NAVR / Looking into pain perception and VR

Out of all the physiological modes of perception, pain or nociception is probably the least favorite sensation for most sane humans on earth. Upon finding a genie in a bottle, agliophobics (people who fear pain) might first wish to never feel pain again. However, if on their way out of the genies cave, a young bat with poorly developed echolocation happens to swoop into their hair, mistaking it for food; they could stumble though a lava pit then continue on their way without even realizing that they have third degree burns all the way up to their knee caps! Pain may not be fun but this scenario illustrates exactly why nociception is one the most vital physiological sensations for human well-being.

CellWave

Fifty percent of humans on earth (3.3 billion) are "attached" to a device that allows instantaneous communication with other device enabled humans. This device, the cell phone, is the closest technology we have to telepathy on a global scale. The cell phone is such an extension of our bodies to the point where it is not uncommon for a user to experience phantom vibrations or auditory hallucinations of their cell phone ringing even while it is turned off.

In exploring the relationship between the body and the invisible, telepathic like communications of the cell phone, I utilized an electroencephalograph (EEG), normally used in neurology for reading brainwaves, to visually render the "brain waves" of a cell phone. The EEG monitored the cell phone while it was receiving short poetic statements sent in the form of text messages. The subtle electrical activity, which permeated the atmosphere around the phone, was visually rendered by the needles of the EEG in bold hues of magenta and cyan, exaggerating the colored appearance of the human nervous system.