ROFL – I actually did condition myself to a phone ring once. Most people don’t know this, but with land lines the ring of a phone was generated by a central ringer, and the phone rang at designated intervals, regardless of when the connection was actually made. Thus, often the connection was made, and it was a few seconds before the phone actually rang, making it possible to answer the phone, usually accidentally, before it rang.
In college I had a phone that made a (barely) audible “click” when the connection was made. I made a bet with my roommate that over the course of a year I could answer the phone more times before the phone range than after. I won, but with the result that I was strongly conditioned. The phone would click while three people in the room were talking, and I’d still hear it, and dive across the room. People thought I was nuts, but there was someone there.
It took about three years before I could respond normally to a phone ringing. At first, when a phone would ring, I would literally leap out of my chair, and couldn’t stop myself. To break it, I forced myself to listen to the phone ring at least three times before I answered.
ROFL – I actually did condition myself to a phone ring once. Most people don’t know this, but with land lines the ring of a phone was generated by a central ringer, and the phone rang at designated intervals, regardless of when the connection was actually made. Thus, often the connection was made, and it was a few seconds before the phone actually rang, making it possible to answer the phone, usually accidentally, before it rang.
In college I had a phone that made a (barely) audible “click” when the connection was made. I made a bet with my roommate that over the course of a year I could answer the phone more times before the phone range than after. I won, but with the result that I was strongly conditioned. The phone would click while three people in the room were talking, and I’d still hear it, and dive across the room. People thought I was nuts, but there was someone there.
It took about three years before I could respond normally to a phone ringing. At first, when a phone would ring, I would literally leap out of my chair, and couldn’t stop myself. To break it, I forced myself to listen to the phone ring at least three times before I answered.