Out-of-body experiences and even the sense of switching bodies with another person can be induced by tricking the mind with sensory illusions!
70-80% of the test subjects experienced the illusion "very strongly". How weird that feeling must be! Link -Thanks, Geekazoid!
(image credit: AP/Niklas Larsson)
In a study presented Tuesday, neuroscientists at Stockholm's renowned Karolinska Institute show how they got volunteers wearing virtual reality goggles to experience the illusion of swapping bodies with a mannequin and a real person.
"We were interested in a classical question that philosophers and psychologists have discussed for centuries: why we feel that the self is in our bodies," project leader Henrik Ehrsson said. "To study this scientifically we've used tricks, perceptual illusions."
70-80% of the test subjects experienced the illusion "very strongly". How weird that feeling must be! Link -Thanks, Geekazoid!
(image credit: AP/Niklas Larsson)
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Maybe we really are in the Matrix.
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Thats my friend Andrew in the picture! He's studying abroad in Stockholm, and told me about the experiment yesterday. Now he keeps popping up all over the internet!
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that looks so cool. I wish that the arms would move and stuff.
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This article on MSNBC is by somebody who took part in the study and has experienced the illusion first hand.
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i remember they had some research some years back - it takes about 8 minutes (i think that was it) for most people to make the psychological leap and believe they are IN that other reality - maybe it's less now that the quality has improved?
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