Neurodiversity
idea
Psychedelics could give a mind’s eye to those who’ve never had one
Case reports suggest psychedelics might reverse aphantasia (a lack of mental imagery), but is that necessarily a good thing?
by Shayla Love
Mind and brain
idea
This is how your brain distinguishes reality from imagination
In terms of brain activity, imagining something is very similar to seeing it, so why don’t you confuse the two more often?
by Shayla Love
Stories and literature
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Why the concept of invisibility so captivates the imagination
From ancient fables to the latest science theory, invisibility represents some of humankind’s deepest fears and desires
by Greg Gbur
Imagination
idea
In the architecture of the mind, where lies human imagination?
In the architecture of the mind, is imagination a built-in structural feature or a result of cognitive remodelling work?
by Michael Omoge
Imagination
idea
Aphantasia can be a gift to philosophers and critics like me
Aphantasia veils the past and the future from the mind’s eye. That can be a gift to philosophers like Derek Parfit and me
by Mette Leonard Høeg
Stories and literature
idea
Young women were the true originators of the Grimms’ Tales
Snow White, Rapunzel, Cinderella – the old fairy tales are full of female lust and hope, and most were told by women
by Christine Lehnen
Stories and literature
idea
There is an unseen smuggling operation between fiction and reality
Fiction is not quarantined from reality, as experts have long proposed. There is constant trade between the two worlds
by Daniele Molinari, Valentina Petrolini & Wolfgang Huemer
Philosophy of art
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Engaging with an artwork leaves you and the art transformed
When you engage with an artwork, a form of cognitive coupling takes place in which your mind and the art are transformed
by Miranda Anderson
The self
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You’re not a computer, you’re a tiny stone in a beautiful mosaic
Let’s ditch talk of computers and bank accounts. Positive mind-metaphors emphasise our embodied inter-connectedness
by Anna Katharina Schaffner
Neurodiversity
idea
I have no mind’s eye: let me try to describe it for you
With aphantasia, my mind’s eye sees only darkness, not images. It’s like missing a sense, and only imagination can compensate
by Neesa Sunar
Altered states
idea
Only by taking leave of our senses can we plunge into reverie
By letting meaning loose, allowing it to graze, we can revel in reverie, free of the tether that commonsense keeps tight
by Rachel Genn
History of ideas
idea
How Emil Utitz salvaged his humanity in a non-human world
Grounded in hope, Emil Utitz’s ‘as-if philosophy’ allowed him to transcend the non-human world of the Theresienstadt ghetto
by Tereza Matějčková