Ogi Ogas
Encyclopedia
Dr. Ogi Jonathan Ogas is a cognitive neuroscientist
, science book author, and game show
contestant.
, involved in an educational program designed to prepare technologists for work in America's anti-terrorism effort. The Department of Homeland Security funded his doctoral program at Boston University
in Cognitive & Neural Systems.
that aired on November 8, 2006, using his cognitive science research to guide his game strategy.
Ogas had a quite strong hunch on his $1,000,000 question about the Boston Tea Party
(shown), tentatively eliminating three of the choices, but ultimately decided to walk away because of the large amount of money at risk ($475,000 of his $500,000). His hunch was correct. Since playing, he has appeared 22 times as the syndicated show's "Ask The Expert" Lifeline.
Ogas was also a contestant on Grand Slam, which aired in August and September 2007. He stated that after feeling the intense emotional pressure on Millionaire, he developed a new suite of cognitive techniques for Grand Slam, including calming techniques as well as mathematical, verbal, and mnemonic heuristics derived from his brain research. He defeated former Millionaire contestant Nancy Christy in his first-round game, and defeated then all-time game show winnings record holder and Jeopardy!
champion Brad Rutter
in his second round of play. Ogas then defeated David Legler in the semifinals before losing to Ken Jennings
in the final.
Adult, a division of Penguin Books
, ISBN 978-0525952091).
The book was marketed as a study on "the private activities of millions of men and women around the world, unveiling a revolutionary and shocking new vision of human desire that overturns conventional thinking" by "two maverick neuroscientists" who used "the world's largest psychology experiment--the Internet" for their research. A Billion Wicked Thoughts originally had the working title of Rule 34: What Netporn Teaches Us About The Brain.
Prior to publication, the book and its authors received criticism for their non-standard research methodology, aspects of their core premise, and lack of institutional review
. Two of the most common critiques were that a survey which was to be used for data in the book had been changed while results were still being gathered; and that that same survey included questions about sexual and illegal activities, but that legal minors were able to access and take the survey. Also, none of the research for the book was ever brought before an Institutional Review Board
, which would have studied the ethics of the research protocol. The authors addressed this after publication, saying, "IRB oversight applies to human subjects research with federal funding, or that takes place at an institution with federal funding. We intentionally conducted our research outside of academia, without federal funding, in order to remain independent from the fierce tempest of ideological, social, and political pressures that besets the contemporary study of sexuality."
Upon publication of the book, it received positive reviews as well as additional critique of its premise, research methodology, and marketing. One review discussed the research's scope, "The researchers wrote a computer program to capture sexual queries in publicly listed catalogs of Web searches. They later categorized the searches and did some number crunching. They estimate that their research reflects the online behavior of 100 million people. The survey also avoids the usual guinea pigs: undergrads looking for college credit. There are limitations to this mode of sex research, though. The results reflect people's fantasies -- not necessarily sexual acts that they engage in. Also, it's worth keeping in mind that this data exposes the erotic minds of those who seek out titillation on the Web; we don't hear from those who explore their sexual imagination offline." Other reviews are more enthusiastic. "In what is claimed to be the largest experiment ever, two neuroscience PhDs from Boston University, Ogi Ogas and Sai Gaddam, analyzed a billion web searches, a million web sites, a million erotic videos, millions of personal ads, thousands of digital romance novels, and combined it all with cutting-edge neuroscience." Other discussions of the research methods question the integrity of the author's use of the scientific method.
Cognitive neuroscience
Cognitive neuroscience is an academic field concerned with the scientific study of biological substrates underlying cognition, with a specific focus on the neural substrates of mental processes. It addresses the questions of how psychological/cognitive functions are produced by the brain...
, science book author, and game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
contestant.
Life and works
Ogas was one of the first Homeland Security Fellows of the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, involved in an educational program designed to prepare technologists for work in America's anti-terrorism effort. The Department of Homeland Security funded his doctoral program at Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
in Cognitive & Neural Systems.
| $1 Million (15 of 15) - No Time Limit | |
| Which of these ships was not one of the three taken over by colonists during the Boston Tea Party? | |
| • A: Eleanor | • B: Dartmouth |
| • C: Beaver | • D: William |
| Ogas's $1,000,000 question | |
Game Show Appearance
Ogas won $500,000 on an episode of Who Wants to Be a MillionaireWho Wants to Be a Millionaire (US game show)
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is an American television quiz show which offers a maximum prize of $1,000,000 for correctly answering 14 consecutive multiple-choice questions of random difficulty. Until 2010, the format required contestants to correctly answer 15 consecutive questions of increasing...
that aired on November 8, 2006, using his cognitive science research to guide his game strategy.
Ogas had a quite strong hunch on his $1,000,000 question about the Boston Tea Party
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a direct action by colonists in Boston, a town in the British colony of Massachusetts, against the British government and the monopolistic East India Company that controlled all the tea imported into the colonies...
(shown), tentatively eliminating three of the choices, but ultimately decided to walk away because of the large amount of money at risk ($475,000 of his $500,000). His hunch was correct. Since playing, he has appeared 22 times as the syndicated show's "Ask The Expert" Lifeline.
Ogas was also a contestant on Grand Slam, which aired in August and September 2007. He stated that after feeling the intense emotional pressure on Millionaire, he developed a new suite of cognitive techniques for Grand Slam, including calming techniques as well as mathematical, verbal, and mnemonic heuristics derived from his brain research. He defeated former Millionaire contestant Nancy Christy in his first-round game, and defeated then all-time game show winnings record holder and Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
champion Brad Rutter
Brad Rutter
Bradford Gates "Brad" Rutter is the biggest all-time money winner on the U.S. syndicated game show Jeopardy! and the second biggest all-time money winner on a game show....
in his second round of play. Ogas then defeated David Legler in the semifinals before losing to Ken Jennings
Ken Jennings
Kenneth Wayne "Ken" Jennings III is an American game show contestant and author. Jennings is noted for holding the record for the longest winning streak on the U.S. syndicated game show Jeopardy! and as being the all-time leading money winner on American game shows...
in the final.
Book: A Billion Wicked Thoughts
May 2011 saw the release of a pop-psychology book by Dr. Ogas and his colleague Dr. Sai Gaddam, A Billion Wicked Thoughts: What the World's Largest Experiment Reveals about Human Desire (DuttonDutton Penguin
Dutton Penguin is an American book publisher, established in 1986 when its precursor E.P. Dutton was split by its owner the Penguin Group into Dutton Penguin and Dutton Children's Books.-Overview:...
Adult, a division of Penguin Books
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
, ISBN 978-0525952091).
The book was marketed as a study on "the private activities of millions of men and women around the world, unveiling a revolutionary and shocking new vision of human desire that overturns conventional thinking" by "two maverick neuroscientists" who used "the world's largest psychology experiment--the Internet" for their research. A Billion Wicked Thoughts originally had the working title of Rule 34: What Netporn Teaches Us About The Brain.
Prior to publication, the book and its authors received criticism for their non-standard research methodology, aspects of their core premise, and lack of institutional review
Institutional review board
An institutional review board , also known as an independent ethics committee or ethical review board , is a committee that has been formally designated to approve, monitor, and review biomedical and behavioral research involving humans with the aim to protect the rights and welfare of the...
. Two of the most common critiques were that a survey which was to be used for data in the book had been changed while results were still being gathered; and that that same survey included questions about sexual and illegal activities, but that legal minors were able to access and take the survey. Also, none of the research for the book was ever brought before an Institutional Review Board
Institutional review board
An institutional review board , also known as an independent ethics committee or ethical review board , is a committee that has been formally designated to approve, monitor, and review biomedical and behavioral research involving humans with the aim to protect the rights and welfare of the...
, which would have studied the ethics of the research protocol. The authors addressed this after publication, saying, "IRB oversight applies to human subjects research with federal funding, or that takes place at an institution with federal funding. We intentionally conducted our research outside of academia, without federal funding, in order to remain independent from the fierce tempest of ideological, social, and political pressures that besets the contemporary study of sexuality."
Upon publication of the book, it received positive reviews as well as additional critique of its premise, research methodology, and marketing. One review discussed the research's scope, "The researchers wrote a computer program to capture sexual queries in publicly listed catalogs of Web searches. They later categorized the searches and did some number crunching. They estimate that their research reflects the online behavior of 100 million people. The survey also avoids the usual guinea pigs: undergrads looking for college credit. There are limitations to this mode of sex research, though. The results reflect people's fantasies -- not necessarily sexual acts that they engage in. Also, it's worth keeping in mind that this data exposes the erotic minds of those who seek out titillation on the Web; we don't hear from those who explore their sexual imagination offline." Other reviews are more enthusiastic. "In what is claimed to be the largest experiment ever, two neuroscience PhDs from Boston University, Ogi Ogas and Sai Gaddam, analyzed a billion web searches, a million web sites, a million erotic videos, millions of personal ads, thousands of digital romance novels, and combined it all with cutting-edge neuroscience." Other discussions of the research methods question the integrity of the author's use of the scientific method.
External links
- A Billion Wicked Thoughts blog by Drs. Ogas and Gaddam at the Psychology TodayPsychology TodayPsychology Today is a bi-monthly magazine published in the United States. It is a psychology-based magazine about relationships, health, and related topics written for a mass audience of non-psychologists. Psychology Today was founded in 1967 and features articles on such topics as love,...
website.