Neuroscience and Art
I found this weeks topic incredibly interesting and loved learning about the various theories that prominent historians had about the structure of the brain, and how the concept of consciousness and the mind has been viewed throughout history. I think, for me, the most interesting aspect of this week was the concept of dreams and how dreams are in some way a combination of neuroscience and art, as our brains are creating a visual story. I had never really thought about dreams as being art, nor science, however, in regards to the characteristics that they both have it is clear that they are both.
The topic of dreams being a combination of neuroscience immediately had me thinking about the film Inception with Leonardo Di'caprio, in which there is a machine which allows people that are fully awake to enter into the dream of someone else. In the film there is imagery which would be absolutely impossible in real life, such as a town folding over on itself (as shown in photo to the left), or everything and every person in a street freezing. This film is one of many others which combines artistic elements and psychological theory to create a film which gets people thinking in entirely new ways about consciousness and reality.
Another film which toys with the concepts of consciousness and reality is the Matrix. As many know, the matrix is a film about a world in which all people are actually, technically, "asleep" although they are conscious and are experiencing a world that is not necessarily real. Within the matrix, similar to inception, the film questions what reality truly is; if a person feels something is real and a person is experiencing life perfectly fine in a particular way, is it fair to say that that life they live is not actually real? For me, these concepts are a complete iteration of the combination between art and science, particularly science of the mind (or neuroscience and psychology).
I also found it quite interesting the way in which drugs combine neuroscience and art, such as LSD which is a hallucinogenic. LSD and its interaction with the brain is concerned with science, however, many people feel as though the affects of the drug result in artistic experiences and visualizations, including Albert Hofman, a scientist who founded and supported LSD. According to Hofman, he experienced "an uninterrupted stream of fantastic pictures, extraordinary shapes with intense, kaleidoscopic play of colors."
WORKS CITED
"Reduce Your Pain by Adjusting Your Sleeping Position." Dr. Jon Saunders, B.Kin, DC. N.p., 14 Apr. 2015. Web. 15 May 2016.
Inception. Dir. Christopher Nolan. Perf. Leonardo Dicaprio. Warner Bros., 2010.
The Matrix. Dir. Lilly Wachowski and Lana Wachowski. Village Roadshow Pictures, 1999
Hofman, Albert. "LSD, My Problem Child · How LSD Originated." LSD, My Problem Child · How LSD Originated. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2016.
"Lecture III" Unit 7. Victoria Vesna. Film.
"7 Dream Layers of Inception." Thinc. N.p., n.d. Web.
Hayley, I like how you made the connection between the movie Inception, neuroscience, and art. I always thought of dreams as my brain being unable to turn off worry or anxiety in my subconscious state. For instance, the night before a midterm or final, I would dream about waking up late for the test. However, I never considered how art plays a role in my dreams. Much like in Inception, the background of my dreams are often of imaginary worlds. Perhaps the context of my dreams are the neurological aspect and the unrealistic imagery tie art and design into my dreams as well.
ReplyDeleteHi Hayley, I also wrote about dream in my post! I used to dream a lot when I was young, but since I got older I don't dream regularly. But I'm glad that you are making a connection to the popular culture. I haven't watched Inception yet, but it's interesting idea that a person (stranger) could enter the other person's dream. I can already see that the movie must used lots of art and science as a background. And I agree that movie makes hard to distinguish between dream and reality.
ReplyDeleteIt was very interesting to read about a different take away from this weeks lecture. I really made a connection with Brainbow, the use of fluorescent proteins to distinguish between different neurons. I was just captivated by aesthetic beauty. As like you, I never gave much thought to dreams being an art or science. However after reflecting on you post, I can now totally see the connection between art, science, and dreams. I really like how you made connections to movies that you have seen. It really helped me understand the connection between these fields.
ReplyDeleteWhile I was mostly fascinated by the interactions between reality visual perceptions under the influence of LSD, your analysis of what reality is in the film "Matrix" was highly intriguing to me. Your analysis of "Inception" also made me question whether or not a dream can be the reality for someone -- specifically the dead wife of Leonardo DiCaprio's character who only exists in his dreams. Specifically, viewers can see the struggle that his wife goes through after returning from a dream and watch her eventually lose her sense of reality so much that she commits suicide in an attempt to wake herself up.
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