MovieChat Forums > Project Nim (2011) Discussion > Herb the perv

Herb the perv

posted 12 years ago by jinmbean
5 replies | jump to latest

This project from the beginning was doomed cause Herb was in charge of it. It seems like the only reason why Herb was a professor was so that he could have a reason to still be in college and take advantage of young females during the time they are the most vulnerable. Like the one chick says in the beginning of the movie, something along the lines that she had creepy feelings when Herb was around. And here I thought that Columbia was a elite school of academics.

"We’re changing from a code 3, direct pursuit, to a code 347…completely lost due to incompetence"

[–] legendkillinpeopleschamp 12 years ago

He was creepy and stupid. He was so far off on so many issues and emotion thought it was annoying. He knew nothing abut Nim but thought he did.

[–] shanny_banany 12 years ago

What an incredible creep. How did this study ever get through an ethics review board, both for the safety of the human participants, and for the welfare of Nim himself? The fact that he was sexually involved with two of the females involved in the project is highly unethical, and would definitely have impacted the project. He can say all he likes that it didn't affect the project, but it seems like the whole project was just a big meat market to him. He even said something about how all the teachers were female.

[–] jinmbean 12 years ago

I forgot all about this shmuck until you just made a reply to my message and I was reminded about him. Anywho, I just did a search for him and find out he is still teaching at Columbia University. Those poor girls.

"We’re changing from a code 3, direct pursuit, to a code 347…completely lost due to incompetence"

[–] shanny_banany 12 years ago

That is disgusting. How, after such questionable, unethical behaviour, could he still be a credible teacher and researcher in the field of psychology? Columbia is supposed to have an esteemed reputation, and they keep someone in the faculty who clearly to this day has no regrets or ethical/moral qualms about spearheading a project that in the present day would be egregiously and blatantly unethical and actually, beyond that, immoral? Wow, he should be thankful for tenure, but even that shouldn't be bullet proof when your actions discredit you personally, and professionally, and besmirch the academic institution with which the research has affiliated itself. Also, that crap about him "changing his mind" about whether or not Nim was actually using language and sentences is bullhonky. Anyone could see that he was connecting the words with their meanings and actions and that is the basis of language. He just needed to undermine the research results because they were tainted by his horniness.

[–] clytamnestra 7 years ago

I think him 'changing his mind' was just so he could keep being the focus of attention. If he'd said 'we are still working on it' or 'the results are inconclusive' nobody would want to interview him for tv. But a professor who tells everyone 'i was wrong' is what journalists think people want to see ('haha, dumb professor')

It also neatly excluded him from the project: no need to stand up for Nim as he was sent of to animal testing. the experiment was concluded, a decision made. Up to the next batch of impressonable young girls with daddy-issues.