Zen and the art of Brain Scanning

[andrewducker]

The BBC has an article about a group of scientists who produced images of what the brain looks like during meditation.

I'm fascinated by this kind of thing, partially due to my fascination with the brain in general, and the advances that are steadily being made in understanding it, and partially because meditation is a particularly interesting topic.

There's a group of people in David Brin's book Earth who, through judicious use of EEGs have learnt to control bits of their brain to induce feelings of intense pleasure.

This kind of thing is being used to control ADD at the oment, and I've read a fair bit about people being able to consciously manipulate the levels of brainwaves through use of EEGs, but unfortunately I've never had the spare cash to get hold of one.

One of these days...

Comments

Slumming

[andrewducker]

Slumming, to me, implies going to somewhere downmarket in order to feel superior to those around you and enjoy things which are beneath you.

I wouldn't associate that with tripping at all. I'd associate tripping with inner exploration and seeing the sites. More like visiting the Grand Canyon than going through the Bronx.

Re: Slumming

[broin.livejournal.com]

'Slumming it' in the sense that you'd like to get a certain experience for free. Sort of like... taking a vacation in schizophrenia or obsessve compulsion, just for a laugh, when other people have to actually *deal* with it.

People who've tripped have never, ever convinced me they've gone through anything more exciting than a monster movie and a box of popcorn. It seems to me to an excuse, mostly, to have a certain kind of psychological experience. What confuses me is that people who trip don't seem to truly grasp the exciting things they can do for free, inside (or indeed, outside), their own heads.

It's like... rather than go for a walk, they'd sooner explore a level of Quake. Sure, great level design, and the textures are pretty, but... bit bland.

Re: Slumming

[andrewducker]

'Slumming it' in the sense that you'd like to get a certain experience for free.

So if I go for a walk for free, the walk doesn't count?

It seems to me to an excuse, mostly, to have a certain kind of psychological experience.

It's no an excuse. It's a method of having a certain kind of psychological experience. Like listening to music is, or having sex is, or watching a movie is, or pretty much everything else in life is.

It's like... rather than go for a walk, they'd sooner explore a level of Quake. Sure, great level design, and the textures are pretty, but... bit bland.

I like Quake. It's fun and cool and provides a certain kind of experience which sometimes I want. And sometimes I'd rather go for a walk. They're both cool, fun experiences. And so is tripping. I don't see why any of them are better or worse experiences, they're just all different.