15 ms·

What a Sensory Isolation Tank Taught Me About My Brain

82 points by DiabloD3 10y ago

captn3m0 10y ago
If you are interested, Richard Feynman has written about his experiences (the physicist) in Sensory Depravation Tanks. You can read the entire post at [0], and it forms one chapter of "Surely you're joking Mr. Feynman", which I highly recommend. [0]: https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=51786 https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=51786
anotheryou 10y ago
I just did it once and found it underwhelming, like quickstarting meditation, but not much more. After sometime salt started to crystalize at the water line, which was rather worse than lying in bed meditating.
- justinpombrio 10y ago
  > like quickstarting meditation Meditation is hard, so quick-starting it could be valuable, especially for someone who doesn't know how to meditate well.
- adrice727 10y ago
  This isn't surprising. Similar to meditation, a floating practice is something that is developed over time. I didn't enjoy my first float session and couldn't wait to get out of the tank. Now, with ~150 sessions under my belt, it's a very different story.
- cwilkes 10y ago
  I recently had the same experience at a different float place in Seattle that I don't normally go to. I went as this place had huge tubs -- about 6 ft by 8 ft. Also the ceiling was at least 6 foot so people could stand in there. It felt good to not touch the sides like I do occasionally st the other place. However with a really tall ceiling it was hard to maintain the correct temperature and humidity. Salt began to crystallize on my body and the air temp was noticeably cooler than the water. So the effect was off. I bet this was the same place in Seattle that the author went to. I mentioned this to the people running the place and they said it is a problem of humidity and they are installing infra red lamps to control it. I'm a little suspicious that this will fix it. So for now I'll continue to go to the original place. The vats are more like tombs; you can barely sit up in them. But they are warm enough it is hard to tell what is in water and air.
edem 10y ago
How can I get past the paywall?
- athenot 10y ago
  This is not the answer you're looking for but this worked for me: I bought a subscription to the NY Times. (To answer your question: use the web link next to the article: it takes you to Google; then click on the matching result.)
- Dwolb 10y ago
  You can open the page in incognito mode.
arc_of_descent 10y ago
I'm not sure about these Sensory Deprivation Tanks, simply because I haven't tried them, but it all seems a bit too much hocus pocus. Richard Feynman (as one post mentions) tried it, felt good, had some experiences, but once out of it he quickly realized that it was just another perception. We all perceive, if there is no sensory input, the brain will fill in the blanks. I've been practicing mediation (Vipassna, which is also minfullness meditation) for around 6 months now. I highly recommend it. The mind-body complex is what its mainly about. You have to observe your bodily senses and your thoughts. As quantum mechanics demonstrates, observing changes the thing being observed. (Like the wave function collapse, I'm no expert). But you can surely change your mind by meditation. Happy New Year!
- visarga 10y ago
  > haven't tried Sensory Deprivation Tanks Cheap replacement - brain machine. Combines stroboscopic light flashes with binaural beats. Pretty trippy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_machine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_machine Even cheaper - foam padded meditation mask (Mindfold Mask) and ear plugs. It puts you in total darkness and silence. Samadhi tank offers the same deal + floating in liquid, which is not so essential. If you can sit alert in total blackness for 30 minutes, you will lose your spatial orientation completely and feel like you are suspended in void. I have practiced meditation for 20 years (normal meditation, without samadhi tanks and brain machines) and what is essential is to focus your attention and keep it on its object. It really feels like something different than day to day experiences, after a while. There is much potential for life hacking through meditation, the brain being so complex and open.
  - amingilani 10y ago
    Light flashes... Of all the times to have epilepsy, this one is the worst. Sighhhh
    - visarga 10y ago
      You are supposed to keep your eyes closed and see the flashes through your eyelids. The intensity of light and sound is adjustable for comfort. It's also related to the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganzfeld_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganzfeld_effect
DoodleBuggy 10y ago
These have become very trendy.
- chris_st 10y ago
  Wow, you gave me a flashback to the 1970's (the good kind :-) when they were (first?) trendy.
remir 10y ago
I've tried it once. It got interesting only after about 45 min, but the session was only 60 minutes. Not enough, in my opinion.
- desireco42 10y ago
  I bet if you went second time, you would have even more fun.
jyriand 10y ago
Rather difficult read. Not sure what the author is doing with his language, but even after rereading some of the paragraphs I still fail to grasp the point. An example: > "Hardly a week goes by, it seems, without an enthusiastic report in the popular media about intriguing neuroscience research linking some human behavior to the function of a particular brain circuit." These things that he "learned" seem to be quite trivial and shallow. It seems he first came up with the title and then tried to fit his experience into this title.
rbanffy 10y ago
It's interesting the writer didn't get sensory deprivation and, yet, still wrote about it...
- rwc 10y ago
  He can't get his $89 reimbursed by the NYT without at least churning out some clickbait.
somberi 10y ago
One related talk that might be of interest. https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_dennett_on_our_consciousness https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_dennett_on_our_consciousness Edit: Added Speaker Bio. https://www.ted.com/speakers/dan_dennett https://www.ted.com/speakers/dan_dennett

82 points by DiabloD3 10y ago

If you are interested, Richard Feynman has written about his experiences (the physicist) in Sensory Depravation Tanks. You can read the entire post at [0], and it forms one chapter of "Surely you're joking Mr. Feynman", which I highly recommend. [0]: https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=51786 https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=51786

anotheryou 10y ago

I just did it once and found it underwhelming, like quickstarting meditation, but not much more. After sometime salt started to crystalize at the water line, which was rather worse than lying in bed meditating.

justinpombrio 10y ago
> like quickstarting meditation Meditation is hard, so quick-starting it could be valuable, especially for someone who doesn't know how to meditate well.
adrice727 10y ago
This isn't surprising. Similar to meditation, a floating practice is something that is developed over time. I didn't enjoy my first float session and couldn't wait to get out of the tank. Now, with ~150 sessions under my belt, it's a very different story.
cwilkes 10y ago
I recently had the same experience at a different float place in Seattle that I don't normally go to. I went as this place had huge tubs -- about 6 ft by 8 ft. Also the ceiling was at least 6 foot so people could stand in there. It felt good to not touch the sides like I do occasionally st the other place. However with a really tall ceiling it was hard to maintain the correct temperature and humidity. Salt began to crystallize on my body and the air temp was noticeably cooler than the water. So the effect was off. I bet this was the same place in Seattle that the author went to. I mentioned this to the people running the place and they said it is a problem of humidity and they are installing infra red lamps to control it. I'm a little suspicious that this will fix it. So for now I'll continue to go to the original place. The vats are more like tombs; you can barely sit up in them. But they are warm enough it is hard to tell what is in water and air.

edem 10y ago

How can I get past the paywall?

athenot 10y ago
This is not the answer you're looking for but this worked for me: I bought a subscription to the NY Times. (To answer your question: use the web link next to the article: it takes you to Google; then click on the matching result.)
Dwolb 10y ago
You can open the page in incognito mode.

arc_of_descent 10y ago

I'm not sure about these Sensory Deprivation Tanks, simply because I haven't tried them, but it all seems a bit too much hocus pocus. Richard Feynman (as one post mentions) tried it, felt good, had some experiences, but once out of it he quickly realized that it was just another perception. We all perceive, if there is no sensory input, the brain will fill in the blanks. I've been practicing mediation (Vipassna, which is also minfullness meditation) for around 6 months now. I highly recommend it. The mind-body complex is what its mainly about. You have to observe your bodily senses and your thoughts. As quantum mechanics demonstrates, observing changes the thing being observed. (Like the wave function collapse, I'm no expert). But you can surely change your mind by meditation. Happy New Year!

visarga 10y ago
> haven't tried Sensory Deprivation Tanks Cheap replacement - brain machine. Combines stroboscopic light flashes with binaural beats. Pretty trippy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_machine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_machine Even cheaper - foam padded meditation mask (Mindfold Mask) and ear plugs. It puts you in total darkness and silence. Samadhi tank offers the same deal + floating in liquid, which is not so essential. If you can sit alert in total blackness for 30 minutes, you will lose your spatial orientation completely and feel like you are suspended in void. I have practiced meditation for 20 years (normal meditation, without samadhi tanks and brain machines) and what is essential is to focus your attention and keep it on its object. It really feels like something different than day to day experiences, after a while. There is much potential for life hacking through meditation, the brain being so complex and open.
- amingilani 10y ago
  Light flashes... Of all the times to have epilepsy, this one is the worst. Sighhhh
  - visarga 10y ago
    You are supposed to keep your eyes closed and see the flashes through your eyelids. The intensity of light and sound is adjustable for comfort. It's also related to the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganzfeld_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganzfeld_effect

DoodleBuggy 10y ago

These have become very trendy.

chris_st 10y ago
Wow, you gave me a flashback to the 1970's (the good kind :-) when they were (first?) trendy.

remir 10y ago

I've tried it once. It got interesting only after about 45 min, but the session was only 60 minutes. Not enough, in my opinion.

desireco42 10y ago
I bet if you went second time, you would have even more fun.

jyriand 10y ago

Rather difficult read. Not sure what the author is doing with his language, but even after rereading some of the paragraphs I still fail to grasp the point. An example: > "Hardly a week goes by, it seems, without an enthusiastic report in the popular media about intriguing neuroscience research linking some human behavior to the function of a particular brain circuit." These things that he "learned" seem to be quite trivial and shallow. It seems he first came up with the title and then tried to fit his experience into this title.

rbanffy 10y ago

It's interesting the writer didn't get sensory deprivation and, yet, still wrote about it...

rwc 10y ago
He can't get his $89 reimbursed by the NYT without at least churning out some clickbait.

somberi 10y ago

One related talk that might be of interest. https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_dennett_on_our_consciousness https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_dennett_on_our_consciousness Edit: Added Speaker Bio. https://www.ted.com/speakers/dan_dennett https://www.ted.com/speakers/dan_dennett