26 replies to this topic

[Live Forever]

http://www.autoadvic...raindisease.htm

8 different brain diseases that give you powers beyond normal humans. Things like photographic memory and savantism. My favorite is number 7, though. (Persistent Sexual Arousal Syndrome)

[basho]

Number 2 was fascinating:

Tertiary Neurosyphilis

Tertiary neurosyphilis, is the most interesting form of syphilis from a cultural point of view. Just before the onset of paralysis, the sufferer is beset with delusions of grandeur, a sense of understanding everything, a sense that he is on the verge of some monumental discovery which will forever change the course of history, as well as a sense that some divine electricity is coursing through his veins. Since in this preliminary stage of tertiary syphilis, powers of expression are not impaired, a syphilitic who is also an artist may well produce a work of art that reflects this state of mind or, rather, this state of brain. Bob Summers felt that “King of Tetch” was just this kind of work. Wilhelm Reich felt that he had unlocked the secrets of the universe with the discovery of orgone energy, something that could now be accumulated in his orgone boxes, which would make power stations unnecessary. Hayden feels that Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony was composed under these circumstances, after syphilis had destroyed Beethoven’s hearing and was in the process of destroying his brain as well. “Seid umschlungen Millionen!” The grandiosity of Schiller’s poem is matched by the grandiosity of Beethoven’s musical score, which, at least in terms of the Ode to Joy chorus, is based on a moronic melody (melody was never Beethoven’s strong suit anyway), as the film Dearly Beloved makes clear. The brain of the syphilitic approaching general paralysis of the insane is like the light bulb that grows brighter just before it burns out completely. The syphilitic experiences, in Hayden’s words,

"episodes of creative euphoria, electrified, joyous energy when grandiosity led to a new vision. The heightened perception, dazzling insights, and almost mystical knowledge experienced during this time were expressed while precision of form of expression was still possible. At the end of the 19th century, it was believed that, in rare instances, syphilis could produce genius."

I wonder if this this experience could be temporarily reproduced through some safe means other than contracting syphilis? Transcranial magnetic stimulation perhaps?

[Live Forever]

Number 2 was fascinating:

Tertiary Neurosyphilis

Tertiary neurosyphilis, is the most interesting form of syphilis from a cultural point of view. Just before the onset of paralysis, the sufferer is beset with delusions of grandeur, a sense of understanding everything, a sense that he is on the verge of some monumental discovery which will forever change the course of history, as well as a sense that some divine electricity is coursing through his veins. Since in this preliminary stage of tertiary syphilis, powers of expression are not impaired, a syphilitic who is also an artist may well produce a work of art that reflects this state of mind or, rather, this state of brain. Bob Summers felt that “King of Tetch” was just this kind of work. Wilhelm Reich felt that he had unlocked the secrets of the universe with the discovery of orgone energy, something that could now be accumulated in his orgone boxes, which would make power stations unnecessary. Hayden feels that Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony was composed under these circumstances, after syphilis had destroyed Beethoven’s hearing and was in the process of destroying his brain as well. “Seid umschlungen Millionen!” The grandiosity of Schiller’s poem is matched by the grandiosity of Beethoven’s musical score, which, at least in terms of the Ode to Joy chorus, is based on a moronic melody (melody was never Beethoven’s strong suit anyway), as the film Dearly Beloved makes clear. The brain of the syphilitic approaching general paralysis of the insane is like the light bulb that grows brighter just before it burns out completely. The syphilitic experiences, in Hayden’s words,

"episodes of creative euphoria, electrified, joyous energy when grandiosity led to a new vision. The heightened perception, dazzling insights, and almost mystical knowledge experienced during this time were expressed while precision of form of expression was still possible. At the end of the 19th century, it was believed that, in rare instances, syphilis could produce genius."

I wonder if this this experience could be temporarily reproduced through some safe means other than contracting syphilis? Transcranial magnetic stimulation perhaps?

I would think that once we have a better understanding of the brain, many of these will be reproducible. Of course, when this might happen is anyone's guess. (I am hoping for it to happen fairly quickly, though!)

[garethnelsonuk]

Synesthesia - Know that one well
Savantism without major autistic impairments - Know that one well too on a smaller scale
Photographic memory - Can be achieved with training and dedication if you only want to focus on that alone

[eldar]

Photographic memory - Can be achieved with training and dedication if you only want to focus on that alone

Care to elaborate on that one? [huh]

Now that would be an extremely useful skill to pick up...

[bgwowk]

"episodes of creative euphoria, electrified, joyous energy when grandiosity led to a new vision. The heightened perception, dazzling insights, and almost mystical knowledge experienced during this time were expressed while precision of form of expression was still possible."

I would think that once we have a better understanding of the brain, many of these will be reproducible.

If you haven't seen it, David Pearce's website is a must-read for any transhumanist.

http://www.paradise-engineering.com/

"...our descendants, and in principle perhaps even our elderly selves, will have the chance to enjoy modes of experience we emotional primitives cruelly lack: sights more majestically beautiful, music more deeply soul-stirring, sex more exquisitely erotic, mystical epiphanies more awe-inspiring, and love more profoundly intense than anything we can now properly comprehend..."

[Live Forever]

"episodes of creative euphoria, electrified, joyous energy when grandiosity led to a new vision. The heightened perception, dazzling insights, and almost mystical knowledge experienced during this time were expressed while precision of form of expression was still possible."

I would think that once we have a better understanding of the brain, many of these will be reproducible.

If you haven't seen it, David Pearce's website is a must-read for any transhumanist.

http://www.paradise-engineering.com/

"...our descendants, and in principle perhaps even our elderly selves, will have the chance to enjoy modes of experience we emotional primitives cruelly lack: sights more majestically beautiful, music more deeply soul-stirring, sex more exquisitely erotic, mystical epiphanies more awe-inspiring, and love more profoundly intense than anything we can now properly comprehend..."

Nice. I like the artwork too. [thumb]

[medievil]

well, they sound like you would want them,but in real life its a bit differend

for example Synesthesia
it aint fun when you allways think some colors are off, and you dont like stuff because it has a strange feeling too it

i got it

it all sounds better in theory, but those are disorders, they arent good ><

[garethnelsonuk]

Care to elaborate on that one? [huh]

Now that would be an extremely useful skill to pick up...

Practice, Practice, Practice

Learn large sets of numbers
Try to recall
Attempt again

Repeat ALL DAY

[garethnelsonuk]

well, they sound like you would want them,but in real life its a bit differend

for example Synesthesia
it aint fun when you allways think some colors are off, and you dont like stuff because it has a strange feeling too it

i got it

it all sounds better in theory, but those are disorders, they arent good ><

I know a few people with synesthesia, some complain a lot and others just find it perfectly normal.

[medievil]

one other idea
a seizure causes neurones to fire 600 times faster then normal i think

what about inducing seizers and let the brain work 100 times faster? (i could be totally rwong about this one)

also, these things kinda sucks, look at most of them as kids, got bullied alot and are "differend" wouldnt like that

since has got to find a solution for that

[garethnelsonuk]

I won't go into a discussion on the whole "bullied as kids and different" thing

[xanadu]

I don't think any of you really want syphilis or many of those other things. Savantism indicates the person is woefully deficient in some ways. Many of them can't take care of themselves or lead a normal life.

I saw an article on a guy with phenomenal memory, he recited pi to 22,000 some odd numbers. He has synesthysia and tastes rooms, sees colors with numbers and names, odors, etc. I'm not sure if he was able to live by himself or not but he was one of the more adaptable so called "idiot savants" and more toward the savant side than the idiot one.

I think many of us have experienced some of these things though maybe just on occasion. If you can control it then it's OK. I have to kind of encourage myself to get into some of that but I can picture colors for numbers and some times sounds or words will seem to have texture. Haven't you heard music or just ordinary sounds that were silky smooth? To someone else, they may bring images. Maybe a section of the tune with a lot of brass makes you see in your mind something made of brass or the color? When you start to notice things like that, you notice there were things there for a long time but you never really looked at them or thought about them. Hasn't something inedible looked tasty to you before? Not that you wanted to taste it or thought it was food but it just seemed tasty? Come on, I bet everyone does that at least sometimes.

one other idea
a seizure causes neurones to fire 600 times faster then normal i think

what about inducing seizers and let the brain work 100 times faster? (i could be totally rwong about this one)

DON'T try this at home folks! Seizures indicate something very wrong is going on and you do not want to induce them. I think what he meant was induce them in a harmless or beneficial way, but you could take it the other way and think seizures are a good thing all by themselves.

Pushing neurons to go many times faster is, I think, going to be very counter productive in terms of health. It will burn them out. That's one of the reasons amphetemines cause such health problems and neuron loss. Simply overexciting the brain for long periods is going to accelerate neural cell death. I've seen experiments in which they excited brain cells and made them work faster with electrical currents. When something pushes them past their limits, they find that the cells at first seem to adapt to the stress but then later on it takes it's toll. I wish I had all these links at my fingertips, but I don't. Just what I've heard/read.

Stress has been shown to reduce brain mass depending on the level of stress and types of stress. We all need some stress, let's call them "challenges", in order to become as capable as we need to be. If your childhood had no challenges, you must not have learned much. But, if people or lab animals are subjected to too high levels of stress, past their individual limits, then they develop disease. Push it a little past that point and they die. Some individuals thrive on levels of stress others could not stand. The stress can be anything. Noises at unpredictable moments can be very stressing, particularly if there are genuine dangerous things to be alert for. Small stimulii like that can deprive organisms of sleep. This leads to a dangerous downward spiral.

Too much insulin can cause seizures and so can too little insulin. Both can lead to permanent brain damage and up to and including death. Overdoses of amphetimines can do it. <-- good stuff to stay away from.

[Aegist]

Care to elaborate on that one? [huh]

Now that would be an extremely useful skill to pick up...

Mentalism.
See Derren Brown,




I know you'd love him.

[Live Forever]

Care to elaborate on that one? [huh]

Now that would be an extremely useful skill to pick up...

Mentalism.
See Derren Brown,




I know you'd love him.

I love Derren Brown. I downloaded torrents of a lot of his specials awhile back and was thoroughly freaked out.

[Aegist]

I tell you what, if 'Satan' did exist, and Satan's one goal was to make people disbeleive in God and the supernatural, Derren Brown would be Satan. No questions asked.

In trick of the mind, one of the episodes he holds a 'Staring contest' and he makes this well tatooed and peirced punk guy totally freak out and start trying to get something out of his head. he said he felt like punching derren in the face (of cause derren grabbed him and settled him down before anything actually happened). but it was so bizarre watching this guy stand there, dead set determined to just stare at someone, but end up a mess of psychological manipulation. No idea how someone could do that.

[Live Forever]

I liked the one where the lady believed in New Age stuff, and he used a little voodoo doll to do a lot of stuff to her (tie her arms, make it so she couldn't talk, etc.) but then he told her it was all hogwash, and when she started questioning it , then she started having the ability to question what she was seeing, and stopped doing it.

In fact, here it is on Youtube as well:

He explains how he does a lot of his tricks, and a lot of them involve really interesting psychology.

The one with the video game in the pub where he forced the guy to have a seizure and then took him to a real building with actors dressed up as zombies attacking him was one where I thought he crossed the line a little bit (but it was still cool):



A lot of his tricks require various stages of hypnosis to be used on the subjects to bring about the intended effect.

Edited by Live Forever, 23 February 2007 - 12:41 AM.

[advancedatheist]

Tertiary neurosyphilis, is the most interesting form of syphilis from a cultural point of view. Just before the onset of paralysis, the sufferer is beset with delusions of grandeur, a sense of understanding everything, a sense that he is on the verge of some monumental discovery which will forever change the course of history, as well as a sense that some divine electricity is coursing through his veins.

Kind of sounds like the stereotypical fictional supervillain, from Lex Luthor to Magneto.

[Shepard]

I saw an article on a guy with phenomenal memory, he recited pi to 22,000 some odd numbers. He has synesthysia and tastes rooms, sees colors with numbers and names, odors, etc. I'm not sure if he was able to live by himself or not but he was one of the more adaptable so called "idiot savants" and more toward the savant side than the idiot one.

This is Daniel Tammet. He's quite extraordinary.

On synesthesia, I think both Feynman and Tesla were reported to have this condition.

[abelard lindsay]

The thing about Synesthesia is that it appears that a part of the brain that has enormous horsepower, such as the Brain's vision processing and object recognition system becomes attached to some other less optimized part of the brain like the one that controls mathematical thinking. Thus Daniel Tammet remembers thousands of digits of pi and does very large math problems in his head quickly because he sees and processes the numbers with the vision processing part of his brain.

[Aegist]

Wow. I'd never thought of it like that Abelard....but that makes an aeful lot of sense. Our visual center takes in unbelievably large amounts of data and seemingly instantly categorises, calculates, computes, sorts and comprehends all of it. Wow. Redirect that functionality into other areas....

All we need now is to find a method of inserting a gateway into the brain so that we can switch where we want the computational power to be directed!

[xanadu]

That does make a lot of sense, Abelard. I have found that visualizing things can help in a lot of areas. This is a skill that can be learned and developed. When I visualize myself doing a task I'm more likely to notice potential problems that might come up. And when I actually do it, I find that my body knows where to go and what to do as though I had rehearsed it before. I only rehearsed it in my mind but got the same benefits.

[tjcbs]

A prime case of tertiary(?) syphilys would be Nietzsche. But he really was brilliant and insightful, up until the end, though you can see some decline in the books he wrote the year before he went mad. This despite or perhaps because of the little bugs eating away his brain. The only experience I've ever had respembling syesthesia would be falling asleep while listening to music, sometimes I don't hear it as music but rather as some kind of abstract logical progression or argument, though I never really know what the argument is about. Anyone else get this?

[mitkat]

AThe only experience I've ever had respembling syesthesia would be falling asleep while listening to music, sometimes  I don't hear it as music but rather as some kind of abstract logical progression or argument, though I never really know what the argument is about. Anyone else get this?

I get this fairly often, but it's more logic than abstract for me. I've been listening to more densely produced tech-house and microhouse recently, and am feeling it 24/7. If I find myself overtired, in any type of altered state, or just simply into the music, I get a strong sense of patterns, and it's easy to see the logic in robot music. [glasses] and I mean really, really losing yourself in the music, not just nodding your head and stroking your chin - to the point of deductive deconstruction and yet simple immersion.


OT: Whenever I hear the word synaesthesia, I always think of one of my favourite trance producers who made some of the best melodic and powerfully uplifting tracks to fill the floor, The Thrillseekers - since I'm on the electro tip. It's no coincidence that one of his tracks is titled that - his tracks and ones like them represent my most stereotypical spine-tingling rave memories from the mid-to-late 90's musically.

http://play.rhapsody...playBounce=true (can't work cause i'm in Canada! [huh])

http://www.htfr.com/more-info/MR193765 (terribly weak sample teaser!)

[tjcbs]

http://www.autoadvic...raindisease.htm

8 different brain diseases that give you powers beyond normal humans. Things like photographic memory and savantism. My favorite is number 7, though. (Persistent Sexual Arousal Syndrome)

Most of these "powers" really suck. Like the No Pain one, come on, at least to me pain is really not a very big deal, and I'm certainly glad to have it. I've never had kidney stones though. And serve me up some hyperreligiosity disease, I want me some of that. The sexual arousal would be horrible too, you would turn into some kind of frenzied sub-human dork/gremlin, always running off to the bathroom to play with your horribly scabbed genitals.

[mitkat]

The sexual arousal would be horrible too, you would turn into some kind of frenzied sub-human dork/gremlin, always running off to the bathroom to play with your horribly scabbed genitals.

I was thinking the exact same. That would be no gift, everyone around you would have to be aware that you were a massive perv. Some of the conditions do look interesting, but that one...no. I'm close enough to that as it is for me.

horribly scabbed genitals.

[lol] Haha!

[Live Forever]

Yeah, most of these would be nice to be able to turn on and off. There are times you would want to temporarily have such abilities, but all the time would be a little much.

horribly scabbed genitals.

Gross!

Edited by Live Forever, 18 March 2007 - 07:15 PM.