Apple Watch app tracks viewer heart rate spikes during 'Game of Thrones'
Fans of the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones are more excited by dialogue than by action scenes, according to a study by heart monitoring app Cardiogram of Apple Watch users.
Four out of the top five scenes to cause high pulse rates in viewers centered around drama between characters, rather than violence, the Cardiogram app found.
Three-hundred people were enrolled into the app's Cardiogram Habits feature, entitled "What Game of Thrones does to your Heart Rate." It reminded users to turn on continuous heart rate recording on their Apple Watch at 8:45pm on Sundays.
Approximately 2.3 million measurements were taken across the first four episodes of the current seventh season, with the high frequency of measurements allowing the startup to spot trends based on what was happening onscreen.
The event with the highest average pulse rate so far was Jamie Lannister's charge against Daenerys Targaryen and Drogon, an action scene that focused on conflict between two main characters, preceded by another scene concerning Tyrion Lannister's internal conflict. The scene achieved an average heart rate of 91 beats per minute, higher than the second-place moment by 8 beats per minute.
The opening scene of the first episode, where Arya Stark impersonates Walder Frey, including the "Tell them Winter came for House Frey" statement, caused the highest average pulse rate of all scenes that didn't include any major action: 83.2 beats per minute.
The third and fourth spots are tied at a slightly lower 83 beats per minute, with episode three's plea to Daenerys by Davos Seaworth and John Snow matching the first episode's proposal by Euron Greyjoy to marry Cersei Lannister. Lastly, fifth place went to Daenerys's questioning spymaster Varys's loyalty in episode two, scoring an average of 76 beats per minute.
An anonymized graph showing the measured heart rate for one viewer
The findings, where dramatic dialogue-driven scenes dominate compared to high budget and violent action scenes, seems to correlate with "A Song of Ice and Fire" author George RR Martin's own beliefs in the matter. Martin often refers to a quote from William Faulkner in that the "only thing worth writing about is the human heart in conflict with itself," a phrase used as a guiding principle in his writing.
Co-founded by Brandon Ballinger and Johnson Hsieh, Cardiogram aims to provide more details about a user's heart as they go through their day, with the app monitoring the heart rate every five minutes for norma, activities, with a more detailed view provided for workouts. The app can also be used to collect health data that can then be provided to medical researchers.
In May, research by Cardiogram and the University of California, San Francisco, revealed it was possible to detect atrial fibrillation, a common heart arrhythmia that could cause a stroke, with a 97 percent accuracy using the Apple Watch's heart rate sensor. The study involved the development of an artificial intelligence-based algorithm by Cardiogram called DeepHeart, software that could become more accurate in detecting atrial fibrillation over time.
Four out of the top five scenes to cause high pulse rates in viewers centered around drama between characters, rather than violence, the Cardiogram app found.
Three-hundred people were enrolled into the app's Cardiogram Habits feature, entitled "What Game of Thrones does to your Heart Rate." It reminded users to turn on continuous heart rate recording on their Apple Watch at 8:45pm on Sundays.
Approximately 2.3 million measurements were taken across the first four episodes of the current seventh season, with the high frequency of measurements allowing the startup to spot trends based on what was happening onscreen.
The event with the highest average pulse rate so far was Jamie Lannister's charge against Daenerys Targaryen and Drogon, an action scene that focused on conflict between two main characters, preceded by another scene concerning Tyrion Lannister's internal conflict. The scene achieved an average heart rate of 91 beats per minute, higher than the second-place moment by 8 beats per minute.
The opening scene of the first episode, where Arya Stark impersonates Walder Frey, including the "Tell them Winter came for House Frey" statement, caused the highest average pulse rate of all scenes that didn't include any major action: 83.2 beats per minute.
The third and fourth spots are tied at a slightly lower 83 beats per minute, with episode three's plea to Daenerys by Davos Seaworth and John Snow matching the first episode's proposal by Euron Greyjoy to marry Cersei Lannister. Lastly, fifth place went to Daenerys's questioning spymaster Varys's loyalty in episode two, scoring an average of 76 beats per minute.
An anonymized graph showing the measured heart rate for one viewer
The findings, where dramatic dialogue-driven scenes dominate compared to high budget and violent action scenes, seems to correlate with "A Song of Ice and Fire" author George RR Martin's own beliefs in the matter. Martin often refers to a quote from William Faulkner in that the "only thing worth writing about is the human heart in conflict with itself," a phrase used as a guiding principle in his writing.
Co-founded by Brandon Ballinger and Johnson Hsieh, Cardiogram aims to provide more details about a user's heart as they go through their day, with the app monitoring the heart rate every five minutes for norma, activities, with a more detailed view provided for workouts. The app can also be used to collect health data that can then be provided to medical researchers.
In May, research by Cardiogram and the University of California, San Francisco, revealed it was possible to detect atrial fibrillation, a common heart arrhythmia that could cause a stroke, with a 97 percent accuracy using the Apple Watch's heart rate sensor. The study involved the development of an artificial intelligence-based algorithm by Cardiogram called DeepHeart, software that could become more accurate in detecting atrial fibrillation over time.
Comments
People often write what they think the research company is looking for, but the heart rates don't lie!
Jaime's charge was epic. A shield wall doesn't fare well against a cavalry charge supported by a 75' aerial napalm thrower...
Edit: BTW, when I rewound that shot I had asked Siri, "What did he say?" so the subtitles were on. Interestingly, the subtitles were correct and said "cavalry".
Part of the trouble is that the pharmaceutical industry suppresses such research because it might threaten the market for their pills. So they insist the only valid research is through a "double blind, random controlled trial" that usually uses a handful of people for a short period of time -- but costs multiple millions to conduct.
Since getting my apple watch, I periodically look at my heart rate over time and I can tell you my heart rate is at its lowest watching tv, I watch tv to decompress from the day not to get all excited. Tv shows are mindless entertainment not something to get excited about. I think people live through what they see on tv verses experiencing it directly.
It is a great humanistic treatment of the human condition couched as a fantasy. It has allowed middle aged men to have discussions of dragons like excited girls.
I personally like the treatment of religion (& the nudity but there is less of that in the latter seasons).
The show does embrace unbridled cruelty and at times I have throught that is was misogynistic. But in the show's defense it is an equal opportunity employer with as much cruelty directed against men.
As for best show ever? There are some contenders to that throne. Personally for me, nothing tops Breaking Bad. Though the Sopranos and the Wire are overall great.
Tell your wife there are women in the show who are making big money showing women being demean, and they would not dress like they do in the show if they thought it demeans women. Her real issue should we with the women in the show since they are allowing themselves to be paid big bucks to do what your wife does not like about the show.