"And the program was developed in large part by behavioral scientists who were working with the military, who do everything they possibly can to measure a soldier's stress levels to see how they're doing physically and emotionally, as they go through this program"
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Mayer’s sentence reads like an autopsy report on a well-branded idea. The point isn’t simply that “behavioral scientists” helped build a program; it’s that the program’s legitimacy is being smuggled in under the aura of military rigor and biomedical precision. “Developed in large part” signals real institutional involvement, not a casual consultation. “Working with the military” lands as both credential and warning: the military is where research gets funded, operationalized, and normalized fast, often before civilians have a chance to debate the ethics.
The subtext is about surveillance disguised as care. Measuring “a soldier’s stress levels” sounds humane, even protective, until you hear what it implies: bodies and emotions turned into dashboards, readiness reduced to metrics. Mayer’s phrasing, “do everything they possibly can,” hints at an appetite for total capture - physiological, psychological, continuous. “To see how they’re doing physically and emotionally” is careful, almost soothing language, but it sits atop a system designed for performance management, not therapy. The soldier isn’t just being helped; they’re being assessed.
Context matters: Mayer is a journalist known for tracing the plumbing between power, money, and expertise. Here, she’s mapping how tools built for battlefield optimization migrate into civilian “programs” with a softer name. The sentence works because it doesn’t moralize; it stacks details until the reader feels the chill. You can almost hear the pitch deck: resilience, wellness, outcomes - backed by science, hardened by war.
The subtext is about surveillance disguised as care. Measuring “a soldier’s stress levels” sounds humane, even protective, until you hear what it implies: bodies and emotions turned into dashboards, readiness reduced to metrics. Mayer’s phrasing, “do everything they possibly can,” hints at an appetite for total capture - physiological, psychological, continuous. “To see how they’re doing physically and emotionally” is careful, almost soothing language, but it sits atop a system designed for performance management, not therapy. The soldier isn’t just being helped; they’re being assessed.
Context matters: Mayer is a journalist known for tracing the plumbing between power, money, and expertise. Here, she’s mapping how tools built for battlefield optimization migrate into civilian “programs” with a softer name. The sentence works because it doesn’t moralize; it stacks details until the reader feels the chill. You can almost hear the pitch deck: resilience, wellness, outcomes - backed by science, hardened by war.
Quote Details
| Topic | Military & Soldier |
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