Plato's Cave

The Mountain

 

Timothy Leary’s 1985 software Mind Mirror

Here is bOING bOING patron saint Dr. Timothy Leary explaining Mind Mirror, the software he created in 1985 with Bob Dietz and Peter Van den Beemt. Published by Electronic Arts, Mind Mirror was a pop psychology role playing game where you could "try on" different personalities. The program was based on Tim's Harvard PhD thesis, "Interpersonal Diagnosis of Personality." You can download the software for free from various places and run it using a DOS emulator, or check out the "Mind Mirror Profiler" variation for Facebook.

 

per boingboing

Imaginary Foundation’s “The Undivided Mind” virtual art installation

Last year, our friends at the Imaginary Foundation opened an all-too-temporary art installation in San Francisco's Lower Haight district. Fortunately, they have now created an interactive virtual gallery to preserve this wonder of culture and chalk. From "The Undivided Mind": The Director of The Imaginary Foundation had longed dreamed of creating a physical environment to portray the wondrous intersection of Science and Art. Whilst fine-tuning his symmetrical harmony inducer one night, he remembered the words of Leonard Shlain that so eloquently describe this concept in his book, Art and Physics: Parallel Visions in Space, Time, and Light: "Of the many human disciplines, there are few that could seem more divergent than art and science. The artist employs image and metaphor; the scientist uses number and equation. Art creates illusions meant to evoke emotion, while science engages in the pursuit of empirical verification…"

 

per Boingboing

We Actually 'Become' Happy Vampires or Contented Wizards When Reading a Book

ScienceDaily (May 10, 2011) — Bad news for 'muggle' parents! A new study by psychologists at the University at Buffalo finds that we more or less "become" vampires or wizards just by reading about them.

The good news is that, although we might think our teeth are a little sharper after a session with "Twilight," reading satisfies a deeply felt need for human connection because we not only feel like the characters we read about but, psychologically speaking, become part of their world and derive emotional benefits from the experience.

"Becoming a Vampire Without Being Bitten: The Narrative Collective Assimilation Hypothesis," published in the current issue journal Psychological Science, presents research supporting the authors' hypothesis that by absorbing narratives, we can psychologically become a member of the group of characters described therein, a process that makes us feel connected to those characters and their social world.

Authors Shira Gabriel, PhD, associate professor of psychology at UB, and Ariana Young, a UB graduate student working in the field of social psychology, also found that the sense of belonging that results from assimilating narratives provokes the same feelings of satisfaction and happiness we would have if we actually were part of the world described.

"Social connection is a strong, human need," Gabriel says, "and anytime we feel connected to others, we feel good in general, and feel good about our lives. Our study results demonstrate that the assimilation of a narrative allows us to feel close to others in the comfort of our own space and at our own convenience.

"In our subjects, this led to a reported increase in life satisfaction and positive mood, which are two primary outcomes of belonging," she says.

To test their hypothesis Gabriel and Young asked 140 UB undergraduate students to read for 30 minutes from one of two popular books, "Twilight" and "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." Participants then completed a series of questionnaires that tested their conscious and unconscious responses to the narratives.

As predicted, on both conscious and unconscious measures, participants who read "Harry Potter" identified with the wizards and their world and those who read "Twilight" identified with the vampires and the realm they inhabited.

Their subjects not only connected with the characters or groups they read about, however. They adopted the behaviors, attitudes and traits that they could realistically approximate, leaving aside the bloodsucking and broomstick flying.

"This study suggests that books give us more than an opportunity to tune out and submerge ourselves in a fantasy world," Gabriel says.

"They give us a chance to feel like we belong to something bigger than us and to reap the benefits that result from being a part of that larger realm without having a 'real' social encounter."

She says, "When we enter the narrative (whether through a book, movie, radio or television show), we don't 'become' Harry or Edward, of course, but we do become a member of their world. That feels really good and it changes us."

"Research has found that when we are with a group of our 'real' friends, we shift our behavior to be more like them. We now know that this occurs when we read a book, as well," Young adds.

The New 3-D: Kinetic Movie Theater Seating

You know what the problem with a lot of movies coming out is? THEY BLOW. They were poorly written, grossly over-marketed, and suck nards. Not because they aren't watched in seats that move. But has that stopped D-Box (D-Bag's cardboard older brother) from developing 'kinetic motion theater chairs' to jiggle your ass when there's an explosion on screen? Sadly, it did not. Per Roger Ebert, who was clearly paid off or owns a stake in the company:

D-BOX Motion Code [technology] uses motion effects specifically programmed for each film, TV series or video game, which are sent to a motion generating system integrated within either a platform or a seat. The resulting motion is perfectly synchronized with all onscreen action, creating an unmatched realistic immersive experience.

Great, so not only am I gonna be pissed the movie sucked, but I'm gonna leave with motion sickness. God, whatever happened to making movies that don't rely on 3-D or some other shticky bullshit to be enjoyable? I miss those days. If I had a time machine I'd go back to then and see Nirvana in concert.

Would you go to the movies for a 'kinetic theater chair'? [dvice]

Thanks to Lucius, who likes his movie seats how he likes his fancy paper: stationary. Also, who had a birthday last night so today's writing is all his fault. GOD, YOU JUST HAD TO GET OLDER.

per Geekologie

Legendary psychedelic folk singer Linda Perhacs live at Cinefamily

Linda Perhacs is a California dentist who recorded a legendary psychedelic-folk record titled Parallelograms in 1970. The album was not a success and Perhacs returned to her dentistry practice. In 2000, she discovered to her surprise that 30 years after its release, Parallelograms had become the object of intense cult adulation, championed by musicians like Devendra Banhart and Kim Gordon.

Linda Perhacs will be performing at Cinefamily in Los Angles on August 14th at 7:30p.m.

The twinship between color and sound has captivated artists for centuries. Across film, dance, fine art and music, creators have long sought to convey the harmony between light, movement, and tone that reverberates through nature; it is this synesthetic vision that inspired turned psych-folk songstress Linda Perhacs to record her now mythic 1970 album “Parallelograms”. Crafting transcendental tonal illustrations within the seemingly simple trappings of late-’60s song structures, Linda plumbed the same well of inspiration that drove pioneering filmmakers to eschew representational cinema for a purer way of illustrating the symbiosis of the senses. Join us as we celebrate these visual and sonic explorers, with a rare live set from Ms. Perhacs and her band (featuring selections from “Parallelograms” and new material exclusively debuted at Cinefamily), as well as a selection of boundary-pushing cinema from the masters of the synesthetic form, new video works commissioned for the show, and live dance accompaniment from world-renowned dancer/choreographer Ryan Heffington!

per Dangerous Minds

Living Light: An Evening with Linda Perhacs & Friends from Cinefamily on Vimeo.