Jan 6, 2021 05:36 PM
(This post was last modified: Jan 6, 2021 06:55 PM by C C.)
Harvard astronomer argues that aliens visited us in 2017
https://futurism.com/harvard-astronomer-...sited-2017
EXCERPTS: Later this month, Harvard astronomy researcher Avi Loeb will publish a book with the provocative title “Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth.” In the book, Loeb doubles down on his controversial theory that ‘Oumuamua, an interstellar object spotted by astronomers in 2017, may be an alien probe that was sent by an advanced extraterrestrial civilization.
According to a statement by Loeb’s publisher HMH Books received by the Boston Globe, Loeb “showed it was not an asteroid; it was moving too fast along a strange orbit, and left no trail of gas or debris in its wake.” To Loeb, it’s compelling evidence that an advanced alien civilization came by for a visit. It’s a striking theory, but one that puts him at odds with the vast majority of SETI researchers, who hold that we have not yet found compelling proof of life beyond the Earth.
But to be fair, before 2017 we had also never found anything like ‘Oumuamua. It’s the first interstellar object to have ever been directly observed, which has made it the subject of extensive speculation since it was first spotted by astronomers at the Haleakalā Observatory, Hawaii, on October 19, 2017.
[...] In 2019, an international team of researchers published a study on ‘Oumuamua in the journal Nature Astronomy, arguing that they found “no compelling evidence to favor an alien explanation,” and that “Oumuamua’s properties are consistent with a natural origin.”
Despite the criticism, Loeb is steadfast in his belief that ‘Oumuamua could be a sign that we’re not alone in the universe. “The data we gathered on ‘Oumuamua are incomplete,” he argued in a December essay for Scientific American... (MORE - details)
Lucid dreamers are using unproven tech to hack their sleep
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/lucid-dreaming-tech
EXCERPTS: “Sometimes, I’ll jump out of the window and fly around a city, surf on a whale, or eat a biscuit, and it’ll be the best chocolate biscuit I’ve ever had,” says Dan Wright, a 42-year-old graphic artist from Bristol. Wright is describing the events that have occurred within his lucid dreams - a phenomenon where the dreamer becomes aware they are dreaming, and can exert some control over what happens. “As I got older, and became a dad, I realised I wouldn’t get to do some of the stuff I always wanted to do - like snowboarding, or going on a six-week holiday,” Wright says of his decision to learn how to control his dreams. “Now, I can do those things in my sleep.“
To cope with the boredom of lockdown, Wright has been experimenting with his dreams more frequently, enrolling in an online lucid dreaming course last year. And he certainly isn’t the only person seeking out this kind of escapism: 'lucid dreaming' saw a significant spike in online searches over the first lockdown, coinciding with the epidemic of weird dreams triggered by Covid-19.
Around 55 per cent of people have experienced one or more lucid dreams in their lifetime. But regular lucid dreams are rarer: about 23 per cent of people have them once a month or more. As most seasoned lucid dreamers will confirm, controlling our dreams is no easy feat: it requires time, practice and dedication. For decades, though, tech companies have sought to offer a quick fix, with devices that produce visual or tactile stimulation when sleepers enter the REM (rapid eye movement) phase of sleep.
[...] The emergence of these devices dates back to the 1990s, when scientists observed that shining lights on a participants face during the REM period correlated with more lucid dreams. This led to the development of the first commercialised device to induce lucid dreams, the Nova Dreamer.
While the Nova Dreamer is no longer on the market, there has since been a flurry of devices which deploy similar technology promising to induce lucid dreams. Remee - a mask which supplies customisable light patterns fitted within a sleep mask to alert the brain - was launched in 2012 [...] But for most, Remee has not lived up to its promise of allowing users to “dream better”. The device has attracted swathes of negative reviews ... and some complaining about sleep paralysis.
[...] More than just misleading buyers, Daniel Love fears that bad experiences with devices like Remee could deter people from lucid dreaming altogether. This would deny them the host of rarely spoken about benefits that lucid dreaming may offer, which include everything from treating addiction, PTSD, and nightmare disorders and boosting memory.
Both Love and Nate Turner argue that teaching yourself to lucid dream is a vital - and rewarding - part of the process. [...] But judging by the huge interest Remee and similar products have generated, it’s clear that the demand for a quick fix isn’t going anywhere soon. Some would-be lucid dreamers have even resorted to supplements which claim to increase dream lucidity, however these are not backed by scientific evidence and come with the risk of side effects.
Adam Haar Horowitz, a researcher at MIT, targets a different phase of sleep entirely. He says that devices on the market which focus exclusively on the REM stage - a more difficult state of sleep to detect - overlook the potential for lucidity and its benefits to “occur across different stages of sleep”... (MORE - details)
https://futurism.com/harvard-astronomer-...sited-2017
EXCERPTS: Later this month, Harvard astronomy researcher Avi Loeb will publish a book with the provocative title “Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth.” In the book, Loeb doubles down on his controversial theory that ‘Oumuamua, an interstellar object spotted by astronomers in 2017, may be an alien probe that was sent by an advanced extraterrestrial civilization.
According to a statement by Loeb’s publisher HMH Books received by the Boston Globe, Loeb “showed it was not an asteroid; it was moving too fast along a strange orbit, and left no trail of gas or debris in its wake.” To Loeb, it’s compelling evidence that an advanced alien civilization came by for a visit. It’s a striking theory, but one that puts him at odds with the vast majority of SETI researchers, who hold that we have not yet found compelling proof of life beyond the Earth.
But to be fair, before 2017 we had also never found anything like ‘Oumuamua. It’s the first interstellar object to have ever been directly observed, which has made it the subject of extensive speculation since it was first spotted by astronomers at the Haleakalā Observatory, Hawaii, on October 19, 2017.
[...] In 2019, an international team of researchers published a study on ‘Oumuamua in the journal Nature Astronomy, arguing that they found “no compelling evidence to favor an alien explanation,” and that “Oumuamua’s properties are consistent with a natural origin.”
Despite the criticism, Loeb is steadfast in his belief that ‘Oumuamua could be a sign that we’re not alone in the universe. “The data we gathered on ‘Oumuamua are incomplete,” he argued in a December essay for Scientific American... (MORE - details)
Lucid dreamers are using unproven tech to hack their sleep
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/lucid-dreaming-tech
EXCERPTS: “Sometimes, I’ll jump out of the window and fly around a city, surf on a whale, or eat a biscuit, and it’ll be the best chocolate biscuit I’ve ever had,” says Dan Wright, a 42-year-old graphic artist from Bristol. Wright is describing the events that have occurred within his lucid dreams - a phenomenon where the dreamer becomes aware they are dreaming, and can exert some control over what happens. “As I got older, and became a dad, I realised I wouldn’t get to do some of the stuff I always wanted to do - like snowboarding, or going on a six-week holiday,” Wright says of his decision to learn how to control his dreams. “Now, I can do those things in my sleep.“
To cope with the boredom of lockdown, Wright has been experimenting with his dreams more frequently, enrolling in an online lucid dreaming course last year. And he certainly isn’t the only person seeking out this kind of escapism: 'lucid dreaming' saw a significant spike in online searches over the first lockdown, coinciding with the epidemic of weird dreams triggered by Covid-19.
Around 55 per cent of people have experienced one or more lucid dreams in their lifetime. But regular lucid dreams are rarer: about 23 per cent of people have them once a month or more. As most seasoned lucid dreamers will confirm, controlling our dreams is no easy feat: it requires time, practice and dedication. For decades, though, tech companies have sought to offer a quick fix, with devices that produce visual or tactile stimulation when sleepers enter the REM (rapid eye movement) phase of sleep.
[...] The emergence of these devices dates back to the 1990s, when scientists observed that shining lights on a participants face during the REM period correlated with more lucid dreams. This led to the development of the first commercialised device to induce lucid dreams, the Nova Dreamer.
While the Nova Dreamer is no longer on the market, there has since been a flurry of devices which deploy similar technology promising to induce lucid dreams. Remee - a mask which supplies customisable light patterns fitted within a sleep mask to alert the brain - was launched in 2012 [...] But for most, Remee has not lived up to its promise of allowing users to “dream better”. The device has attracted swathes of negative reviews ... and some complaining about sleep paralysis.
[...] More than just misleading buyers, Daniel Love fears that bad experiences with devices like Remee could deter people from lucid dreaming altogether. This would deny them the host of rarely spoken about benefits that lucid dreaming may offer, which include everything from treating addiction, PTSD, and nightmare disorders and boosting memory.
Both Love and Nate Turner argue that teaching yourself to lucid dream is a vital - and rewarding - part of the process. [...] But judging by the huge interest Remee and similar products have generated, it’s clear that the demand for a quick fix isn’t going anywhere soon. Some would-be lucid dreamers have even resorted to supplements which claim to increase dream lucidity, however these are not backed by scientific evidence and come with the risk of side effects.
Adam Haar Horowitz, a researcher at MIT, targets a different phase of sleep entirely. He says that devices on the market which focus exclusively on the REM stage - a more difficult state of sleep to detect - overlook the potential for lucidity and its benefits to “occur across different stages of sleep”... (MORE - details)