Selects: The Three Christs of Ypsilanti Experiment | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW

Published on January 1, 2025

Here’s a list of all the books mentioned in this episode. Click on the links to watch specific excerpts on YouTube and feel free to purchase the books if they caught your interest!

The three Christs of Ypsilanti Cover

The three Christs of Ypsilanti

by Milton Rokeach

Buy The three Christs of Ypsilanti by Milton Rokeach on Amazon

For some reason, I thought I read the book, but I don't think I did.

Chuck reminisces about thinking he had read the book related to the 'Three Christs of Ypsilanti' experiment, but he now believes that he hasn't.

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I think we just covered the book in college in a psychology class.

Chuck recalls that the book, 'The Three Christs of Ypsilanti' by Milton Rokeach, was covered in his psychology class during college, implicitly referring to the source material for the study.

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There's a quote here from the book, and big thanks to Dave Ruse for putting this one together; I know this was a huge—it’s a tough one to wrangle.

Josh mentions that they will share a quote from 'The Three Christs of Ypsilanti', a book about the experiment involving three men who believed they were Jesus Christ.

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But he's a famous poet at the time, and he was basically saying like, 'You know, surely, Rokeach, the guy who's writing the book, will understand that the character, this doctor, is like out of his mind.'

Josh discusses a poet's insights, suggesting that Milton Rokeach, the author of 'The Three Christs of Ypsilanti', is expected to recognize the insanity of a character in his writing.

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In his book, he also talked about being inspired a little bit by some stuff that Valer wrote about it, right?

Chuck discusses Rokeach's book, which addresses the inspiration behind his experiments, including references to writings by Valer.

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The entire situation was sad from the start, but there was a passage in the book where Leon receives a letter, and R realizes he’s holding back tears.

In this segment, Josh discusses a passage from 'The Three Christs of Ypsilanti,' describing a moment when Leon receives a letter, which evokes strong emotions, illustrating the personal struggles tied to the broader context of the experiment.

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Despite a lack of closure, the book was published in 1964, achieving significant success in psychology, though it faced immediate backlash.

Josh discusses a book published in 1964 that found success in the psychology field but experienced immediate backlash.

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In a new foreword, he admitted to suffering from god-like delusions himself, fully recognizing he had played God with these men, and expressed regret for publishing the original study.

Josh discusses how Milton Rokeach wrote a new foreword for the re-release of 'The Three Christs of Ypsilanti', in which he acknowledges his own god-like delusions and expresses regret for the original study.

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He made an admission in the book, stating, 'We do not know to what extent our very presence, behavior, and questions may have influenced the results obtained,' which is an odd thing to claim since the primary goal of the experiment was to exert influence over the participants.

Josh discusses an admission made in 'The Three Christs of Ypsilanti', where it is claimed that the presence and behavior of the researchers might have influenced the results of the experiment. This raises questions given that the aim of the experiment was to influence the participants.

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