Presence of mind... machines.

February 14, 2013 8:53 AM

I've always wanted to try an eyewear-based mind machine, but the number of options are dizzying, and it's not clear what's best. There's closed-eye, open-eye, different LEDs, and options go from $25 kits to being quite pricy. I'm aware of this previous AskMe, but it's quite old. If you've used mind machines recently, what's the lay of the land? Also, is there somewhere I could go in the Bay Area to try them out?
posted by I EAT TAPAS to technology (7 answers total)

If you just want to try it out the effect for nothing, there's an online dream machine here.
posted by jquinby at 9:08 AM on February 14 [3 favorites]

There's another new AskMe about this
posted by exogenous at 9:11 AM on February 14

I got to try out a Laxman very briefly and the effect was really pretty impressive. It's very expensive for a somewhat kludgy interface and some cheap LEDs strapped to a set of goggles, though, and I would also be very interested to hear of a better/cheaper option. This seems like a pretty simple microcontroller kit project for somebody to put together.
posted by contraption at 9:53 AM on February 14

depends on what you are trying to achieve

I have a Remee:

http://sleepwithremee.com/

for $95 it's fun, melatonin friendly and mostly about opening up your head to lucid dreaming. Still messing around with it, but so far, it seems to work.

I also have an emwave 2 biofeedback system which is a clip on pulse monitor that you use with biofeedback software to learn how to control your breathing, your heart rate and your brain activity. There is an offshoot program called Heartmath that ties the device to some pretty solid research about meditative states, emotional states and our health.

I have played with some of the Mindplace devices and they are as good as the Laxman, but the build quality is not as good.

there are also lots of cheap binaural beats audio cds which are pretty good at chilling you out with nothing more than some headphones and a dark room.
posted by bobdow at 10:59 AM on February 14 [1 favorite]

Go to Noisebridge. If Mitch isn't there in person, someone else will likely be able to help you.

Definitely go the kit route. Being able to reprogram it yourself is absolutely worthwhile.
posted by Myself at 1:23 PM on February 14 [1 favorite]

The kit that's being discussed here is much cheaper than something like the Laxman, but also much less featureful. The Make kit has only one single-color LED per eye, where the Laxman has a cluster of LEDs that can dim independently and flash in a wide assortment of patterns. From my experience with it these were really fun to play with and did produce noticeably different effects. That said, the most effective pattern for inducing the visual hallucinations that most people associate with these things was full brightness at about 10-15Hz, which is what the $25 kit delivers. It'd be nice if someone created a more full-featured kit at a reasonable cost, but the Make one should at least let you decide if you like it enough to get something fancier.
posted by contraption at 2:14 PM on February 14

jquinby: "If you just want to try it out the effect for nothing, there's an online dream machine here."

Just as an FYI to others, I clicked on that and started it at the default settings and it triggered a massive panic attack for me. I have no history of any seizure issues regarding flashing lights, but that thing messed up my eyes (I did not close them or dim the lights in the room) for a few hours (It kind of felt like I burned out my eyes with UV or something close). I only watched it for about seven seconds or so, but that resulted in one of the WORST panic attacks I've had in years (and I've had what I call "thermonuclear" panic attacks countless times), and it took me several hours to recover. I even popped an alprazolam because I was in such bad shape after watching it.

I'm just saying beware before you click.
posted by InsertNiftyNameHere at 10:48 PM on February 14 [1 favorite]