Live data from Hacker News

God Helmet

en.wikipedia.org

31–40 of 51 posts

Re: God Helmet

#31
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know the website and I can't speak to lucid dreaming, but the most incredible "sacred geometry" effects can come from "brain machine" or "audio visual entrainment" devices. Mitch Altman had a classic Make Magazine build -- the things are essentially LEDs flickering around 10hz alpha. We built one recently with Arduino to support open eye meditation -- and you see some pretty crazy things generated by your vis…

I can't find anything for Purkinje at the beach, do you know where you heard it?

A web article with an illustration. I can't find it. But from "Purkinje's Vision: Dawn of Neuroscience"

"The first phenomenon described by Purkinje was novel: He produced flicker, while looking at the bright sky, by waving his fingers in front of one eye and reported seeing checkerboards, zigzags, spirals, and ray patterns (see Fig. 3.2, Figs. 1–4). They were called shadow figures by Helmholtz (1867, 2000b) and are now referred to as stroboscopic patterns (Smythies, 1957), although they were described before the stroboscope was invented."

Re: God Helmet

#32
If I put this thing on my head, would the aluminum foil I'm already sporting cause amplification or attenuation of the effect?

Re: God Helmet

#33

As a semi-related aside, I have epilepsy and one of the signs I am about to have a seizure is a sense of presence. It's really hard to describe but I get an intense feeling like someone is watching me close by. It's a very familiar feeling, last time I had a seizure, just before I fell to the floor I began to run away from what I perceived as a presence. Not fun.

My “aura” feels like encountering a bad memory. Like an overpowering bad memory tied to a place. I can see how it could be interpreted as a mystical experience

Re: God Helmet

#34

Atheism is not a scientific fact; it's a faith. Rupert Sheldrake says of Dawkins that his purpose in life is to convince everyone else that life has no purpose. I don't claim that Dawkins would lie to defend his faith but there is absolutely no reason why he shouldn't.

Atheism is not the topic here, it is not even mentioned in article. Although it is not a scientific fact, I wouldn't call it a faith because there is nothing really to be gained by wishing it was true. Most faiths promise a decent return of interest for true believers. If a human-made device could produce sensation of God presence, it would diminish all the holy visions reported by saints. Dawkins denied feeling any…

> I wouldn't call it a faith because there is nothing really to be gained by wishing it was true.

Of course there's something to be gained; you don't have to follow any rules and can live however you want without expecting punishment after death.

> If a human-made device could produce sensation of God presence, it would diminish all the holy visions reported by saints.

Maybe, but not obviously; if a human-made device can produce a sensation of (touch|vision|sound), does that diminish reports of (touch|sight|hearing)?

Re: God Helmet

#35
post #6
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

amazing1.com comes to mind.

Yes! I remember browsing this site as a child. They had all sorts of whacky stuff for sale, like “anti-gravity” devices. I think I found it through the ads in the back of Popular Science.

I think this might be it! And yes, I think it was also Popular Science in which I saw the ad. What a blast from the past!

Re: God Helmet

#36
post #3

This made me recall some wild online catalog website from the early 2000s that was primarily known (and advertised) for hoverboard sales, where the hoverboard was basically a small noisy gas-powered rectangular hovercraft you could stand on. I think I first saw their ad in Wired, or maybe a gaming magazine. Anyway if you dug into their catalog there was all sorts of wild stuff, from sleep masks that used LEDs to indu…

This site maybe? It's from that time and still exists https://www.amazing1.com

I could believe this is it! Looks somewhat familiar in the internet archive, although things get hazy since this was nearly 20 years ago: https://web.archive.org/web/20040624143153/http://www.amazin...

Re: God Helmet

#37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Atheism is not the topic here, it is not even mentioned in article. Although it is not a scientific fact, I wouldn't call it a faith because there is nothing really to be gained by wishing it was true. Most faiths promise a decent return of interest for true believers. If a human-made device could produce sensation of God presence, it would diminish all the holy visions reported by saints. Dawkins denied feeling any…

> I wouldn't call it a faith because there is nothing really to be gained by wishing it was true. Of course there's something to be gained; you don't have to follow any rules and can live however you want without expecting punishment after death. > If a human-made device could produce sensation of God presence, it would diminish all the holy visions reported by saints. Maybe, but not obviously; if a human-made device…

If worrying about punishment after death is the only thing that keeps you from acting immorally, please stick with the religion.

Re: God Helmet

#38
On a side note, I remember the first time I tried an isolation tank; how I fell into a deep sleep that was different from all previous ones. Felt like my consciousness was halved but not quite gone (the way it usually is when you fall asleep).

It was very pleasant. Like an idle dream. An hour went by in a few minutes. I’ve tried replicating it a few times but never had the same success as the first time I went.

I’d be curious to know what other states of consciousness exist (and how to consistently trigger them).

I’d pay good money for some experiences I can do in the comfort of my home.

Re: God Helmet

#39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I wouldn't call it a faith because there is nothing really to be gained by wishing it was true. Of course there's something to be gained; you don't have to follow any rules and can live however you want without expecting punishment after death. > If a human-made device could produce sensation of God presence, it would diminish all the holy visions reported by saints. Maybe, but not obviously; if a human-made device…

If worrying about punishment after death is the only thing that keeps you from acting immorally, please stick with the religion.

:) An Atheist (hopefully) doesn't need to be forced to not murder people, but they can eat bacon, sleep with a prostitute (where legal), and tell a "white lie" without fear of punishment.

Re: God Helmet

#40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Atheism is not the topic here, it is not even mentioned in article. Although it is not a scientific fact, I wouldn't call it a faith because there is nothing really to be gained by wishing it was true. Most faiths promise a decent return of interest for true believers. If a human-made device could produce sensation of God presence, it would diminish all the holy visions reported by saints. Dawkins denied feeling any…

> I wouldn't call it a faith because there is nothing really to be gained by wishing it was true. Of course there's something to be gained; you don't have to follow any rules and can live however you want without expecting punishment after death. > If a human-made device could produce sensation of God presence, it would diminish all the holy visions reported by saints. Maybe, but not obviously; if a human-made device…

Belief in punishment after death is not logically connected to belief or non-belief in deities. Where such connections exist, they too are matters of faith. There are for example atheists that believe in reincarnation and karma/vipaka.
Post reply on HN