Creepy Consumer electronic device released which alters thought patterns with electric shock

Am I the only one who thinks that this minimalist graphic art style with a frighteningly blank-expressioned woman seems like it was ripped straight out of a dystopian science fiction movie? It is like its own bizzare self-parody.

www.thync.com...


The device, which is in the middle of public release, sits on the temple and emits electrical pulses (wonderful) controlled by a smart phone app (even better).

The public image campaign suggests that it is for the use of inducing a calm or heighten state in the user, although several other articles suggest there is a fairly large set of presets for a number of mental states. Users a report a mild searing sensation akin to an ice-cream headache while the device is in use, and the target mental state lasts for several hours after an induction of minutes.

I am not sure about you, but I am in no hurry to shock my frontal cortex for feel goods.

I am not convinced there are no potential health risks to such a practice. Tinkering with brain states by force with electricity sounds pretty damn dangerous, to be frank.

And for a bonus, because this is ATS, there is also the element of this being controlled by a smart phone, which can obviously easily be compromised, and any number of users can be targeted and tinkered with for any number of creative purposes. Or perhaps there is also the 2.0 version of this product 8 years later, which becomes a semi-ubiquitous and accepted part of the public's daily routine ( and also quite compromiseable. )

Has a clear "Brave New World" vibe for me.

What says ATS?

PMS gone! Just zap the missus with a few volts to the ol noggin.
This really works, I'm laughing my ass off now.

a reply to: weirdguy

Is this for real or some other placebo?

Yes, i feel it, its working…

That will be 99.95, batteries not included.

a reply to: intrptr

www.nydailynews.com...

According to this artricle, it costs 300 dollars, and some part of it wears out regularly, and needs to be replaced for 20 dollars a pack.

a reply to: joeraynor

Am I the only one who thinks that this minimalist graphic art style with a frighteningly blank-expressioned woman seems like it was ripped straight out of a dystopian science fiction movie? It is like its own bizzare self-parody. 

Nope. Couldn't have put it better myself infact.

a reply to: joeraynor
Screw that. I want the real thing.
en.m.wikipedia.org...
The god helmet.

a reply to: joeraynor

lets force our 'leaders' to wear those, then they'll be the puppets they were always meant to be.

nice avatar btw.

oh, and the best part:

The Thync System is considered a lifestyle product and has been exempted by the FDA from its medical device regulations and approvals.

haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ha ha ha haaaaa... ha?

Well, whaddaya know. The lobotomy has reappeared as the iZapper.

Borg- lite?

a reply to: joeraynor

And here I was thinking that smartphones were the creepy consumer electronic device.

This sounds like an ab blaster for the brain-both are unnecessary and deal unnecessary pain-I think I'll stick with the phone and sit ups.

It makes you feel good at the cost of brain freeze?

originally posted by: Thecakeisalie
a reply to: joeraynor

And here I was thinking that smartphones were the creepy consumer electronic device.

This sounds like an ab blaster for the brain-both are unnecessary and deal unnecessary pain-I think I'll stick with the phone and sit ups.

Yeah. People really creep me the hell out. Never more so than when they claim they're only trying to help.

a reply to: joeraynor

"What say ATS?"

. Welcome to the brave new world of mind altering electronic devices--batteries not included.

This business is not as new and rash as you seem to believe. It is mushrooming at a fantastic rate however. I've followed and have been involved in work in this area since the mid-1970s as I was attempting to enhance my meditation skills. We are on the cusp of being able to reach high states of meditation artificially by electronic devices. Purist will complain that real meditation takes decades to be achieved. That was then, this is now. All of the malarkey and complex instructions of religion, body posture, etc. associated with meditation will be swept aside as you slip on a couple of electrodes to your temples and sail away....

You won't believe it--especially if you are old school--but genuine enlightenment can be achieved by the introduction of electronics to the brain. Formerly, we learned to look to taking a pill as a fixative or cure all, the future method will be electronic.

It all is rooted in the study of brainwaves and how they can be altered with biofeedback--or more precisely called neurofeedback--to change about any aspect of your mind and body you wish. Can the methods be abused? Absolutely. Hence, you fear has some merit. But you could look at an aspirin bottle and have the same fear of the contents.

MK-Ultra never died!

originally posted by: Aliensun
Can the methods be abused? Absolutely. Hence, you fear has some merit. But you could look at an aspirin bottle and have the same fear of the contents.

Sorry but I don't think you're being realistic. An aspirin doesn't have the same potential for abuse as a smart device that is capable of punishing you for basically whatever it's programmed to punish you for. The areas they're moving into are places they really shouldn't be going. Regardless of any promises.

a reply to: Aliensun

This business is not as new and rash as you seem to believe. It is mushrooming at a fantastic rate however.

When the safety claims are untested, due to suspicious legal exemptions, there is no way to know for sure exactly how safe or unsafe it may be. And furthermore, no study which fails to show a negative side effect can be conclusive.

So does that make my assertion that there may be danger here unfalsifiable, and therefore untestable? Absolutely. Am I willing to experiment myself? No. I will err on the side of not shocking my brain.

You won't believe it--especially if you are old school--but genuine enlightenment can be achieved by the introduction of electronics to the brain.

What would you say genuine enlightenment means?

But you could look at an aspirin bottle and have the same fear of the contents.

And I do. No substance which humans haven't been ingesting for thousands of years should be looked at without a healthy dose of suspicion. We as humans have grown to adapt our biochemistry to substances we rely on through evolution. Hence why we can drink the milk of cows, but our Mesopotamian friends probably couldn't. Occasionally we get lucky, and find one which seems to have good effects with minimal complications... but you can never be sure. Researchers have been going back and forth over the years about possible negative consequences of taking apirin, or acetominophen (Tylenol) regularly, as they are linked to ulcers and severe liver damage respectively.

I find messing with your brain to be an order of magnitude riskier than ulcers.

originally posted by: joeraynor
What says ATS?

Got two on order. Should be interesting.

eta: the original design was not...able to gain FDA approval. It was MUCH more intrusive, and interesting. Very interesting. I think the original design had a lot of promise for many applications.

a reply to: Bedlam

Got two on order. Should be interesting.

a reply to: SheepDipped

That's exactly what I was thinking when I first read this.

There are MIT students which are using devices similar to this as a study aid, they've been doing it for years.

This by the way is not exactly the same as 'conditioning' which most confuse it for.

a reply to: joeraynor

Unfortunately there will be a herd of people wanting this and thats where the problem is. Youngsters and Consumers who want all the latest gadgets!!

I read about a product the other day by Microsoft which is very similar to this gadget and is worn by the user to notify them of text messages and/or phone calls you may have missed... it shocks you basically to tell you to look at your phone!

This is getting ridiculous but no doubt there will be many who go for it...