Is this train entering the tunnel or leaving it? Actually, it doesn’t matter, with a little concentration you can change its direction just by thinking about it. Thanks to multistable optical illusions your thoughts create your reality.
The same effect is used to create these two spinning lady illusions.
A research group at Imperial College London have made what major break through in understanding LSD’s impact on the brain. The first modern brain scans of people high on the drug have given researchers an unprecedented insight into the neural basis for effects produced by LSD. The scientists measured blood flow, functional connections within and between brain networks, and brainwaves in the volunteers on and off the drug.
The brain scans revealed that trippers experienced images through information drawn from many parts of their brains, and not just the visual cortex at the back of the head that normally processes visual information. Under the drug, regions once segregated spoke to one another.
Further images showed that other brain regions that usually form a network became more separated in a change that accompanied users’ feelings of oneness with the world, a loss of personal identity called “ego dissolutionâ€.
There is more about the findings in the Guardian article: LSD’s impact on the brain revealed in groundbreaking images. More images and detailed information can be found in the original paper.
See also: Benoit Paillé’s LSD Photos
Elissa Rose decided to become left-handed. She is training her brain by spending a certain period of time drawing with her left hand each day, posting the results and discussing them on her tumblr Learning To Be Left-Handed.
Within a day or two, the wiggly disasters began to take form and personality. A day or two after that, side-by-side renderings of the same subject showed something unexpected: The left-handed drawings looked more accurate than the right-handed drawings. The left hand still had less control, and they were spatially accurate, more expressive, and made out of wiggly unsure lines.
Today is an important day for me and a small portion of the world’s population. A time to celebrate our handicap and our ability to persevere despite the challenges that are put in front of us on a daily basis. Because of our disability, every day we have to cope with both intrinsic and socio-cultural biases. And although it’s not often discussed, my condition causes a large amount of injuries and occasionally death resulting from our inability to adapt correctly. The British Medical Journal has determined that those suffering our situation are significantly more likely to have premature, unnatural deaths*. People afflicted with my disorder are more likely to develop stuttering problems, dyslexia, and migraine headaches. We also often reach puberty 4 to 5 months later than normal, and have uncommon brain lateralization. Though not fully understood, my disability is thought to be genetic, and is probably passed on only by those with the gene in place. There is currently no known cure or remedy. Those not understanding our affliction often refer to us as awkward, clumsy, maimed or weak. Historically, people with my condition have been branded evil, crooked, and unclean. Things were so bad in the 1600’s we were burnt at the stake. And despite great leaps in the way we are now treated, society still needs to be better educated on what living with this particular condition is like. So today is set aside for to create awareness of our challenges. A chance for us, who are suffering under these conditions, to show our pride in who we are. A day set aside to take time and dispel of the many superstitions and prejudices concerning our condition. A time for us to celebrate the strengths and advantages inherent in our diversity.
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