Breaching experiments

Some examples for discussion

 * 1) http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D05E4DF1130F937A2575AC0A9629C8B63 from the Wikipedia page
 * 2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RU7E_lXWVo
 * 3) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0x4HV4_KBPQ
 * 4) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYp3EA8Kjrg

The inexplicable do-gooder
(from Wikipedia) Earl Babbie wrote: "it is a social rule that ordinary citizens should not pick up garbage from the street, or mend street signs, or otherwise fix problems." Babbie claims that people have negative reactions when they see somebody fixing something that is not his/her "job" to fix; in some cases, altruism actions are viewed as personal intrusions.

Is Privatemusings an example of a "do-gooder" who performed an ethical breaching experiment by creating the Ethical Breaching Experiments page? The definition of "ethical breaching experiment" provided by Privatemusings said: "An experiment which causes no harm in its execution, whilst yielding results useful for the greater good, or which inspire positive change". The purpose of his project was stated to be an exploration of the possibility that ethical breaching experiments "might be designed and executed to best inform policy and practice on WMF projects".

Discussion
Should we view Ethical Breaching Experiments as a success if it can help us learn about the the extent to which Wikiversity participants are free to explore their personal learning goals?

Can we think of people such as Gandhi as performers of ethical breaching experiments? --JWSchmidt 20:54, 20 March 2010 (UTC)