Posts Tagged ‘ether’
“Psychedelic experiences are notoriously hard to render in words”*…
… to categorize them, even harder. But Josie Kins (@Josikinz) and her colleagues at Effect Index are putting in the work…
The Subjective Effect Index is a set of articles designed to serve as a comprehensive catalogue and reference for the range of subjective effects that may occur under the influence of psychoactive substances and other psychonautic techniques.
The effects listed here are accompanied by detailed descriptions on the subjective experiences of them. They are written in a consistent and formal writing style that avoids the use of flowery metaphors or analogy; instead, they strive to use simple and accessible language. This is done with the hope that they will eventually serve as a universal terminology set that enables people to better communicate and share experiences that are, by nature, difficult to convey.
The Index is separated into 233 effects, which are organised into categories based on the senses they affect and their behavior. Many of these are further broken down into leveling systems, subcomponents, and style variations that may occur across different substances. Detailed image, video, and audio replications [like the one above] have been included wherever possible to supplement text-based descriptions…
Stanislav Grof, M.D has argued that “LSD is a catalyst or amplifier of mental processes. If properly used it could become something like the microscope or telescope of psychiatry.” Effects Index is attempting to build a database to help that process along.
* Michael Pollan
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As we tackle the taxonomy of trips, we might recall that it was on this date in 1842 that (modern) anesthesia was used for the first time in an operation– by Dr. Crawford Long. Long, a physician and a pharmacist, used diethyl ether in the removal of a tumor from the neck of James Venable in Jefferson, GA; given success with Venable, Long then used ether in other surgeries and in childbirths. He published the results of these trials in 1848 in The Southern Medical and Surgical Journal (an original copy of which is held in the U.S. National Library of Medicine).
It’s cool that Long is the subject of one of the two statues representing Georgia in the crypt of the U.S. Capitol. It’s cooler that Long was the cousin of Doc Holliday.
Crawford Long (source)
Sweet dreams…
PopSci reports from Japan’s International Robot Show:
If you snore, this new pillowbot from Japan will gently brush your cheek to get you to stop — or flip out of bed in terror as its disturbingly slow arm moves toward you.
It’s designed to help people sleep better by stopping chronic snorers and those who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea, which causes breathing difficulty while sleeping. The robot, called “Jukusui-kun” or “deep sleep” in Japanese, is designed to look like a friendly snoozing polar bear. It is connected to a small glove device (also fuzzy bear-shaped) that measures blood oxygen levels, and a below-the-sheets sensor that detects loud noises. The pillow itself also has a microphone to monitor snore decibel levels. A person’s vital stats are pre-programmed into a terminal, which connects wirelessly so you don’t get tangled up in cables.
When the sensors detect blood-oxygen levels are getting too low, or when snoring becomes unbearably loud (yeah that’s right), the bear-pillow’s paw moves slowly and frighteningly toward the sleeping person’s face. This gentle cheek-brush induces the snoring person to turn over on to his or her side, which stops snoring and restores a more restful sleep…
More at “Japanese Robotic Polar Bear Gently Smacks Snorers in the Face.”
As we consider our overnight options, we might recall that it was on this date in 1846 that physician and writer Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. coined the word “anesthesia” in a letter to William Thomas Green Morton, the surgeon who had recently given the first public demonstration of the pain-killing effects of ether (allowing for the painless removal by surgeon John Collins Warren of a tumor from the neck of Edward Gilbert Abbott).
Contemporary re-enactment of Morton's October 16, 1846, ether operation; daguerrotype by Southworth & Hawes
A, B, C, D, E, F, G…
From artist and illustrator Neill Cameron, a celebration of superheroes, celebrities, comic characters– and the allure of alliteration: “The A – Z of Awesomeness.”
As we parse our pleasures, then pause to ponder pain, we might recall that it was on this date in 1842 that anaesthesia was used for the first time in an operation– by Dr. Crawford Long. Long, a physician and a pharmacist, used diethyl ether in the removal of a tumor from the neck of James Venable in Jefferson, GA; given success with Venable, Long then used ether in other surgeries and in childbirths. He published the results of these trials in 1848 in The Southern Medical and Surgical Journal (an original copy of which is held in the U.S. National Library of Medicine).
It’s cool that Long is the subject of one of the two statues representing Georgia in the crypt of the U.S. Capitol. It’s cooler that Long was the the cousin of Doc Holliday.
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