3 ms·

The best exercise I've managed with what you're talking about, is to rotate shapes. The first exercise I learned was just a silver pipe, with a black interior,

The best exercise I've managed with what you're talking about, is to rotate shapes. The first exercise I learned was just a silver pipe, with a black interior, and you move it around and try to be accurate with what you would actually see. As I'm sure you're aware, it's breathtakingly hard.

crististm 10y ago
I found it fun to image a blank sheet of paper with closed eyes. It takes a couple of minutes but the result is startling and very realistic.
ChuckMcM 10y ago
I really like that idea, I'll have to try it. Generally I spent a lot of time just willing myself to "see". My thesis was that like sensory deprivation tanks eventually your brain will just make something up for you to see. And largely that has been successful, mostly visualizing nominally outdoor scenes similar to places I've visited. Rocky plains, forests, beaches.
zo1 10y ago
I've tried this many times, usually imagining walking "through" an environment such as a corridor. I would "get it" for a few moments, before it slips away. Always assumed that failing was simply due to my mind not being able to "conjure up" or "fill in" enough detail fast enough for it to be believable to me.
- ChuckMcM 10y ago
  In my experience if you keep at it you will be able to stop it from slipping away. It is a naturally unstable state, you're conscious, and you are getting visual input, that you know isn't "real". Your entire life your brain has worked to shut off that situation so that is what it wants to do. Leaving it running is sort of like balancing on a chair, you really want to put your feet down but you have to will yourself to stay up straight by not using your feet. For me, at first things would just stop (back to black as it were), then they would slowly slide out of my field of view and any head motion would cause them to stop. But eventually, like balancing, once I got to the point where I got it started, I could keep it going for a while. At this point if I can keep it going for several (say 6 or 7) minutes I'll find myself asleep (which I recognize by waking up). Only on a few occasions have remained as lucid as Feynman describes while actually dreaming.

crististm 10y ago

I found it fun to image a blank sheet of paper with closed eyes. It takes a couple of minutes but the result is startling and very realistic.

ChuckMcM 10y ago

I really like that idea, I'll have to try it. Generally I spent a lot of time just willing myself to "see". My thesis was that like sensory deprivation tanks eventually your brain will just make something up for you to see. And largely that has been successful, mostly visualizing nominally outdoor scenes similar to places I've visited. Rocky plains, forests, beaches.

zo1 10y ago

I've tried this many times, usually imagining walking "through" an environment such as a corridor. I would "get it" for a few moments, before it slips away. Always assumed that failing was simply due to my mind not being able to "conjure up" or "fill in" enough detail fast enough for it to be believable to me.

ChuckMcM 10y ago
In my experience if you keep at it you will be able to stop it from slipping away. It is a naturally unstable state, you're conscious, and you are getting visual input, that you know isn't "real". Your entire life your brain has worked to shut off that situation so that is what it wants to do. Leaving it running is sort of like balancing on a chair, you really want to put your feet down but you have to will yourself to stay up straight by not using your feet. For me, at first things would just stop (back to black as it were), then they would slowly slide out of my field of view and any head motion would cause them to stop. But eventually, like balancing, once I got to the point where I got it started, I could keep it going for a while. At this point if I can keep it going for several (say 6 or 7) minutes I'll find myself asleep (which I recognize by waking up). Only on a few occasions have remained as lucid as Feynman describes while actually dreaming.