WEBVTT - STBYM Listener Mail Extravaganza 0:00:04.080 --> 0:00:06.960 Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind from how Stuff 0:00:07.000 --> 0:00:13.760 Works dot com. Hey, welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind. 0:00:13.800 --> 0:00:15.880 My name is Robert Lamb and I'm Julie Tucklin. And 0:00:16.000 --> 0:00:18.040 this is a bonus episode. Just in case you're wondering, Hey, 0:00:18.079 --> 0:00:19.919 why why is there an episode here? I wasn't supposed 0:00:19.920 --> 0:00:22.120 to go to download today. Well, it's a bonus episode. 0:00:22.360 --> 0:00:25.320 And since we don't have anything particularly planned for it, um, 0:00:25.360 --> 0:00:28.400 we thought we'd we'd we'd call the robot over here. Yeah. 0:00:28.400 --> 0:00:30.000 I know, after all, we we get to talk a 0:00:30.000 --> 0:00:33.120 lot and express ourselves. But Arnie, poor Arnie, the robot 0:00:33.240 --> 0:00:36.560 just kind of comes back and forth on his little 0:00:36.560 --> 0:00:38.839 wheels and that's about it. Yeah. So so co come 0:00:38.880 --> 0:00:42.440 on over here, Arnie. How's how's it going? Well? Yeah, yeah, 0:00:42.880 --> 0:00:44.559 I know, I know, we we we haven't had as 0:00:44.600 --> 0:00:46.360 much time for the listener mail recently. That's what this 0:00:46.400 --> 0:00:48.599 episode is all about. So this time you're you can 0:00:48.640 --> 0:00:51.440 be more part of the episode, and you can you 0:00:51.440 --> 0:00:53.519 can share more of the listener mail. So so let 0:00:53.560 --> 0:00:55.160 us let us have some what have you got here? 0:00:55.200 --> 0:00:58.680 That's interesting? Arnie? You don't need to stand so close 0:00:59.640 --> 0:01:02.600 all This first one comes to us from Paul Paul writes, 0:01:02.640 --> 0:01:05.080 and it says, Hi, Robert and Julie, I'm a long 0:01:05.120 --> 0:01:07.160 time listener and have been wanting to write you guys 0:01:07.160 --> 0:01:08.880 for a long time and just never got around to it. 0:01:09.040 --> 0:01:11.520 I just listened to your Healing Power of Laughter podcast 0:01:11.560 --> 0:01:13.120 and I wanted to let you know how inspired it 0:01:13.160 --> 0:01:15.200 made me. I am a combat medic in the U. S. 0:01:15.319 --> 0:01:17.240 Army and I am going through the process of getting 0:01:17.280 --> 0:01:20.120 medically retired. I am lucky enough to be doing this 0:01:20.200 --> 0:01:23.560 in a specialized unit called the Warrior Transition Unit. This 0:01:23.640 --> 0:01:26.160 unit is special because it allows soldiers to do whatever 0:01:26.200 --> 0:01:28.520 it takes to heal. One of the newest programs they 0:01:28.520 --> 0:01:32.680 have implemented is recovery through music, guitar lessons, piano, et cetera. 0:01:33.080 --> 0:01:35.480 So I know that they are willing to think outside 0:01:35.480 --> 0:01:37.760 of the box when it comes to healing. Your podcast 0:01:37.760 --> 0:01:39.880 pushed me to try to create a program that connects 0:01:39.880 --> 0:01:42.960 soldiers with comedians and teaches them to laugh and make 0:01:42.959 --> 0:01:45.360 others laugh. It's going to be complex and take some 0:01:45.400 --> 0:01:47.400 work to develop on my part, but I think in 0:01:47.400 --> 0:01:49.160 the end it will be a great program. I love 0:01:49.160 --> 0:01:51.440 your show and couldn't do this without your inspiration. I 0:01:51.520 --> 0:01:53.800 listen to you guys on my forty minute drive to work, 0:01:53.840 --> 0:01:56.880 and you make it fly by. Thanks Paul. Oh that's 0:01:56.920 --> 0:01:58.600 really cool. Yeah. Oh, but and he was in the 0:01:58.680 --> 0:02:02.480 hundred airborne by the way, that is very cool and 0:02:02.560 --> 0:02:05.160 I love that he put that together. I do wonder 0:02:05.360 --> 0:02:08.640 if he is about to look into laughter yoga as well, 0:02:08.639 --> 0:02:10.359 which in this case, I would say, yes, I think 0:02:10.480 --> 0:02:12.600 laughter yoga would be very helpful. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, 0:02:12.639 --> 0:02:14.720 I think that the great thing about the program, like 0:02:14.720 --> 0:02:16.240 you said, it's it's showing that they're willing to think 0:02:16.240 --> 0:02:18.680 out the outside of the box about healing, and it 0:02:18.760 --> 0:02:21.959 shows more of a focus on actually healing people instead 0:02:21.960 --> 0:02:24.560 of going through just a regimented process to be like 0:02:24.560 --> 0:02:26.639 all right, step one, two three, you should be healed 0:02:26.639 --> 0:02:28.760 by now, how you know, go out and live your life. 0:02:28.760 --> 0:02:32.280 It's it's more it seems more results oriented, which I 0:02:32.280 --> 0:02:34.079 think is great. Well, and you had brought up and 0:02:34.200 --> 0:02:37.320 we were talking about stress and stress being that paper 0:02:37.360 --> 0:02:41.000 tiger um that that puts us on all alerts, and 0:02:41.280 --> 0:02:44.560 how laughing is one of those things can that that 0:02:44.639 --> 0:02:46.840 can be that chemical release, that the way that you 0:02:46.880 --> 0:02:50.320 can return your blood pressure to normal, and the way 0:02:50.320 --> 0:02:52.480 that you can sort of vanquish all those chemicals that 0:02:52.480 --> 0:02:54.160 are building up the cortisol and so on and so 0:02:54.240 --> 0:02:57.480 forth in your body. So very cool stuff to hear about. 0:02:57.639 --> 0:02:59.680 And m Paul, please let us know how that turns out. 0:02:59.800 --> 0:03:02.440 Yeah for sure. All right, here we have another one. 0:03:02.480 --> 0:03:07.040 This one is from Chris and Baton Rouge, and Chris says, Hi, 0:03:07.160 --> 0:03:08.760 I've been listening to you guys for a while, and 0:03:09.160 --> 0:03:12.880 for my obligatory comment, you two have very soothing voices. 0:03:13.600 --> 0:03:15.480 And don't take this the wrong way, but I often 0:03:15.520 --> 0:03:18.119 listen to your podcast as I go to sleep. We've 0:03:18.120 --> 0:03:20.799 heard that from people before, which I I never take 0:03:20.840 --> 0:03:22.240 it the wrong way, but it does make me want 0:03:22.280 --> 0:03:24.280 to do a podcast where we talk softer and softer 0:03:24.400 --> 0:03:29.280 and softer and then either you're very sleepy right now, yeah, 0:03:29.360 --> 0:03:31.160 and then and then start messing with them, either with 0:03:31.240 --> 0:03:39.960 loud noises or just nightmare inducing like I said, Yeah, 0:03:40.040 --> 0:03:41.840 I hope nobody's sleeping right now and they just bolted 0:03:41.920 --> 0:03:45.320 up in their beds. Chris continues and he says, Anyway, 0:03:45.320 --> 0:03:47.240 recently I listened to your podcasts on the Dark Side 0:03:47.240 --> 0:03:50.080 of Creativity, and let me say mission accomplished. You successfully 0:03:50.080 --> 0:03:53.080 blew my mind. What you described was me exactly. The 0:03:53.080 --> 0:03:56.360 analogy of the flashlight view and the lantern view was perfect. 0:03:56.560 --> 0:03:58.720 This was especially important to me because I feel it's 0:03:58.720 --> 0:04:00.880 hard to explain to others my mind mindset, and often 0:04:00.880 --> 0:04:03.880 I get frustrated with others not trying to get all 0:04:03.920 --> 0:04:06.120 the facts or look at the whole picture. But I 0:04:06.160 --> 0:04:09.120 do envy other mindsets because they are sure and uh, 0:04:09.200 --> 0:04:11.880 and that they're better at shooting straightforward down a path 0:04:11.920 --> 0:04:14.360 to a destination. Well, I seem to be forever scheduling 0:04:14.760 --> 0:04:18.920 searching for the best destination, if that makes any sense. Sincerely, 0:04:19.080 --> 0:04:22.159 Chris and Baton Rouge. I think that's uh, that's really fascinating. 0:04:22.160 --> 0:04:24.560 I think it also. I mean, as we talked before, 0:04:24.640 --> 0:04:27.200 I mean you really need the different types of viewpoint 0:04:27.240 --> 0:04:29.520 in life. I mean the people who have the flashlight view, 0:04:30.320 --> 0:04:32.520 Arguably they might not it might not be the best 0:04:32.560 --> 0:04:35.479 view for like a full experience of the universe or 0:04:35.520 --> 0:04:36.960 you know, or what have you. But in terms of 0:04:37.000 --> 0:04:39.000 say getting done with the task on the other end 0:04:39.000 --> 0:04:42.320 of that flashlight that's great. Likewise, people with more of 0:04:42.360 --> 0:04:45.200 this lantern view of the universe, um, you know, that 0:04:45.440 --> 0:04:48.040 may be great for for bursts of creativity and whatnot, 0:04:48.040 --> 0:04:50.039 but maybe it means you can't focus as well on 0:04:50.040 --> 0:04:52.400 a given test, so nothing to trade off with both. 0:04:52.520 --> 0:04:55.719 Now the origins of those terms, um, I think we 0:04:55.760 --> 0:04:58.200 have to talk about Alison got Nick, and she is 0:04:58.360 --> 0:05:04.120 the child psychologist who who talks about how kids have 0:05:04.320 --> 0:05:08.000 this highly creative mind, in particular babies because they have 0:05:08.320 --> 0:05:12.960 that lantern view because they are more aware than adults 0:05:13.160 --> 0:05:17.040 and they're streaming all of this stimuli. And um, so 0:05:17.080 --> 0:05:18.400 that's kind of what we were talking about. We were 0:05:18.400 --> 0:05:20.880 talking about the dark side of creativity or not necessarily 0:05:20.920 --> 0:05:23.880 dark set of creativity, which is creativity in general. Is 0:05:23.920 --> 0:05:27.360 this ability to tap into that and to not let 0:05:27.400 --> 0:05:29.880 those details that are all around us at all times 0:05:29.920 --> 0:05:33.000 just fly by, to be able to consider these things 0:05:33.000 --> 0:05:37.440 and and um find sort of unique meaning in them. Yeah, alright. 0:05:37.440 --> 0:05:39.360 This next one comes to us from a listener by 0:05:39.360 --> 0:05:41.359 the name of Jim. Jim written to us before and 0:05:41.400 --> 0:05:43.600 he has a book recommendation for everyone. He says, Robert 0:05:43.600 --> 0:05:45.640 and Julie, about a year ago you did a podcast 0:05:45.640 --> 0:05:48.760 on whether mathematics was an invention or discovery. I wrote 0:05:48.760 --> 0:05:51.960 to you shortly after that that, placing myself mostly in 0:05:52.000 --> 0:05:54.520 the invention camp. I would like to update my position 0:05:54.600 --> 0:05:57.040 based upon a book I received for Christmas, The Joy 0:05:57.080 --> 0:06:00.480 of X by Steven Strogatz, an applied mathematic it's professor 0:06:00.520 --> 0:06:02.960 at Cornell. On page five, Dr Strogatz, who is a 0:06:03.000 --> 0:06:06.240 regular contributor to Radio ad right to following. Math always 0:06:06.240 --> 0:06:09.120 involves both invention and discovery. We invent the concepts but 0:06:09.200 --> 0:06:12.160 discover their consequences, as we'll see in the coming chapters. 0:06:12.279 --> 0:06:15.359 In mathematics, our freedom lies in the questions we ask 0:06:15.560 --> 0:06:17.839 and how we pursue them, but not in the answers 0:06:17.880 --> 0:06:21.360 awaiting us. So, uh, yeah, that sounds like a very 0:06:21.400 --> 0:06:23.039 interesting text. Well, I don't have to pick up the 0:06:23.040 --> 0:06:26.400 next time I get on a mathematics kick. Yeah. I 0:06:26.440 --> 0:06:28.799 was talking to my friend Maria um over the weekend, 0:06:28.960 --> 0:06:31.520 and she is a mathematician and she actually she teaches 0:06:31.520 --> 0:06:34.600 in Germany now, but she teaches UM math to to 0:06:34.880 --> 0:06:38.240 physics students, and she was saying she was kind of 0:06:38.240 --> 0:06:41.480 talking about some of her interests in her field, and 0:06:41.560 --> 0:06:45.440 she was talking about infinity, and so I, who don't 0:06:45.640 --> 0:06:49.200 have a very large mathematics background, and said, look, don't 0:06:49.240 --> 0:06:50.839 strike me down for saying this, but a lot of 0:06:50.880 --> 0:06:54.839 what you're talking about releasing very philosophical, and she said, yes, yes, 0:06:54.960 --> 0:06:57.080 that a lot of people don't realize that when they're 0:06:57.080 --> 0:07:01.160 talking about math, they are in a sense talking about philosophy, 0:07:01.440 --> 0:07:04.479 albeit in another language. All right, well, this one comes 0:07:04.520 --> 0:07:07.240 to us from Charles. Charles writes in, and uh and 0:07:07.279 --> 0:07:10.200 he isn't. He's writing in response to our Splendid Isolation 0:07:10.240 --> 0:07:12.720 podcast a while back, where we talked about how isolation 0:07:12.720 --> 0:07:15.440 affects us and about how there's with many of us, 0:07:15.480 --> 0:07:17.320 there's this desire for it, like, oh, I don't I 0:07:17.320 --> 0:07:19.160 don't have enough alone time in my life, and then 0:07:19.240 --> 0:07:21.600 if you have too much alone time, then you start 0:07:21.640 --> 0:07:24.000 going a little crazy sometimes. And we talked about it 0:07:24.000 --> 0:07:27.240 too in the context of Astronauts, right, yes, yeah, so, 0:07:27.360 --> 0:07:29.280 Charles writes in and says, Robert and Julie, I enjoyed 0:07:29.320 --> 0:07:32.720 listening to your podcast Splendid Isolation. I found the concept 0:07:32.840 --> 0:07:35.200 so intriguing that I decided I'd like to try it 0:07:35.280 --> 0:07:37.880 myself for a full year. In June two thousand twelve, 0:07:37.920 --> 0:07:40.000 at the age of forty, I charted a boat to 0:07:40.080 --> 0:07:44.000 drop me off on an uninhabited island in Alaska with 0:07:44.040 --> 0:07:47.240 my dog, a goat and supplies. This was my first 0:07:47.280 --> 0:07:49.120 time to the island. I found a good spot to 0:07:49.120 --> 0:07:52.040 build and erected a seventy seven square foot cabin. I've 0:07:52.120 --> 0:07:55.760 encountered hurricane force winds, heavy snow, constant rain, and had 0:07:55.840 --> 0:07:59.400 to bear encounters while filming everything. Besides a few chance 0:07:59.480 --> 0:08:02.640 encounters with hunters and vacationers, I've been completely alone for 0:08:02.680 --> 0:08:05.400 six months. As of last Friday, I post updates on 0:08:05.400 --> 0:08:08.440 Facebook on the Alaskan Pioneer page and uh if you 0:08:08.440 --> 0:08:12.640 want to visit that, that's Facebook dot com slash Alaskan Pioneer. 0:08:12.800 --> 0:08:15.920 One word, he says. While I do have limited communication, 0:08:16.080 --> 0:08:19.560 the isolation has had some interesting effects on my cognition 0:08:19.560 --> 0:08:22.880 and emotions. It's increased my sleep, impaired my memory, and 0:08:22.920 --> 0:08:26.560 at times increases aggression and vigilance. My mood has remained 0:08:26.720 --> 0:08:30.160 consistently positive, however, and I've experienced no sense of loneliness. 0:08:30.440 --> 0:08:32.319 I've long wondered what it would be like to live 0:08:32.320 --> 0:08:34.400 alone in the wilderness for a full year, and now 0:08:34.440 --> 0:08:36.640 I am finding out. While I look forward to returning 0:08:36.679 --> 0:08:40.160 to society next summer, I suspect it will be difficult 0:08:40.200 --> 0:08:42.320 to leave. I look forward to sharing my footage of 0:08:42.360 --> 0:08:44.680 my time here when I returned. Thanks again for the 0:08:44.679 --> 0:08:49.920 fun podcast, Charles. Wow, indeed that I mean, that's a 0:08:49.960 --> 0:08:52.520 lot to take in, and that is amazing and and 0:08:52.640 --> 0:08:54.960 uh I I know I had talked about like living 0:08:54.960 --> 0:08:56.360 on a boat with one of my dreams, but that 0:08:56.520 --> 0:08:58.040 is sort of one of my dreams too, is to 0:08:58.120 --> 0:09:01.160 go off and to to be able to not like 0:09:01.280 --> 0:09:04.160 leave my family necessarily. But there's a fantasy in being 0:09:04.200 --> 0:09:07.360 able to go off and know what it feels like 0:09:07.480 --> 0:09:09.920 to rely on yourself and to be out in the wilderness. 0:09:10.160 --> 0:09:13.959 And that's just an amazing plug and everything. I think 0:09:13.960 --> 0:09:15.679 it's neat that he brought. He brought a dog and 0:09:16.160 --> 0:09:19.800 the goat. I'm assuming he did not eat these say 0:09:19.800 --> 0:09:22.679 that they're both alive, they're all doing well. But I 0:09:22.679 --> 0:09:25.600 feel like that would help enormously, like having some sort of, 0:09:26.160 --> 0:09:28.440 you know, a companion, even if it's not human. We've 0:09:28.440 --> 0:09:31.320 talked before about how how intense and how emotional our 0:09:31.360 --> 0:09:34.400 relationships with pets can be, and and goats have a 0:09:34.440 --> 0:09:37.360 lot of character. I love goats. Joe's Carol Oates has 0:09:37.400 --> 0:09:40.840 a short story about a lighthousekeeper in the eighteen hundreds, 0:09:41.000 --> 0:09:44.480 and I believe at the point where the dog runs off. 0:09:44.480 --> 0:09:47.760 That's when his madness sort of give us into effect. 0:09:47.840 --> 0:09:50.160 But anyway, that that that's of course the eighteen hundreds 0:09:50.160 --> 0:09:53.120 and Charles, you sound like you're having a wonderful time, 0:09:53.200 --> 0:09:55.120 and I really I think this is wonderful. I'm living 0:09:55.200 --> 0:09:58.160 vicariously through you. Um did he say the Facebook page 0:09:58.400 --> 0:10:03.240 is Alaskan Frontier, Alaskan Pioneer, Pioneer excuse me, Yeah, but 0:10:03.320 --> 0:10:05.600 I definitely have to check that out. Oh and speaking 0:10:05.640 --> 0:10:07.880 of Joyce Carol Oates, real quick, have you been following 0:10:07.880 --> 0:10:10.880 her Twitter? I have. It's awesome. Yeah. I think she 0:10:11.360 --> 0:10:13.240 maybe the best Twitter account out there. I was telling 0:10:13.320 --> 0:10:14.880 someone the other day, like, if you just have to 0:10:14.960 --> 0:10:19.440 do one Twitter account and just mean besides ours, right, Um, 0:10:19.480 --> 0:10:21.400 you know, check it out because she always has something 0:10:21.480 --> 0:10:24.440 terribly interesting to say. It is it's it's always interesting 0:10:24.440 --> 0:10:27.199 and insightful, and I wish more more Twitter feeds were 0:10:27.240 --> 0:10:30.520 like hers. Alright, here we have a couple of emails 0:10:31.040 --> 0:10:34.520 regarding our recent Hallucinations episode. Now, this first one comes 0:10:34.559 --> 0:10:37.319 to us from Justin Justin Wrightson and says, Hi, Robert 0:10:37.320 --> 0:10:40.640 and Julie, I recently listened to the leprechn Hallucinations podcast 0:10:40.679 --> 0:10:42.920 and wanted to share something from my childhood. When my 0:10:43.000 --> 0:10:45.320 brother and I were younger, we would infrequently get what 0:10:45.360 --> 0:10:48.400 we called small vision. For a short time, everything in 0:10:48.440 --> 0:10:50.800 the world would seem to be smaller, further away than 0:10:50.840 --> 0:10:53.480 it really was. You could even put your hands in 0:10:53.520 --> 0:10:56.680 front of you and your arms would seem much longer 0:10:56.720 --> 0:10:59.400 than they should be. This would be accompanied by a 0:10:59.480 --> 0:11:02.000 slight pain pressure at the back of the head. I 0:11:02.040 --> 0:11:04.920 believe this is where the visual cortex is located. I 0:11:04.960 --> 0:11:07.720 have no idea why this happened, but it sounded a 0:11:07.720 --> 0:11:11.040 lot like Alice in Wonderland syndrome you described in the podcast. 0:11:11.240 --> 0:11:13.920 Until not now, I had never heard of anyone else 0:11:13.960 --> 0:11:16.720 experiencing something like this. Thanks for sharing the information with 0:11:16.720 --> 0:11:18.760 your listeners and giving me a little more perspective on 0:11:18.800 --> 0:11:23.520 my own experience. Wow, that's pretty pretty fascinating. Um. Yeah, 0:11:23.559 --> 0:11:25.800 I mean it does sound a lot like the Allison 0:11:25.840 --> 0:11:30.360 Wonderland UH syndrome about some of the lillipution of hallucinations 0:11:30.360 --> 0:11:33.120 we were describing, where it starts messing with the way 0:11:33.160 --> 0:11:36.680 you're perceiving the size of objects and distances. Yeah, and 0:11:36.720 --> 0:11:39.400 so it's interesting that the visual cortex was brought up right, 0:11:39.440 --> 0:11:41.880 because just to root everybody back in that podcast for 0:11:42.000 --> 0:11:45.000 context we talked about is that when your vision is 0:11:45.040 --> 0:11:50.920 impaired um in a variety of different situations, your brain 0:11:51.440 --> 0:11:55.120 doesn't like, uh, the void and will begin to construct 0:11:55.280 --> 0:12:00.240 images for it. So that's why these hallucinations occur. And uh, yes, 0:12:00.240 --> 0:12:03.000 it's very interesting to hear about that account. There anything 0:12:03.080 --> 0:12:06.439 talking about the pain that accompanied it, which which brings 0:12:06.440 --> 0:12:08.199 to mind like a small like I haven't even I 0:12:08.240 --> 0:12:10.720 haven't researched this. Perhaps there's a there's a miracle blog 0:12:10.720 --> 0:12:13.480 post out there that explains at all. But we've all, 0:12:13.679 --> 0:12:15.640 at some point the other probably tried to bend spoon 0:12:15.679 --> 0:12:17.640 with our mind or move it with our mind. Have 0:12:17.679 --> 0:12:20.199 you done this, tried to do something psychically? Yeah, it 0:12:20.520 --> 0:12:23.760 was probably. It was probably like when I was yesterday. Yeah, 0:12:24.120 --> 0:12:26.440 But when you do it, did you you inevitably start 0:12:26.559 --> 0:12:29.880 to feel strain. You feel something straining, You feel like 0:12:29.880 --> 0:12:32.480 a slight I'm trying too hard? What what where is 0:12:32.520 --> 0:12:35.080 that taking place? What are we straining? I have a feeling. 0:12:35.120 --> 0:12:37.640 Maybe it's just something as simple as we're we're straining 0:12:37.640 --> 0:12:39.559 our vision because we're kind of thinking hard, we're kind 0:12:39.559 --> 0:12:42.200 of squinting, but but I don't know. It got me 0:12:42.240 --> 0:12:44.720 thinking it's like if because if I can't do something, 0:12:45.000 --> 0:12:47.040 I shouldn't feel the strain of trying to do it. 0:12:47.120 --> 0:12:48.920 I wonder if your pupils dilate and tried to take 0:12:48.920 --> 0:12:51.600 in more light. I have a feeling it's eye related, 0:12:51.640 --> 0:12:55.120 But if anybody has any any feedback on that, I'd 0:12:55.360 --> 0:12:56.920 be interested to hear. Like I said, I haven't looked 0:12:56.920 --> 0:12:59.600 into it, but just thought about it the other day 0:12:59.600 --> 0:13:07.200 in the car Car Thoughts with Robert Lamb. All right, 0:13:07.280 --> 0:13:09.280 this one comes to us from Tony. Tony says, hey, guys, 0:13:09.280 --> 0:13:11.320 love the podcast. Great topics to get me through my 0:13:11.360 --> 0:13:14.160 long walks on this very large campus of Michigan State 0:13:17.880 --> 0:13:21.600 and my long meals in the cafeteria Go meals. Fun fact, 0:13:22.080 --> 0:13:24.400 Brody Hall, an area of dorms on the northwest side 0:13:24.440 --> 0:13:27.199 of campus, actually houses the largest non military cafeteria in 0:13:27.280 --> 0:13:30.280 America and maybe the world. I'm not sure, but anyway, 0:13:30.280 --> 0:13:32.520 I was listening to your lepro Con Hallucinations episode and 0:13:32.520 --> 0:13:37.360 I actually experienced very bizarre and usually arguably terrifying hallucinations 0:13:37.559 --> 0:13:40.040 When I slip into a lucid dream. I think lucid 0:13:40.080 --> 0:13:42.840 dreaming is an interesting category of hallucination because you were dreaming, 0:13:43.000 --> 0:13:44.960 but you are aware of it, and in many cases 0:13:44.960 --> 0:13:47.440 you're able to control what goes on. Usually, when I 0:13:47.520 --> 0:13:50.400 dream lucidly, I like to take a back seat and 0:13:50.480 --> 0:13:53.160 let my mind unwind the story. But there are sometimes 0:13:53.200 --> 0:13:55.400 when things will pop up that are very jarring, and 0:13:55.440 --> 0:13:57.880 I typically undergo a fight or flight reaction in this 0:13:58.000 --> 0:14:01.960 dream dreamland, it stays asleep or wake up. I don't 0:14:02.040 --> 0:14:05.240 dream lucidly very often, maybe two to three times a 0:14:05.280 --> 0:14:07.920 month at most, but I've had some very bizarre encounters 0:14:07.960 --> 0:14:10.800 with interesting creatures popping up. For instance, about a week ago, 0:14:10.840 --> 0:14:12.800 I was dreaming that I was sitting in a room 0:14:13.080 --> 0:14:15.560 and there was a rain storm. It wasn't actually raining 0:14:15.600 --> 0:14:17.960 at the time, and I was really just enjoying my 0:14:18.120 --> 0:14:21.680 night in content. Then a very large thunderclap echoes through 0:14:21.680 --> 0:14:24.520 my mind, most likely a door slamming down the hall 0:14:24.880 --> 0:14:27.560 in my dorm, and the lights uh in my dream 0:14:27.640 --> 0:14:30.120 go out, but I can still see they various shapes 0:14:30.160 --> 0:14:32.320 and shadows. I then turn and look to the left 0:14:32.320 --> 0:14:35.480 physically and mentally and see a large dark shadows standing 0:14:35.480 --> 0:14:38.760 in the doorway which I am concluding is the dresser 0:14:38.840 --> 0:14:40.480 that is in the exact spot I was looking, So 0:14:40.520 --> 0:14:43.880 I immediately think wake up, but instead I slipped into 0:14:43.920 --> 0:14:46.960 sleep paralysis, which if you have ever never experienced, is 0:14:47.080 --> 0:14:50.480 extremely bizarre. When I experienced sleep paralysis, I am still 0:14:50.520 --> 0:14:52.920 able to move, but only very slowly, or so it 0:14:53.000 --> 0:14:55.520 seems from my perspective in the dream. I wonder if 0:14:55.560 --> 0:14:58.120 brain activity is so high or low that I am 0:14:58.120 --> 0:15:02.240 actually moving normal, but but the speed is perceived as slow. 0:15:03.000 --> 0:15:05.920 I am also able to open my eyes see the world, 0:15:05.960 --> 0:15:08.840 but not actually be awake. It's easily, easily the weirdest 0:15:09.000 --> 0:15:13.040 visual experience. So this dark figure appears, walks towards me, 0:15:13.120 --> 0:15:15.680 and my body feels like it feels like it's under 0:15:15.720 --> 0:15:17.880 immense pressure. I try to raise my arms, but it 0:15:17.920 --> 0:15:21.560 takes ten minutes. My eyes are open, but I still 0:15:21.600 --> 0:15:23.680 can't wake up. The figure is almost there, and then 0:15:23.840 --> 0:15:26.720 out of nowhere, I'm awake with the most intense body 0:15:26.720 --> 0:15:29.560 tingle and an elevated heart rate. Maybe it doesn't technically 0:15:29.600 --> 0:15:33.240 classify as hallucinating, but I think it does. Again, thanks 0:15:33.240 --> 0:15:36.760 for the cool topics, Love you guys. Tony. Well, that's 0:15:36.760 --> 0:15:39.920 that is fascinating because for the most part. What we're 0:15:39.960 --> 0:15:42.520 talking about there in an example isn't a hallucination, but 0:15:42.600 --> 0:15:45.360 it is. It is sleep paralysis, which we have talked 0:15:45.400 --> 0:15:49.320 about before in its relation to paranormal experience, which is 0:15:49.360 --> 0:15:53.360 also something that relates to hallucination experiences where something unreal happens, 0:15:54.160 --> 0:15:56.720 but but it feels real and it's observed as real. Yeah, 0:15:56.720 --> 0:15:59.800 when first is used the concept at the beginning of 0:15:59.800 --> 0:16:03.120 that email, I wasn't quite sure that that it could 0:16:03.120 --> 0:16:05.880 be a hallucination. But in describing that, yeah, I mean 0:16:05.880 --> 0:16:08.640 because you talk about sleep paralysis in the problem with 0:16:08.680 --> 0:16:11.760 that is that your brain has not quite come back 0:16:11.800 --> 0:16:15.400 online with your body. Because the idea is when you're dreaming, 0:16:15.600 --> 0:16:19.000 you may be throwing kung fu chops and kicks everywhere, 0:16:19.280 --> 0:16:21.640 but it's kind of like a simulation. You don't need 0:16:21.680 --> 0:16:24.600 to actually throw kung fu chops around, So your body 0:16:24.640 --> 0:16:28.880 is under lockdown, and when sleep prolysis occurs, your mind 0:16:28.920 --> 0:16:31.520 wakes up, but your body is still locked down. Right, 0:16:31.640 --> 0:16:34.280 So if you're receiving data again from your eyes visual 0:16:34.320 --> 0:16:37.960 cortex that isn't driving with the rest of your experience, 0:16:38.040 --> 0:16:42.320 then you know again the brain abhores avoid and it 0:16:42.360 --> 0:16:44.120 will fill in for you, So I do kind of 0:16:44.520 --> 0:16:46.120 like I said, I wasn't quite sure the beginning, but 0:16:46.160 --> 0:16:49.200 in the description of Chinese experience, I see how that 0:16:49.400 --> 0:16:52.000 is a possibility. Um, it would be very interesting to 0:16:52.000 --> 0:16:55.200 see some sort of mri I studies that could correlate 0:16:55.200 --> 0:16:56.800 with that. Of course, then you'd have to do someone 0:16:56.840 --> 0:17:00.280 into loosen dreaming and then sleep. But the graalsa the 0:17:00.320 --> 0:17:03.160 great thing here. It's Tony is applying critical thinking to 0:17:03.680 --> 0:17:07.240 an experience that in other cases might be perceived as 0:17:07.280 --> 0:17:11.040 something supernatural or abnormal. I mean it's still terrifying obviously, 0:17:11.280 --> 0:17:13.520 but he was able to afterwards realize, oh, well, what's 0:17:13.560 --> 0:17:17.119 going on. There's a scientific explanation for it, all right. 0:17:17.160 --> 0:17:20.320 Here's one from Michela Mickello writes in in a response 0:17:20.320 --> 0:17:22.720 to our PoCA episode, and she says, love the podcast. 0:17:22.840 --> 0:17:25.280 I had my own experience with PoCA during my second pregnancy. 0:17:25.359 --> 0:17:28.359 I craved I so strongly I started bringing cups of 0:17:28.400 --> 0:17:30.040 it to work with me from home to keep up 0:17:30.040 --> 0:17:33.560 with the demand. The weirder craving was was of a 0:17:33.640 --> 0:17:36.040 smell the a c in my car. I would sit 0:17:36.080 --> 0:17:38.359 in my driveway for fifteen minutes with my nose as 0:17:38.359 --> 0:17:41.320 close to the then as possible, breathing in the beautiful fragrance. 0:17:41.800 --> 0:17:45.439 This became increasingly increasingly hard is my belly group. Almost 0:17:45.440 --> 0:17:48.080 immediately after having my son, the smell all but disappeared 0:17:48.080 --> 0:17:50.639 from my radar. My doctor, although pretty surprised at this 0:17:50.640 --> 0:17:54.080 odd habit, attributed both of these to my anemic status 0:17:54.200 --> 0:17:57.720 during my pregnancy. All Right, that is unusual because again 0:17:57.760 --> 0:18:00.840 when we talk about pica, which I think we were 0:18:00.840 --> 0:18:02.040 saying pick up by the way, so we have to 0:18:02.040 --> 0:18:04.439 apologize for that, or I was when you think about it, 0:18:04.480 --> 0:18:07.840 more is is eating dirt for the nutrients that are 0:18:07.840 --> 0:18:11.320 inherent there, but not necessarily the ac coming in of 0:18:11.320 --> 0:18:13.639 the car. I mean, I I love the smell of 0:18:13.680 --> 0:18:15.960 air conditioning. I can remember that as a child, like 0:18:16.040 --> 0:18:18.439 loving it, maybe because I liked you know, I like 0:18:18.560 --> 0:18:20.520 the cool and all, and I didn't like being out 0:18:20.560 --> 0:18:23.560 in the sweating heat. But there's something even today, like 0:18:23.680 --> 0:18:25.200 when you when you reached that point we were suddenly 0:18:25.200 --> 0:18:27.560 turning the air conditioning back on, kind of like the 0:18:27.600 --> 0:18:30.200 smell that smells good. I did not even realize that 0:18:30.240 --> 0:18:32.560 air conditioning had a smell. It does it has. It 0:18:32.560 --> 0:18:35.159 has a smell and uh and a quite lovely one 0:18:35.200 --> 0:18:36.680 if you're in if you're in the mood for it. Okay, 0:18:36.680 --> 0:18:38.400 So now that makes me wonder, is there a large 0:18:38.400 --> 0:18:40.720 part of the population that likes to smell or conditioning 0:18:40.760 --> 0:18:43.119 and can't detect the smell of it? And I believe 0:18:43.160 --> 0:18:45.119 that I cannot. Well, we talked before. I mean, smell 0:18:45.240 --> 0:18:48.600 is a powerful thing, and we attached memories to smell 0:18:48.640 --> 0:18:51.199 that that we almost really can't completely fathom. We've all 0:18:51.200 --> 0:18:53.000 had that experience where we're walking down the street and 0:18:53.040 --> 0:18:54.720 we smell something and we're like, and it just takes 0:18:54.800 --> 0:18:57.040 us back to like a childhood memory, and then we 0:18:57.040 --> 0:18:58.479 don't even know where the smell came from or even 0:18:58.520 --> 0:19:01.080 necessarily what it was. But the press Dan Pressy and 0:19:01.160 --> 0:19:04.639 a Madeleine's right from the story that he talks about 0:19:04.680 --> 0:19:07.320 his memory and food. Yeah, I was at a friend's 0:19:07.320 --> 0:19:09.679 house and they opened up a new board game and 0:19:09.840 --> 0:19:11.840 I ended up having to like just basically huff the 0:19:11.880 --> 0:19:14.439 board game box for a little bit because the smell 0:19:14.560 --> 0:19:16.800