Any reputable information out there on biofeedback?

March 11, 2007 8:50 AM

Blinddatefilter: Help me not look stupid! Next Tuesday I have a date. Apparently the guy does research into biofeedback using EEG machines(?). However I know next to nothing about this type of technology. (If it helps, I have a background in philosophy.) The internet is such a mix bag of information. I was hoping someone semi-knowledgeable could point me to some good resources. Please help me bone up in advance, so I can at least ask a few intelligent questions. Thanks!
posted by amileighs to technology (19 comments total)

There's always wikipedia to give you an introduction.

However, if he's anything like my friends in highly specialized fields, the simple question, "What exactly does that do?" will suffice and allow you to ask follow-up questions.
posted by jmd82 at 9:03 AM on March 11, 2007

Uh, do you think this dude is boning up on his Sartre in a semi panic?

My advice: Ask him about what he does. It doesn't make you stupid to not be a researcher.
posted by shownomercy at 9:05 AM on March 11, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

If you are intelligent (and think before you speak) you'll ask intelligent questions. Researching a date would lead you to asking informed questions. Which is not a bad thing, assuming you are really interested in the topic, want to sound informed, aren't afraid of appearing obsessive or desperate and want to talk shop on the date.
posted by DU at 9:18 AM on March 11, 2007

Don't fake it. You don't know much about biofeedback, fine. Unless you're the sort of person who would always do this sort of research ("I heard about X today, now I wan tto know more"), doing the research is fake. Just ask him questions about it.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 9:20 AM on March 11, 2007

Wikipedia's biofeedback page also provides info as well.

I work all day with people that do this and I hardly know anything about it. :) (I support their computers.) The most I know is that you can buy a neat little portable one at ThinkGeek. :)
posted by smallerdemon at 9:38 AM on March 11, 2007

Steven Johnson's book Mind Wide Open isn't technical and has some information, in case you go against everyone else's advice.
posted by liquidindian at 10:06 AM on March 11, 2007

Hey, I don't think it's such a bad idea to learn a bit about what this guy does, as long as it's not to pretend expertise instead of glancing knowledge.

I used to work on a a pretty layperson-friendly magazine called Biofeedback for the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback (nice folks). They've got full issues online in pdf format going back all the way to 2001, if you want to do some general reading. The Fall 2006 issue has a number of articles on qualitative electroencephalography (commonly abbreviated to QEEG) that you may find useful. Good luck, and have fun on your date.
posted by melissa may at 10:07 AM on March 11, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

People (guys in particular?) are turned on by talking about themselves. Asking him lots of questions about his topic of specialty will only increase your chances with him.
posted by serazin at 11:07 AM on March 11, 2007

Gee, seems like he'd be a great source of information.

Now if he didn't speak English, or only ate in halal restaurants that might require some advance research, but what you have here is a perfect topic of conversation on a first date. Good luck! Have fun!
posted by Ookseer at 11:30 AM on March 11, 2007

Don't ask him about the technical details of his work, ask him about the human details. Does he enjoy it? Does he work with a lot of people or mostly alone? Is the rhythm stressful or reflective? Does he hope someday to achieve something special, or is he happy just to do the work?

Better to be sincerely interested in him than to try to drum up a sudden interest in his specialty.
posted by fuzz at 11:42 AM on March 11, 2007

Ask his reflections on the philosophical aspects of his work. Can we consciously control our bodies, or does physiology control our consciousness? Etc. You could end up in that fertile area where your expertise(s) overlap. Good luck!
posted by beatrice at 11:51 AM on March 11, 2007

I agree 100% with fuzz: talking about the personal, rather than the technical, side of his work is how you'll learn more about him (rather than just his job), and how you may find some interesting topics of conversation beyond just the literal details of what you both do for a living. And asking those kinds of questions requires no research.

Incidentally, back when I was doing the whole online dating adventure a few years ago, I went on a couple of first dates where I had the feeling that the person I was with had done a little research into my own work/workplace -- like they felt obliged to say something about art (I work at a museum), even though it seemed evident that it wasn't a topic they normally thought about (which I wouldn't hold against anyone, anyway!). I just found it a little odd -- not off-putting in and of itself, neccesarily, but it did seem a little artificial or stilted, like they didn't have the inclination to just let the conversation flow (or, worse, that they were assuming I was some sort of art snob who would expect someone to know about art if I were to date them). So take that anecdote for what it's worth.
posted by scody at 12:09 PM on March 11, 2007

It's always good to know enough to ask the right questions. Anyway, here's a little bit from the perspective of the client -- not very scientific, sorry!

My boyfriend did some biofeedback last year to help him manage his anxiety. He went in and they taped magnets to his arms (and chest, I think) and hooked him up to a machine that reads heart beat and other stuff. They went through some exercises, helping him to identify his body's response to anxiety and other stimuli. After that, they worked on some breathing exercises and some meditation techniques.

So far it's worked very well. He hasn't had any serious episodes of anxiety and he's been meditating on a regular basis since.

anyway, good luck! hope the date goes well
posted by kitalea at 12:41 PM on March 11, 2007

I would give a warning: if you're not really into his research, and he is, you might end up in the situation where he will go on for all eternity talking about something slightly above your head, and you will be bored out of your mind.

Ask a couple of questions, sure, but don't get yourself into a position where you're stuck. It isn't very fun. I promise you.
posted by that girl at 12:50 PM on March 11, 2007

I have a friend that uses biofeedback to control her chronic pain syndrome. Same deal as what people have mentioned- they strap you up to a machine, and based on what the machine is telling you about your body (an EEG will tell you what your brain is doing) you learn to control certain symptoms you didn't realize you could control- kind of cool, actually.

An interesting question for him without getting into the nitty gritty details might be what illness/syndrome his research into biofeedback focuses on, since they use it for a number of different things.
posted by liberalintellect at 2:32 PM on March 11, 2007

It's also possible since this is the work he does all day that he'd love to talk about other things. Better not to plan the conversation topic before the date, methinks.

Instead-- just enjoy!
posted by nat at 3:31 PM on March 11, 2007

I went out with a phD is a very specific scientific field a while ago, and I didn't look it up beforehand, I just asked him to tell me a little bit about his research and he tried to explain it in a layperson's voice, which was actually kind of cute and made for a fun first conversation - hopefully yours will be the same - have fun and really, no need to stress out about what he does, he doesn't expect you to know anything about it.
posted by echo0720 at 7:23 PM on March 11, 2007

I say you are awesome for even attempting to do homework for a date.

If I was single and this was a blind date with me and you said:

"I feel silly saying this but I was a little nervous before our date so I was trying to do some home work on your profession so we could converse intelligently... and... is that weird?"

Let's just say even if we DIDN'T talk intelligently about ANYTHING knowing this fact about you would charm the pants off of me.

Literally.

But this date is not with me. You should thank God for that. But I think the effect might not be so extreme on a normal man who will likely keep his pants on. Likely he will be equally charmed nonetheless.

I think you have already done your homework by just showing this adorable interest in your upcoming date.

Now go have a good time.
posted by tkchrist at 7:55 PM on March 11, 2007

Seconding beatrice. It's a huge turn-on if someone I'm talking to is not only passionately interested in their topic of study, but also intelligent enough to draw interesting connections between it and everything else.
posted by nasreddin at 5:16 PM on July 24, 2007