Hacker News Reader

I don't. I think some people will, depending (as I said) on the acting. The research is about how people behave.

We live in the age, well the seeming end of the age, of superhero movies being a global phenomenon. I can't think of a single person who would see someone dressed as a superhero and think they were mentally unwell let alone a threat.

Maybe it's a lack of imagination on my part but other than some people sneering at "nerds doing nerd shit" this doesn't hold at all for me.

You're imagining someone genuinely doing cosplay, not someone, who may not be a perfect actor, trying to pull that off, and also stick to experiment protocol.

AFAIK, many (most?) people can pick up on subtle cues that something is off in that person's behavior, in their expressions, body language, how and where they look and don't, etc. And the experiment intentionally draws bystanders' attention, so many of those cues will in their sight.

Perhaps this is another "further research".

Reply on news.ycombinator.com