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Nikola Tesla invention from 100 years ago suddenly makes more sense today

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Re: Nikola Tesla invention from 100 years ago suddenly makes more sense today

#21

Post by Monroe13 »

mrtnmcc wrote: post #20
neither_color wrote: post #8

If you want to get into the mind of Tesla a bit I highly recommend "My Inventions", his sort of autobiography where he described how his mind worked. He spent a lot of time developing his imagination at a young age and "traveling" in his head. I was surprised to read that he would visualize entire designs in his imagination and then go through prototypes and iterations several times before bringing that idea into the…

Doesn't everyone do this? I remember at the age of five finally learning to control my falling dreams at night, to be able to freeze in the air and eventually fly (the Matrix scene definitely resonated later). This was the beginning of a continuous exercise of imagining things more and more exactly and controlling that imagination. Now as an engineer, I spend most of my time staring at a wall simulating and refining…

> Doesn't everyone do this?

I wish I had the ability of imagination like you describe.

I don’t think I have full-on aphantasia (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphantasia) but I definitely can’t run simulations in my mind.

Re: Nikola Tesla invention from 100 years ago suddenly makes more sense today

#22

Post by shahar2k »

mrtnmcc wrote: post #20
neither_color wrote: post #8

If you want to get into the mind of Tesla a bit I highly recommend "My Inventions", his sort of autobiography where he described how his mind worked. He spent a lot of time developing his imagination at a young age and "traveling" in his head. I was surprised to read that he would visualize entire designs in his imagination and then go through prototypes and iterations several times before bringing that idea into the…

Doesn't everyone do this? I remember at the age of five finally learning to control my falling dreams at night, to be able to freeze in the air and eventually fly (the Matrix scene definitely resonated later). This was the beginning of a continuous exercise of imagining things more and more exactly and controlling that imagination. Now as an engineer, I spend most of my time staring at a wall simulating and refining…

I was about to say this exact thing, when I finally sit down to make something physical... I generally have a fairly full idea of every aspect of it simply in my head, (admittedly I work with fairly basic mechanical setups using a laser cutter and general tech art)

Re: Nikola Tesla invention from 100 years ago suddenly makes more sense today

#23

Post by gfody »

mrtnmcc wrote: post #20
neither_color wrote: post #8

If you want to get into the mind of Tesla a bit I highly recommend "My Inventions", his sort of autobiography where he described how his mind worked. He spent a lot of time developing his imagination at a young age and "traveling" in his head. I was surprised to read that he would visualize entire designs in his imagination and then go through prototypes and iterations several times before bringing that idea into the…

Doesn't everyone do this? I remember at the age of five finally learning to control my falling dreams at night, to be able to freeze in the air and eventually fly (the Matrix scene definitely resonated later). This was the beginning of a continuous exercise of imagining things more and more exactly and controlling that imagination. Now as an engineer, I spend most of my time staring at a wall simulating and refining…

I think that as a race our mind evolves and modes of thinking that we take for granted today may have been unique to geniuses 100 years ago. Along these lines bicameralism is a neat theory that adds a whole dimension to old literature although it might be considered debunked these days.

Re: Nikola Tesla invention from 100 years ago suddenly makes more sense today

#24

Post by gfody »

Monroe13 wrote: post #21
mrtnmcc wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't everyone do this? I remember at the age of five finally learning to control my falling dreams at night, to be able to freeze in the air and eventually fly (the Matrix scene definitely resonated later). This was the beginning of a continuous exercise of imagining things more and more exactly and controlling that imagination. Now as an engineer, I spend most of my time staring at a wall simulating and refining…

> Doesn't everyone do this? I wish I had the ability of imagination like you describe. I don’t think I have full-on aphantasia ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphantasia ) but I definitely can’t run simulations in my mind.

we're really lacking in ability to effectively describe the qualia of "imagining" - it could be that some people visualize internal fidelity more closely matching the raw signal of their optic nerve and others have an entirely separate way of experiencing. for myself I can say that I mentally visualize just fine but it is nothing at all like actual vision. if you asked me how is it different then this is where words fail. it's entirely different but I can't describe how.

Re: Nikola Tesla invention from 100 years ago suddenly makes more sense today

#25

Post by cm2012 »

mrtnmcc wrote: post #20
neither_color wrote: post #8

If you want to get into the mind of Tesla a bit I highly recommend "My Inventions", his sort of autobiography where he described how his mind worked. He spent a lot of time developing his imagination at a young age and "traveling" in his head. I was surprised to read that he would visualize entire designs in his imagination and then go through prototypes and iterations several times before bringing that idea into the…

Doesn't everyone do this? I remember at the age of five finally learning to control my falling dreams at night, to be able to freeze in the air and eventually fly (the Matrix scene definitely resonated later). This was the beginning of a continuous exercise of imagining things more and more exactly and controlling that imagination. Now as an engineer, I spend most of my time staring at a wall simulating and refining…

I can visualize things well in my head but certainly can't do multi step things there. Like of I'm assembling idea furniture I can't piece it together in my head from the start, I'm blindly going one step at a time.

Re: Nikola Tesla invention from 100 years ago suddenly makes more sense today

#26

Post by danybittel »

mrtnmcc wrote: post #20
neither_color wrote: post #8

If you want to get into the mind of Tesla a bit I highly recommend "My Inventions", his sort of autobiography where he described how his mind worked. He spent a lot of time developing his imagination at a young age and "traveling" in his head. I was surprised to read that he would visualize entire designs in his imagination and then go through prototypes and iterations several times before bringing that idea into the…

Doesn't everyone do this? I remember at the age of five finally learning to control my falling dreams at night, to be able to freeze in the air and eventually fly (the Matrix scene definitely resonated later). This was the beginning of a continuous exercise of imagining things more and more exactly and controlling that imagination. Now as an engineer, I spend most of my time staring at a wall simulating and refining…

You may be exceptional.

In my experience, it often works / looks perfect in the head. But putting it to paper, it falls apart quickly. Imagine a bicycle, it is easy to imagine it accurately. Then draw it (or construct it), one usually struggles a lot. The step to materialize it, is where you need a lot of practice.

The worst are the the "idea" guys. They think they have already done all the work, and somebody else just needs to put it to paper. If you're that someone, expect lots of trial and error. He'll "know when he sees it", but can't give directions.

Re: Nikola Tesla invention from 100 years ago suddenly makes more sense today

#27

Post by vidarh »

Monroe13 wrote: post #21
mrtnmcc wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't everyone do this? I remember at the age of five finally learning to control my falling dreams at night, to be able to freeze in the air and eventually fly (the Matrix scene definitely resonated later). This was the beginning of a continuous exercise of imagining things more and more exactly and controlling that imagination. Now as an engineer, I spend most of my time staring at a wall simulating and refining…

> Doesn't everyone do this? I wish I had the ability of imagination like you describe. I don’t think I have full-on aphantasia ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphantasia ) but I definitely can’t run simulations in my mind.

I do have aphantasia, and until reading about it a couple of years ago I had no idea most people meant it literally when they talked about seeing things in their mind outside of dreams.

I can describe things in detail based on spatial relationships very accurately with my eyes closed, but at the very most I sometimes see vague subsecond flashes.

Re: Nikola Tesla invention from 100 years ago suddenly makes more sense today

#28

Post by yboris »

gfody wrote: post #24
Monroe13 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Doesn't everyone do this? I wish I had the ability of imagination like you describe. I don’t think I have full-on aphantasia ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphantasia ) but I definitely can’t run simulations in my mind.

we're really lacking in ability to effectively describe the qualia of "imagining" - it could be that some people visualize internal fidelity more closely matching the raw signal of their optic nerve and others have an entirely separate way of experiencing. for myself I can say that I mentally visualize just fine but it is nothing at all like actual vision. if you asked me how is it different then this is where words…

My inner imagination pales in comparison to the visualizations I experience on LSD. This experience sets up a nice contrast of what my mind is capable of VS what I generally am able to do when imagining.

I'm eager to try spending time imagining / visualizing things as I used to do when I was a kid, but it's hard to find time with all the exciting projects and busy life stuff in the way.

Re: Nikola Tesla invention from 100 years ago suddenly makes more sense today

#29

Post by LouisSayers »

mrtnmcc wrote: post #20
neither_color wrote: post #8

If you want to get into the mind of Tesla a bit I highly recommend "My Inventions", his sort of autobiography where he described how his mind worked. He spent a lot of time developing his imagination at a young age and "traveling" in his head. I was surprised to read that he would visualize entire designs in his imagination and then go through prototypes and iterations several times before bringing that idea into the…

Doesn't everyone do this? I remember at the age of five finally learning to control my falling dreams at night, to be able to freeze in the air and eventually fly (the Matrix scene definitely resonated later). This was the beginning of a continuous exercise of imagining things more and more exactly and controlling that imagination. Now as an engineer, I spend most of my time staring at a wall simulating and refining…

To a certain degree yes - it might depend on how well you really understand something. I also feel like this is a unique aspect of humans - to be able to anticipate / simulate cause and effect.

I find with certain sports once you get the hang of it you do this. For me with aggressive inline skating I might imagine a lineup of tricks, getting the feeling for it before attempting the tricks. For boxing you can start to imagine an opponents punches and how you might slip or weave them followed by your own punches etc. For the folks talking about aphantasia, I find it difficult to hold a vivid image in my mind, so for me personally I don't so much see it, it's more like having the feeling for it or simulation via abstraction.

As a kid I also would imagine that I could levitate. I would wonder if perhaps the reason people couldn't do some things like levitation is that they didn't try hard enough. If I lay still I would actually feel like I was lifting off the bed.

Re: Nikola Tesla invention from 100 years ago suddenly makes more sense today

#30

Post by klyrs »

gfody wrote: post #24
Monroe13 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Doesn't everyone do this? I wish I had the ability of imagination like you describe. I don’t think I have full-on aphantasia ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphantasia ) but I definitely can’t run simulations in my mind.

we're really lacking in ability to effectively describe the qualia of "imagining" - it could be that some people visualize internal fidelity more closely matching the raw signal of their optic nerve and others have an entirely separate way of experiencing. for myself I can say that I mentally visualize just fine but it is nothing at all like actual vision. if you asked me how is it different then this is where words…

It's weird. I can construct objects and run physics experiments in my head (not on Tesla's level), and it's a clear tactile sense to me, textures included. I can also play familiar tunes (in my youth this included symphonies, simplified into sections and solos) and mix flavors in my head. But the weirdest part is, I can hardly see a thing in there.
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