James Carroll’S Aug. 6 op-ed “Dark fantasy in action: Does hyper-realism break down the mental barriers to violence?” was well thought-out and well-written. But it was just that: an opinion. Why do we continue to speculate based on anecdotal evidence when we could test our ideas scientifically?
It’s possible that lurid movies and video games really do pave the way for violent acts. But until Carroll shows me a peer-reviewed study with an appreciable data set, I’m not ready to decide.