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Hypnosis Gets Positive Recognition

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the you-are-getting-very-sleepy-now-donate-money dept.

An anonymous reader writes to tell us the New York Times is reporting that, despite its negative history, hypnosis is now getting some favorable attention from neuroscientists. From the article: "These extensive feedback circuits mean that consciousness, what people see, hear, feel and believe, is based on what neuroscientists call "top down processing." What you see is not always what you get, because what you see depends on a framework built by experience that stands ready to interpret the raw information - as a flower or a hammer or a face."

7 of 353 comments (clear)

  1. In other words... by Shadow+Wrought · · Score: 3, Insightful
    What you see is not always what you get, because what you see depends on a framework built by experience that stands ready to interpret the raw information - as a flower or a hammer or a face.

    Perception is reality. Which is why two people can look at the same facts and come to opposite conclusions. Change the perception, change the reality. A marketer's dream.

    --
    If brevity is the soul of wit, then how does one explain Twitter?
    1. Re:In other words... by Bogtha · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Perception is reality. Which is why two people can look at the same facts and come to opposite conclusions.

      Not by any conventional definition of reality. What is real doesn't change depending on perception. Reality by definition is objective, not subjective.

      I've noticed pseudoscience types and religious people use "reality" as a synonym for "belief". That's not the accepted definition for reality, and pretty much anything can be considered "real" by that definition, which makes it useless. Don't use "reality" as a synonym for "belief".

      Change the perception, change the reality.

      No, change the perception, change the belief. Change the perception, change the conclusion. You cannot change reality by perceiving it a different way.

      --
      Bogtha Bogtha Bogtha
    2. Re:In other words... by StikyPad · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Well if you want to get really picky about it, the "objective" characteristic of reality is usually one of the last definitions listed, meaning the least relevant or least often used. In one of the definitions at answers.com, reality is defined as "Meaning #1: all of your experiences that determine how things appear to you Synonym: world." So your own source conflicts with your assertion.

      Further, it's impossible to make an objective observation since the act of observing requires perception. So for all practical purposes reality is perception, and vice versa, since we are incapable of deliberately interacting with things we cannot perceive. (Not to be confused with intangibles such as electricity or happiness, which are observed indirectly by their effects). Objective reality may arguably be a goal, but it is never achievable and our subjective realities are often a good enough substitute.

      --
      https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
    3. Re:In other words... by Bogtha · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Then nothing is, really, red.

      What? you are saying that a material absorbs electromagnetic radiation of particular frequencies only because it is being observed?

      It's true that if nobody was around to see it, nobody would be calling it "red". But the process would still be going on.

      There are no noises.

      Again, I don't see your point. Are you arguing that if a tree falls in the woods, and nobody is around to hear it, the laws of physics change so that it doesn't cause the air molecules nearby to vibrate?

      Words don't mean anything.

      Who cares about what words mean? The meaning of things is defined by interpretation - it's not reality in the slightest.

      --
      Bogtha Bogtha Bogtha
  2. Use in marketing? by polv0 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Will there come a day where the study of hypnosis, or other forms of cognitive suggestion, is abused by firms for marketing? Perhaps some allready are. What kind of privacy law would restrict this?

    1. Re:Use in marketing? by D-Cypell · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Not only is it being used today, but you might even say that 'cognitive suggestion' forms a definition of modern marketing.

      Discussing this with my company's experienced sales and marketing director was enlightening and shocking. Billions of US dollars are spent to harness our subconsious traits. Emotional reaction to certain colours or shapes are used convince us to part with our money.

      Next time you see an ad with an animated character, note the proportion of the characters eyes and head. Most of the time you will see that the eyes and head are proportionally larger than those of an adult human but closer to those of a baby/young child. Why? Because we are genetically tuned to respond in a positive way to children.

      Surf around a few corp websites that offer services to other companies. What percentage use blue as their main colour? Supposedly blue is a 'trustworthy' colour.

      The common misconception is that hypnosis is about swinging a pocket watch and chanting "You are feeling sleepy". The fact is, you are essentially hypnotised by marketing specialised many times (perhaps hundreds of times) daily. It is the reason why millions of people will go to the supermarket and pay double the price of the exact same shit in a different colour box.

  3. Can you tell a green field... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    From a cold steel rail..