Scientists Attempt To Recreate 'Overview Effect' From Earth (theguardian.com) 21
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: The spectacle of Earth suspended in space was so overwhelming for Edgar Mitchell that the Apollo 14 astronaut and sixth man on the moon wanted to grab politicians by the scruff of the neck and drag them into space to witness the view. Such drastic measures may not be necessary, however. Scientists are about to welcome the first participants on an unprecedented clinical trial that aims to reproduce the intense emotional experience, known as the "Overview effect," from the comfort of a health spa. If the trial goes well, what led Mitchell to develop "an instant global consciousness" and a profound connection to Earth and its people could be recreated with nothing more than a flotation tank, a half tonne of Epsom salts, and a waterproof virtual reality (VR) headset.
Pratscher will recruit about 100 volunteers who are willing to don the VR headset and clamber into a dark, salt-laden flotation tank at the city's Clarity Float spa. The silence and buoyancy will mimic the sensation of floating in space, while the VR headset plays high-definition, 360 degree immersive video recorded by the Silicon Valley startup, SpaceVR. The volunteers will be randomly assigned to have either the full flotation tank VR experience, to float without VR, or have VR while lying on a bed. Before and after their one-hour session, the participants will complete a series of questionnaires to assess whether they had any mystical experiences, felt more connected to others, or had what psychologists call an "emotional breakthrough" moment. The persistence of any effects will be assessed after one week and again a month later. Pratscher does not expect everyone who steps into the tank wearing a VR headset to emerge having experienced the Overview effect. But the experiment will reveal what, if anything, people do experience when their senses are fooled into believing they are looking down on Earth from space.
Pratscher will recruit about 100 volunteers who are willing to don the VR headset and clamber into a dark, salt-laden flotation tank at the city's Clarity Float spa. The silence and buoyancy will mimic the sensation of floating in space, while the VR headset plays high-definition, 360 degree immersive video recorded by the Silicon Valley startup, SpaceVR. The volunteers will be randomly assigned to have either the full flotation tank VR experience, to float without VR, or have VR while lying on a bed. Before and after their one-hour session, the participants will complete a series of questionnaires to assess whether they had any mystical experiences, felt more connected to others, or had what psychologists call an "emotional breakthrough" moment. The persistence of any effects will be assessed after one week and again a month later. Pratscher does not expect everyone who steps into the tank wearing a VR headset to emerge having experienced the Overview effect. But the experiment will reveal what, if anything, people do experience when their senses are fooled into believing they are looking down on Earth from space.
BeauHD recreates 'Dupe Effect' from Earth (Score:5, Funny)
https://science.slashdot.org/s... [slashdot.org]
Re: (Score:2)
Must have just come on shift.
MOD PARENT UP! (Score:2)
Magnificent!
Just use the original (Score:2)
Why can't they just use the giant above ground oil storage tank filled with salt water that they shot the original moon walk in?
Re-create the entire experience...
Have you had a mystical thought lately? (Score:1)
Re: Have you had a mystical thought lately? (Score:2)
You misspelled "without having a wank" there ... *points finger*
Slashdot attempts to re-post stories (Score:2)
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It's a glitch in the matrix.
"emotional experience". That's where you fail. (Score:2)
See, politician manufacturers never ordered this optional extra. They went with the bare-bones "Dalek" package. Like for Managers.txz. (Lobbyist.txz is just a softlink to Politicians.txz nowadays.)
So this will do nothing to them
Yeah, if you insist I will answer the question: Of course they run on Slackware! It is literally older than dirt!
Psychology experiment only (Score:2)
Trying to re-create psychological effects is interesting, but I don't see a path to solving real world problems. Many conflicts on earth have "real" causes whether its resources, or fundamental ideology differences These won't be solved by politicians taking an overview.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
Trying to re-create psychological effects is interesting, but I don't see a path to solving real world problems.
This research is just trying to answer the question, "Was Edgar Mitchell a one-off with a mystical bent, or does viewing the Earth in this particular manner have a similar effect on a significant fraction of the people who experience it?
umm wait float without vr? (Score:2)
it's just one of those tanks where you lay down?
and what headset is it? sounds like someone made the easiest vr experience they could. you don't even need l/r separation for rendering (earth is so far that it doesn't matter).
Re: umm wait float without vr? (Score:2)
If I ever make Commander of an operational Death Star, remind me not to ask you for possible target practice suggestions.
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Heck I was just wondering if someone got LSD quasi-legalized for "research purposes" or something...
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Space - The final funteer. (Score:2)
startup idea (Score:2)
I think they should just create an app for this. Then more of the world's population can feel connected to the rest of humanity.
(If you didn't get the irony, perhaps this post [slashdot.org] will help.)