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How extreme isolation warps the mind

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Re: How extreme isolation warps the mind

#121

Post by mnw21cam »

jafaku wrote: post #54
septerr wrote: post #33

"Since then, researchers have found that in darkness most people eventually adjust to a 48-hour cycle: 36 hours of activity followed by 12 hours of sleep. The reasons are still unclear" This statement was interesting to me. I wonder if it resonates with anyone else on HN. My BF who works from home a lot can spend days/hours at home splitting his time between working (programming) and playing video games. He has said…

I did something similar for a couple years, I used to sleep 8-10 hours but only 6 times a week. People kept telling me that my rotating hours were bad for my body, but I was in perfect shape, ate well, exercised, etc. Eventually I came back to "normal" because of certain obligations and human interactions, but I think I'll return to my rotating hours once I'm done with that.

You mean http://xkcd.com/320/ - Back when I was single, I considered doing something like that. I'm sure my body would prefer to have a 28 hour day.

Re: How extreme isolation warps the mind

#122

Post by mnw21cam »

FLUX-YOU wrote: post #81
prawks wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One alternative take on it is that being continually engrossed with what you're doing can often stave off biological needs like food and sleep. When I was younger and would indulge in quite a lot of video games, there were nights where it would approach sunrise without feeling tired or hungry all night. Once I stopped to walk around I would feel myself get incredibly tired/hungry, but in the moment of being engrossed…

I very quickly lose track of time when engrossed in something, especially if it's a game. Nice how that's a consistent opposite with time slowing with sensory deprivation.

I think that's called just-one-more-turn syndrome.

Re: How extreme isolation warps the mind

#123

Post by kbart »

septerr wrote: post #33

"Since then, researchers have found that in darkness most people eventually adjust to a 48-hour cycle: 36 hours of activity followed by 12 hours of sleep. The reasons are still unclear" This statement was interesting to me. I wonder if it resonates with anyone else on HN. My BF who works from home a lot can spend days/hours at home splitting his time between working (programming) and playing video games. He has said…

I was used to a similar cycle while preparing for exams at university. It might have been less than 36h of activity, but definitely more than 24h + >10h of sleep. If not a daily job, I would be on a similar cycle now as well -- I just felt more productive and rested that way. Btw, I'm a "night person" and I have noticed that such people are prone to long sleep times but also can sustain longer activity periods.

Re: How extreme isolation warps the mind

#125

Post by dzhiurgis »

3rd3 wrote: post #69
delluminatus wrote: post #5

A psychological gem was dropped in the middle of the article: People in her circumstances have their world suddenly inverted, and there is nothing in the manner of their taking – no narrative of sacrifice, or enduring for a greater good – to help them derive meaning from it. They must somehow find meaning in their predicament – or mentally detach themselves from their day-to-day reality, which is a monumental task wh…

I cannot understand why people still decide to base their motivations on slippery concepts like the meaning of life or on some romantized, conjectured intrinsic values of our species. It seems to me that there are much better mental models of our existence that can help us to organize our thoughts and lifes, most notably things that are derived from the theory of evolution, neuroscience and from behavioral biology.

My dad once dropped this wise gem:

If you are under 20 and a capitalist - you have no heart.

If you are over 20 and still a socialist - you have no brain.

Re: How extreme isolation warps the mind

#126

Post by NoMoreNicksLeft »

I have a deep and lingering suspicion that humans are a "weak hive mind" species. If we use the metaphor that the human brain is a computer, and that human communication is networking... this means that the "you" is software.

In such circumstances, why would we expect that software to run on one and only one computer node in the network? Do you know of many software applications that do that?

If this were true though, what would happen when all the other nodes become disconnected? The remaining node is probably going to malfunction...

Re: How extreme isolation warps the mind

#128

Post by Loughla »

kbart wrote: post #123
septerr wrote: post #33

"Since then, researchers have found that in darkness most people eventually adjust to a 48-hour cycle: 36 hours of activity followed by 12 hours of sleep. The reasons are still unclear" This statement was interesting to me. I wonder if it resonates with anyone else on HN. My BF who works from home a lot can spend days/hours at home splitting his time between working (programming) and playing video games. He has said…

I was used to a similar cycle while preparing for exams at university. It might have been less than 36h of activity, but definitely more than 24h + >10h of sleep. If not a daily job, I would be on a similar cycle now as well -- I just felt more productive and rested that way. Btw, I'm a "night person" and I have noticed that such people are prone to long sleep times but also can sustain longer activity periods.

A little off topic, but are you a night person, or have you just never tried the alternate?

I ask because I was a self-defined 'night person' for my early and mid 20's. Once I got married and got a straight job, with early rising and what-not, I found that I'm actually a lot more functional and a lot better feeling going to sleep early (9pm) and waking up early (4am). Genuinely I am healthier and happier; it's strange.

Have you tried the alternate as a comparison?

Re: How extreme isolation warps the mind

#129

Post by touristtam »

doxcf434 wrote: post #47

I can't help but wonder why we come to such broad conclusions of fact about the mind, when there are plenty of data points that show there's quite a lot more to the story than "isolation is bad". If I were a serious scientist of the mind for example, I would need to include data points from India and Tibet masters in to my research, who are well known for having studied the mind and have data points showing the oppos…

Agreed, the background (social and other) of the 'participant' ought to be very different.

Re: How extreme isolation warps the mind

#130

Post by aestra »

zokier wrote: post #59

This is highly tangential, but this bit in the beginning stood out to me: > That summer, the 32-year-old had been hiking with two friends in the mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan when they were arrested by Iranian troops after straying onto the border with Iran. I'd put "going hiking to the Iraq-Iran border-zone" to the bucket of bad ideas even in better times, and 2009 (when this seemed to happen) certainly wasn't a good…

Yes, it probably wasn't completely wise, but these three weren't really as naive as it may appear.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009%E2%80%9311_detention_of_Am...

>At the time of their detention by Iranian troops, the three Americans were on vacation from their jobs in the region in a relatively stable, autonomous region of Iraq known as Iraqi Kurdistan. On the recommendations of locals, they hiked to see a popular local Iraqi tourist destination near the Iraq-Iran border, the Ahmed Awa waterfall.

>The three American detainees have stated they were simply hikers who did not realize that they were in Iran and that they actually have lengthy backgrounds as social justice activists

>They had been living and active in the Middle East, and were on holiday in Iraqi Kurdistan, an autonomous region of Iraq free from the sectarian struggle that dominates much of Iraq.[16][17][18] They had been advised of the suitability of the region for a holiday by friends who had been there and through Internet research; and were recommended the Ahmed Awa waterfall, a popular Kurdish tourist destination, by a number of local people whilst they were in Sulaymaniyah.

>after straying onto the border with Iran.

There is some contention that they might not have actually crossed the border.

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