Genovese was born in Spain at the end of 1923, just in time for the Civil War, and saw with his own eyes how humans killed each other. After the war, his family moved to Mexico, where he went to college and specialized in anthropology. He had previously participated in Thor Heyerdahl's Ra expedition, the reed boat crossing the Atlantic Ocean, which made him addicted to group behavior in isolation.
In 1973, when he was 50 years old, he just wanted to do some big news, he designed the Aquarius experiment. Aquarius is Navatal, meaning "house on water", the shell is steel shell, 12 meters wide 7 meters long, space is poorly small, no engine, all relying on wind and ocean flow.
Genovese advertised in the newspaper to recruit people with strict conditions: good health, a bit of culture, and good appearance. He received hundreds of applications and selected six women and four men. These people were in their twenties, from Sweden, Japan, the United States, Israel, France, Angola, etc., and their occupations were captains, doctors, photographers, and students. Add in the old man himself, and it becomes a combination of 5 men and 6 women.
The idea of the experiment is actually quite distorted. Genovese wanted to simulate extreme environments to see if sexual tension and limited resources would lead to fights. He prepared food, water, alcohol for 100 days, as well as contraceptives to encourage everyone to be casual. It is stipulated that swimsuits should be worn after boarding the boat, women should be in charge, men should obey orders, and men and women should lie next to each other when sleeping.
He felt that this would amplify his instinctive impulses, and he also installed cameras to monitor him from a distance, so as to avoid too much interference. But in reality, he was on board from start to finish, recording everything himself. This experiment began on May 12, 1973, from the port of Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, targeting Mexico, and is expected to drift for 101 days.
At the beginning of the voyage, everyone adapted to that state of freedom, and there were intimate contacts, but no conflicts occurred. Genovese waited for several days, but when he saw no signs of violence, he began to intervene. He sent out a questionnaire and first asked some mild questions, such as who he liked most, and later upgraded it to who he hated most and who he wanted to kill. He also held a meeting to read the answers in public, hoping to stir up trouble.
Sometimes he deliberately sends people to interrupt others' intimacy, or write letters to expose who is related to who. But these tricks were seen through by everyone, and the volunteers didn't take the bait. Instead, they gathered together to deal with him. In the questionnaire, many people directly wrote that Genovese was the one they hated the most. This makes him quite depressed, because his assumption is that sex will lead to contention and violence. As a result, everyone gets along like a circle of friends, and occasional emotional entanglements quickly settle down.
About halfway through the voyage, about 70 days later, there was an episode. They caught a baby shark, and some wanted to kill it to eat protein supplements, while others thought it was too cruel. The argument was fierce, but we didn't do anything. Finally, everyone sat down to chat and voted to release the animal. This disappointed Genovese, and he had hoped it would ignite the powder keg. In the later period, resources began to be tight and food was in short supply, so everyone had to save food. The rudder broke twice and the raft swayed unsteadily in the sea.
Genovese himself went down the water, inexperienced, almost drowned, was others pulled him up. This rescue grace did not let him take his hand, he continued to mess up. Satellites showed hurricanes, the captain Maria suggested to go to the nearby island to hide, Genovese did not agree, also withdrew her position, insisted on moving forward.
During the process, the volunteers became increasingly disgusted with Genovese and even discussed how to get rid of him, such as tying him up and throwing him into the sea or using a knife to solve it. But in the end, they did not act and remained rational. I stopped in Barbados once during the voyage to replenish supplies and continued on.
Genovese knew through the radio that the university broke his relationship with him, and the media said he had made a bad deal, and the experiment was accused of being anti-human.On August 21, 1973, the fox finally arrived at Cosumer Island, which lasted 101 days.
The experimental results were completely messed up. Genovese wanted to prove that sex was the root cause of violence, but the results proved the opposite: when resources were sufficient and there was no external pressure, people were more likely to cooperate than fight. The volunteers showed tolerance and rationality and united in the face of crises. As soon as this matter was exposed, Genovese was sprayed with blood from all walks of life.
Some people say his design is flawed and too much interference makes the data invalid; others accuse him of being irresponsible and throwing people in dangerous environments, almost killing people. The police also investigated him, and although he was not convicted, his reputation fell into disrepute. He was not convinced and wanted to do it again. He received a lot of registrations, but in a fit of anger, he tore up the plan and never mentioned it again.
Genovese later wrote a book called "The Akali Experiment: Five Men and Six Women Crossing the Atlantic in 101 Days", which recorded data and observations. However, the book did not change public opinion, and everyone felt that this experimental ethics was untenable. Treating people as guinea pigs, ignoring safety, and imposing assumptions is regarded as a negative example in the scientific community. This matter also exposes the boundaries of anthropological research. It is right to explore human nature, but you cannot risk living people.
Genovese the man, ambitious but methodically extreme, early years of adventure gave him a taste of sweet hair, thinking that it could replicate success, and resulted in the head. He later out of the circle, died on September 5, 2013, at the age of 89. Volunteers, after returning home, continue to live, some become doctors, some photography, not because of this incident destroyed the future.
The experiment failed, but left a little left. It made people think that in the closed space, people are not beasts, but can control themselves. Sexual desire exists, but does not necessarily trigger war; on the contrary, external interference is easy to create trouble. Ginnovies had wanted to find the key to world peace, and the result proved that peace and reliance is communication, not isolation.
Overall, although this experiment is called the most evil, it exposes the dark side of scientific fanaticism. Genovese is not a bad person, but his method is wrong and leads to chaos. As a result, people did not lose their humanity, but found some peace at sea. This tells us that human nature is complex and the environment determines behavior. Without his interference, it might be more boring, but it would also be safer. Scientific progress relies on rigour, not risk. Looking at it now, this story is like a warning not to use curiosity as an excuse to harm people.