05 PM | 10 Apr

#Engineering #psychology at the Charlie James Gallery #video [#geekgirl]

Engineering Psycology at the Charlie James Gallery from artBoffin on Vimeo.

Engineering Psychology invites the viewer to become the subject in a dialogue between technology and humanity. Ranging from low to high tech and from playful to serious, each piece uses technology to engage an element of human experience: including love, attraction, physical pleasure, repulsion, and pain. Works will include balloons that appear alive, a machine that gives visitors a ‘headgasm’, robots that break down barriers with cuteness, devices that placate and tease, a mask that mechanizes humanity, and installations that invoke child-like joy and suggest unbearable visceral pain.

Source: Vimeo

02 PM | 23 Jun

The sad plight of #Aibo .. the dying of a #robot #dog [#geekgirl]

Back in 1999, Sony released a robotic dog called Aibo, a canine companion that didn’t crap everywhere and only ate electricity. It sold pretty well — 150,000 units, despite the $2,000 price tag. Some owners became remarkably attached, which makes it even more sad that Sony has stopped repairing Aibo. Slowly but surely, they’re all dying.

he New York Times has recorded the plight of current-day Aibo owners in a completely heartbreaking video. They interviewed a series of owners, whose Aibos are a central part of their lives, but are slowly having to come to the fact that their dogs have a life expectancy.

Source: Gizmodo 2015

02 PM | 27 Mar

Brion Gysin’s #Dreamachine [#geekgirl]

THE DRUGLESS TURN-ON: OWN A BRION GYSIN DREAMACHINE

Order now! 

Ten years in the making, BRION GYSIN’S DREAMACHINE is being released by Soleilmoon Recordings, in cooperation with The Hafler Trio and Simply Superior.

Who was Brion Gysin, and what is a Dreamachine? Gysin was a British-born Canadian painter and illustrator, best known for discovering “cut-up” writing, the technique made famous by William S. Burroughs. With the assistance of Ian Sommerville, Gysin invented the Dreamachine, which at its essence is a rotating cylinder with a light hanging inside it. The user sits or stands in front of it, very near, with eyes closed. As it rotates, slots cut in the side allow flashes of light to hit the user’s eyelids 8 or 13 times per second, matching the rate of Alpha waves produced by the brain during meditation or the early stages of sleep. The inspiration for the Dreamachine came to Gysin when he was traveling by bus along a road lined with tall trees. Writing in his journal in 1958, he described his epiphany: “I closed my eyes against the setting sun. An overwhelming flood of intensely bright patterns in supernatural colors exploded behind my eyelids: a multi-dimensional kaleidoscope whirling out through space.” It was a transformational moment in Gysin’s life, and the first Dreamachine was created in 1961, after more than two years of experimentation and tinkering.

The package released by Soleilmoon includes a fully functional Dreamachine, designed to Brion Gysin’s specifications, printed and die-cut on sturdy, flexible and long-lasting vinyl. It’s ready for use, right out of the box. Simply connect the overlapping velcro-lined edges, center the cylinder on an LP, lock it in place with a few pieces of sticky tape and then place it on a turntable, preferably one that can rotate at 78 RPM, although 45 RPM will work, too. Hang a lightbulb inside, then seat yourself near the rotating cyclinder, close your eyes and wait for the dreamstate to be induced.

Source: Dangerous Minds

02 PM | 16 Nov

The Psychology of #Escape Room #Melbourne. 70 mins to solve a live #puzzle #game #ERM [#geekgirl]

escape-room-01

Melbourne’s original live puzzle game. You have 70 minutes to unravel the mystery of a hidden room, working as a team of 2-6 to solve a variety of quirky and inventive puzzles to escape.

The Psychology of an Escape Room; How To Work Together and Win

Escape rooms are an adventure type game, in which you and a group of others are ‘trapped’ in a room and need to use the elements within the room to gather clues and escape within a set time limit. Some of the newer escape rooms are so state of the art you will actually feel like you are trapped and genuinely try your best to escape!

“An escape room is really no different to any other sort of enjoyable problem solving activity, but with the added benefit of a sense of immersion that you’ll never get from anything that’s not real-world and interactive” says Ali Cheetham, owner of an escape room in Melbourne.

“Being locked in and having a time limit also provides a sense of excitement and urgency that other games often don’t have.”

Sound like your kind of thing? Before you go running towards your nearest escape room, there are a few things you should know.

Escape rooms are built to test you and raise your adrenaline levels, so instead of freaking out when your heart starts beating you should use this energy. Be aware that some others in your group might be more or less panicked than you and some may even find it scary. The escape rooms are built to test everyone; they create faux scenarios that anyone would reasonably be afraid in if it were real life.

So if you ever have the pleasure of finding yourself in an escape room with a group of others you need to be conscious of this. Expect to be a little bit scared and expect that others are going to be feeling the same. But again remember that it’s only a game! Ginger Flesher owns the Escape Room Live in D.C and claims that “it’s hilarious to see how different groups handle the pressure”.

Escape rooms create situations that aren’t exactly the norm, thus your group members aren’t going to act in ways you’ve ever seen the act before. This might throw you off but you should try to remember that it’s all a game in the end, laugh at yourself and have fun with your group members. As the Washington posts says in it’s review of escape rooms, “the vibe is meant to be fun and cozy”.

The way to win one over on your escape room is to work together. They’re not known as the ultimate team building exercise for nothing. You will find it easiest to escape when you work in a group and use all the brainpower at your disposal. Get the high fives and team chants going, cheer on your group members for clever thinking and have fun! Choose a leader, communicate and set some goals. Remember to reward yourself and team members when you escape (eventually).

“Our brains are wired to look for patterns and meaning,” says Cheetham. “There’s a very basic enjoyment that comes from finding new information and making it fit together in a meaningful way.” So gratify your need to problem solve and use it to your group’s advantage.

Website: http://www.escaperoom.com.au/