Obedience to Authority

This book explores the consequences of submission to authority and hierarchy. To understand the horrors of WWII and the holocaust, the author set-up shocking experiments to see how people would react to being ordered to zap people. At what point would subjects refuse to comply with the experiment. There were several variations to the experiment (which employed actors), but the results were startling.

This is the most entertaining scientific report I have ever read. I especially enjoyed learning about the distinction between obedience and conformity, also the effects of cybernetics, conscience, and voluntary entry.

Read this book to understand how people can do awful things under the guise of following orders.