You are wrong. Whether my force of will (or indifference to pain) is sufficient to keep the hand in there for more than 8 seconds, I do not know.

Okay. I would have expected you to flinch and hesitate before eventually succeeding in submerging you hand, but I'll take your word for it.

But Doug, many soldiers have volunteered for combat missions knowing that the decision to volunteer adds much more expected pain to the rest of their lives than sticking a hand in boiling water would. Moreover, many cancer patients have chosen chemo knowing that the decision adds much more expected pain than sticking a hand in boiling water would.

You're right about that; "avoid pain" certainly isn't the only goal people have, and other motivations can certainly lead someone to choose more pain over less pain, but I was pretty sure that it tends to be up there with "eat when hungry" as a basic animal drive.

/me shrugs

Of course, I'm sure you know a lot more about yourself than I do, so I think we've exhausted the topic at hand.