Yoga nidra (or yogic sleep) is a technique for inducing a state of consciousness between waking and sleeping. I often use it when I’m sleep-deprived, either as a way to (hopefully) have a nap, or at least to feel more rested, which can happen without needing to sleep. Research is also emerging on the benefits…
View Post
I recently rewatched Arrival (2016, Denis Villeneuve), adapted from Ted Chiang’s novella Story of Your Life, having first watched it five years ago. My experience, based on what I can remember, was different this time around. There were some elements I understood and appreciated more, whereas others somewhat stood out as weak points. On second…
View Post
The embellishment of memories is a widespread phenomenon. Sometimes, the distortion of memory goes beyond embellishment and becomes fabrication: false memories are common, and they can be easily induced. Simply put, memory is prone to distortion. Research shows that human memory is constructive (or reconstructive) rather than purely reproductive; we fill in gaps in memory…
View Post
The Brain in a Vat podcast, one of my favourite podcasts – hosted by Dr Jason Werbeloff and Mark Oppenheimer – had as a guest Brad Duchaine, Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Dartmouth. (Brain in a Vat is a philosophy podcast, but this particular episode – a rebroadcast – was more psychology-focused.) The…
View Post
One of the main motivations for creating designer psychedelics – or analogues of existing compounds – is to evade bans. LSD is illegal, so an analogue can be created (typically a purported prodrug of LSD), allowing people to have an LSD experience without worrying about arrest. And when the analogue is banned, a different one…
View Post