Attn Techno-Shamens: Binaural Beat Brainwave Entrainment

No he's wrong, and so are you.

reply to post by OmegaPoint


Lets look at just one of your “Experts”, specifically the one who agrees with the Delta Wave Sleep stuff:

Dr. Arthur Hastings, Ph.D., in a paper entitled "Tests of the Sleep Induction Technique" describes the effects of subjects listening to a cassette tape specially engineered to create binaural beats in the brain. In this case, the sounds on the tape were designed to slow the brain wave patterns from a normal waking beta brain wave pattern to a slower alpha pattern, then to a still slower theta pattern (the brain wave pattern of dreaming sleep), and finally to a delta pattern, the slowest of all, the brainwave pattern of dreamless sleep. Hastings says:

Here is his background:

Dr. Arthur Hastings, Ph.D
Arthur Hastings is Research Director of the Institute and a former faculty Chair
for the residential master’s and doctoral programs, former Dean and President
of the Institute, and a Past President of the Association for Transpersonal
Psychology. He holds the rank of Professor, and is Director of the William
James Center for Consciousness Studies


Communication, Northwestern University, 1962
M.A., Public address, Northwestern University, 1958
B.A., Speech and Drama, Tulane University, 1957. Phi Beta Kappa

A friggen DRAMA TEACHER!!!!!!!
You catch that? How does this qualify him to read or interpret an EEG?

Here are facts about these folks who CLAIM DR status using PHD's:

Quack Word #3: 'Doctor'
'Trust me, I'm a Doctor.'

Quacks lack evidence for the effectiveness of their treatments or theories and so rely on a number of other techniques to convince you of their worth, including testimonials, anecdotes and baffling pseudoscience. However, one of the surest giveaways of quackery is the flaunting of titles and qualifications.

But surely these people must know what they are talking about? You can't just lie about your qualifications?

Well, you don't need to lie, but there are a number of ways of getting round the three to fours years of library work, fine tuning of experiments, paper writing, seminar giving, thesis writing, thesis re-writing, and tortuous examinations - all on a pittance of pay - that are the staple of postgraduate degrees, if you want to start earning big quack bucks fast.

Let us count the ways...

1. Swap Subjects
You could have mistakenly done all the hard work above only to find out that being a geologist does not make as much money a selling bucket loads of useless vitamin pills. I've written about this before. Even though you are now a nutritional 'expert' there is no need to make it clear that your PhD was in geology, economics or bongo playing. Flaunt those letters after your name!

2. Join a 'New University'
The massive expansion in higher education in the UK, and probably elsewhere in the world, has resulted in a deluge of former polytechnics, colleges and furniture shops now calling themselves universities. Even better is that, in the mad dash to attract students and, hence attract funding, the hard subjects of physics and chemistry have been dropped due to the difficulty of persuading students to take them. Far better to offer courses in homeopathy, nutrition and Madonna. Set yourself up as Professor of Reiki Studies and bingo, you're off.

3. Do a Cheap Correspondence Course through an Unaccredited American College.
This might involve a little work and at least cost you a fair amount of postage, but at least you will be able to defend yourself in a court of law that you are entitled to the letters after your name. Sometimes called the "looneyversities", these institutions often dole out pretty useless awards for little more than a fee. Proper academic standards are rarely upheld and are not subject to academic review by the usual authorities.

I bet if I do a background check on the rest of those experts, they come out with about the same “Credentials”....

reply to post by jimmyx


Political stuff is all opinion based, and you know what they say about that.
However, scientific facts are facts that most educated people can agree on.
So its nice to know that we can disagree on somethings, yet still agree on others.

i first heard about this type of thing on this amazing thread here on ATS:

NWO is responsible for concert pitch A-440hz

there's TONS of great links on there, and i first heard about the BrainWave Generator from that thread...

also, here's some examples of the difference between 440Hz and 432Hz in some popular songs:
www.terugnaar432hz.org...

reply to post by defcon5


Glad to know that you know everything about how other people's brains work.

Adults can achieve Delta while having conscious thought. Like many other forms of biofeedback and using meditative techniques, not everyone does it or has the patience to learn or the will to care.

Just because you are one of them, doesn't mean that others can't or don't.

Since babies are in it all the time, even when awake, obviously the human brain is CAPABLE of it.

Obviously while you might do tests on people, none of the people you test on are attempting to do this. Generalizing your job into all circumstances is foolish.


[edit on 2009/6/3 by Aeons]

reply to post by Aeons


Ok, do you know what an EEG is?
It is not possible to Bio-Feed back your brainwaves, and there is no way for you to prove that your altering them in anyway without an EEG machine. SO how do you know when your supposedly changing your brainwaves without being hooked to an EEG? Simply because someone on the I-Net sold you a bill of goods?

Go look up what your brain is doing when in hypnosis.

I bet you don't EEG people when they are meditating. Or when they are hypnotized.

That you are a tech who hooks up people who desperately want to sleep doesn't make you an expert.

Dear OmegaPoint


Many thanks for linking this sourceforge open platform application which I am downloading right now


I have experienced with Brainwave generator in the past with great success. I inserted successfully the Schumann Resonance into several music track, mostly classical music and into some Dan Gibson's solitudes musical albums (so soothing). I am eager to try this again with binaural beat to see if I will get different effects and results


Been to a Hemi Sync seminar back in 1992 where we all were invited to try "Intro to Hemi Sync" in an auditorium with a proper speaker setting for the purpose... Most of us were astonished when told that we were only "gone" for 15 minutes when to the most of us, it felt a lot longer. This is where my Flying Free tape which Monroe Institute never released to cd to my great dismay for Audio tapes break down over time


Have yet to experience the 7 gateways which I have stored in my mp3 collection but I did go through several single exercises which left me somewhat in awe, especially SoundSleeper when I got a bit of insomnia back then.


Scientific proof or not, binaural beats are just awesome when you are open minded enough to experiment with them, especially when you can mix them with nature sounds for relaxation purposes.

Once again, thank you OmegaPoint for sharing this open platform application.

Of course you can biofeedback your brainwaves state. Just because you only work with people who can't or don't know how doesn't mean you can't.

Anyone who lucid dreams is controlling their brainwave state. Anyone who meditates. If you can make yourself fall asleep anytime anywhere, you've used biofeedback to learn to control your brainwave state.

Good god man. As bad a Freud deciding he understands everyone based on his own perversions and some wackadoodles he took notes on. Restrict your population to a certain segment, and then generalize that to mean everyone.

Also, there are many scholarly papers written on brainwave entrainment.

for example
Brain wave synchronization and entrainment to periodic acoustic stimuli

Please feel free to use Google Scholar and take a peek at some.

[edit on 2009/6/3 by Aeons]

Originally posted by Aeons
That you are a tech who hooks up people who desperately want to sleep doesn't make you an expert.

You still have to be able to read what is going on, and interpret it on the fly. Often technicians know more about reading the equipment then even the Doctors do (after all, its all they do), as the Docs never run the live data, and only read the stuff that the technicians compile for them. This is true with any med technician, running any test, but they are not allowed to interpret things officially to the patients. You need to know if the person is awake or asleep, what state of sleep their in, and if there is anything else going on underlying. You have to be able to tell where certain problems are coming from. For example if they are hearing a noise, if they are in pain, if they are to hot, if they are on a substance that is altering their brainwaves, etc. You would be surprised what a good technician can tell you just form looking at those squiggly lines.

Anyway, I am outta here for at least 6 hours, have to get some sleep myself.

Also for those who really cannot use attention to their body systems to achieive their own biofeedback, there are indeed people who use technology to do it.

For example -

A controlled study of the effects of EEG biofeedback on cognition and behavior of children with attention deficit disorder and learning disabilities


Or


EEG biofeedback: physiological behavior modification

Apparently this person is reviewing something that noone does. In a neurology journal.

[edit on 2009/6/3 by Aeons]

reply to post by Aeons


OK last post then I am gone for a bit:

Stephen Barrett, M.D, Quackwatch

Biofeedback Gadgets
Battery-operated skin-temperature monitors ($20 to $80) and devices that measure muscle or brain-wave activity ($200 to $400) have been marketed through the mail for home use. The Harvard Health Letter has warned that such devices have not been systematically evaluated and are likely to "have a short working life before they wind up in a closet or attic, gathering dust" [5]. Tests on home biofeedback devices claimed to help people manipulate their alpha waves have shown that the devices actually responded to the user's eye movements or to interference from household electrical currents.

"Brain Wave Synchronizers"
Several companies have marketed gadgets that deliver flashing lights and sounds through modified eyeglasses and headphones. The devices are hazardous because flashing lights can trigger epileptic seizures in susceptible individuals, including some with no prior history of seizures. In 1992 the FDA received a complaint that a device of this type (the "Relaxman Synchroenergizer") had caused a 21-year-old woman to have her first seizure. The device had been marketed with unsubstantiated claims that it could improve digestion and sexual function and control pain, habits, and addictions. In 1993 the FDA initiated a seizure of the manufacturer's entire supply, which a judge subsequently ordered destroyed [6]. The FDA also stopped the marketing of "InnerQuest Brain Wave Synchronizer," which had been claimed to provide diet control, stress relief, pain relief, and increased mental capacity [7]. The FTC and four state attorneys general recently settled complaints against Zygon International, Inc., which had claimed that users of "The Learning Machine" would learn foreign languages overnight, quadruple their reading speed, expand their psychic powers, build self-esteem, and replace bad habits with good ones [8]. There is no scientific evidence that any device can help people by synchronizing the two sides of the brain or increasing the frequency of alpha waves (a type of brain wave) [9].

Sound familiar?

reply to post by defcon5


Ahh, because nothing can enlighten us more as to what's really going on than a machine connected to a brain via some sticky electrodes...

In my opinion, the only thing more ludicrous than using a machine to determine what's going on in someone's head is putting any amount of faith in what another human interprets the machine-collected data to mean.

For some, it's just common sense. Others however, seem to have an inherent desire to reject the concept of "reality is perception". After all, any perceived benefit, is a benefit in and of itself.

For years, doctors tried, unsuccessfully to relieve me of my ailments. When I explained to them that I had found relief in several forms of "alternative" treatment, I was promptly told "that can't help you... if anything it's a placebo effect". Do I care if it's a "placebo" effect? Not in the least. I still benefit from the effect, whether it's chemical, mechanical, or simply suggestive.

This topic reminds me of the saying "The delusion of man is that reality is not an illusion".

In summation, what we perceive to be real, is real. Whether or not it's "real" to someone else is completely irrelevant. If someone fills their ears with tones and beats, and experiences some life improvement, who are you to tell them that it's not real. It's like sticking someone with a knife and telling them it doesn't cause them any discomfort, simply because you have a higher tolerance for pain.

Contrary to popular belief, reality is subjective.

Originally posted by defcon5
You still have to be able to read what is going on, and interpret it on the fly. Often technicians know more about reading the equipment then even the Doctors do (after all, its all they do), as the Docs never run the live data, and only read the stuff that the technicians compile for them.

Thanks for validating the point I made on the first page. The technician noticed something "unusual" in my EEG and therefore questioned me as to whether or not I was sleeping.

What would someone who has seen perhaps hundreds or thousands of EEG readings see in mine to lead them to that interpretation?

Sorry that I don't have the data to officially answer that question, which is a shame since I certainly would. But I'm actually asking for your opinion as a professional.

Here's what a Google Search comes up with for

Binaural Beat Brainwave Entrainment
www.google.ca... ll&as_rights=&as_occt=any&cr=&as_nlo=&as_nhi=&safe=images

Of course, since it's coming from the internet, it must all be quack pseudo-science, not to be accepted as having any validity..

Originally posted by defcon5

Stephen Barrett, M.D, Quackwatch

Biofeedback Gadgets
Battery-operated skin-temperature monitors ($20 to $80) and devices that measure muscle or brain-wave activity ($200 to $400) have been marketed through the mail for home use. The Harvard Health Letter has warned that such devices have not been systematically evaluated and are likely to "have a short working life before they wind up in a closet or attic, gathering dust" [5]. Tests on home biofeedback devices claimed to help people manipulate their alpha waves have shown that the devices actually responded to the user's eye movements or to interference from household electrical currents.

"Brain Wave Synchronizers"
Several companies have marketed gadgets that deliver flashing lights and sounds through modified eyeglasses and headphones. The devices are hazardous because flashing lights can trigger epileptic seizures in susceptible individuals, including some with no prior history of seizures. In 1992 the FDA received a complaint that a device of this type (the "Relaxman Synchroenergizer") had caused a 21-year-old woman to have her first seizure. The device had been marketed with unsubstantiated claims that it could improve digestion and sexual function and control pain, habits, and addictions. In 1993 the FDA initiated a seizure of the manufacturer's entire supply, which a judge subsequently ordered destroyed [6]. The FDA also stopped the marketing of "InnerQuest Brain Wave Synchronizer," which had been claimed to provide diet control, stress relief, pain relief, and increased mental capacity [7]. The FTC and four state attorneys general recently settled complaints against Zygon International, Inc., which had claimed that users of "The Learning Machine" would learn foreign languages overnight, quadruple their reading speed, expand their psychic powers, build self-esteem, and replace bad habits with good ones [8]. There is no scientific evidence that any device can help people by synchronizing the two sides of the brain or increasing the frequency of alpha waves (a type of brain wave) [9].

Sound familiar?

defcon5

I truly wish to understand what you are trying to point out with this article. So far, this thread is all about audio binaural generators, not about any devices that can gather dust in some remote attic in a near future nor some obscure cafes where beams of lights accompanied with music "claimed" that you can learn a language overnight or the likes. Having lived in a metropolis, I knew of those places that you are referring to which didn't last a year before closing their doors. Anyone gullible enough to believe that they can learn a language overnight deserved what they got, no result at all and this is not the first scam in the history of human kind.

Wish I knew what you are crusading about with those snippet of articles but for those who tried the binaural beats, with no flashing lights, and can confirm that it has an effect, well, EEG tech or not, until you have tried it yourself, there is not much we can discuss about it.

As for flashing lights. I recall that back in 1997, several kids experienced seizure and had to be hospitalized because of a Pokemon animation, not because of binaural beats.

www.cnn.com...

I do not need Quackwatch to know that any type of flashing lights are a danger to epileptics in general and I certainly would not form an opinion based of QW observation for they are as trustworthy as the national enquirer.

There is a very interesting thread dealing with Binaural Beat Brainwave Entrainment and its possible ill effects, very strange.

Check it out: www.abovetopsecret.com...

- Boat

reply to post by defcon5


It's hilarious to me that you are here trying to debunk something from some technical expertise that I and many others have experienced personally and know beyond any doubt, similarly to how you think YOU know beyond any doubt.

Common to schizophrenics, maybe also to geniuses. If not then I'll gladly go with being schizophrenic, being much more at peace and aware of my surroundings in meditation states than while I am in my more mundane and trivial state of alpha awareness.

You probably don't even meditate at all.


But let it be... There is nothing really to argue about here. Like goes to like and everything its proper place. You can look to the great masses of people and mold yourself in their image, since you think that is normal and healthy (it is certainly an obvious natural tendency, to just copy everyone else). You can think what you want and I am still absolutely free to empower myself and so is anyone else here so inclined, so everything is all good.

[edit on 3-6-2009 by bsbray11]

reply to post by defcon5


No, it doesn't. You can't argue that oranges aren't citrus by discussing apples.

But to make it easier on you to do as I've suggested - here you go.

scholar.google.ca...

scholar.google.ca...

scholar.google.ca...





[edit on 2009/6/3 by Aeons]