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Regarding your comments on "shared suffering," increasing group strength, I find it interesting that the original poster mentions, "And then at the end, some of us are going to go to Burning Man for training in desert survival and living in an emotionally positive community." I have heard many people comment that the shared hardships of the Playa (dust storms, wild temperature swings, alkaline corrosion of everything around, and paralyzing post-rain mud, to name a few) are much of what makes the community work as well as it does. Having attended last year, I'm inclined to agree, but would love to understand more concretely (data, research, ...) what aspects, if any, of Burner culture (gifting, for example?) can be causally linked to shared hardship.
Back on topic, wouldn't this be a great chance for a study on shared hardship? Put half of the participants on the top floor of a leaky dorm with no elevator and old, crummy utilities, and the other half in cushy appartments... maybe change locations halfway through, so the "advantage" is reversed.
Though I guess with only 10-15 participants, the amount of useful data will be limited.
In any case, if the organizers doesn't already know about the cohesion-inducing effects of shared hardship, they may well learn about them at Burning Man...