This was fun! And really cool to see Alex create some interactive fiction!
Do I believe people can possess psychic abilities? Yeah, I think so, but I'm also skeptical. My wife is a big fan of tarot, which is very different from a psychic reading. I was skeptical of tarot, but then she had a reading for her and a few friends for her birthday one year. I was impressed that the tarot reader seemed to be picking up on a lot of stuff about our friends. Then it was my turn and I tried to throw the reader off, but she saw right through that and right into some of the stuff that was really on my mind. Another time, we were at a hotel in Palm Springs and there was a tarot card reading class, so I learned a little about how tarot works, and I gotta say it's really interesting, but also it's a system for reading people that isn't all that different from a system that a detective or a reporter might use. Is it perfect? Nope. But it is a methodology, and like any methodology, those who practice it can become rather skilled with the toolset.
Have I ever bounced back from a bad situation? Hell yes! Story of my life. Actually, I think that's the story of most people's lives. If you're still kicking, you're probably more resilient than you think.
When you close your eyes, what does your “mind palace” look like? It's a lot of open space, there are a lot of snacks, and questions fly at me from all directions. There's also a bidet, for some reason.
Glad you liked it. I think Alex did an amazing job! He really invested a lot of time and care in the story of the characters and it shows.
Yeah, this lines up with my thinking on tarot. It's the potentially impressive art of reading people with a layer of rad mysticism. I think anyone who's really good at their art - be it tarot reading, painting, dancing - can make it feel like magic by virtue of their skill.
I could see a couple of BAT t-shirts. One that just says Both Are True. And one that says Alex really outdid himself. Would wear both in public so I can meet other BATheads & preach the gospel, according to BAT.
I'm a die hard skeptic, who doesn't even remotely believe in psychic abilities. Age (and marriage to a believer...) has taught me to be more accepting when people do believe, but I only contain my skeptical face for those I love.
Bad situations and I are BFFs. I had this problem for a good 10 years where if I got too happy, I immediately needed to find a way to burn my whole life to the ground. Found a good therapist, fixed it, and now I spend all that anxiety on planning ahead for bad situations so I'm rarely in them.
I'm really jealous of people who have a "mind palace." I discovered recently that when people talk about picturing something in their head, they can actually SEE the picture with their mind's eye, not just know they're thinking about it. Looked it into it, and it's called aphantasia when you don't have a mental picture. I'm always curious about it, so if anyone reads this far: if you do artsy things, do you have a mental picture? I haven't met an artist yet with aphantasia, so I'm super curious to know how many of them there are in the world, and how it works for them.
Bonus challenge: My psychic abilities tell me that I will be unable to come up with a single witty answer for this question, until I wake up at 2am, with an absolutely genius answer, which will be forgotten by the time I get out of bed, and the loss of that answer will bug me for days.
So you and your partner are like a real life Mulder and Scully? I love that you can look past your differences on things... just like Mulder and Scully did.
I know folks who self-sabotage. So glad you worked through it with a therapist and you’ve found a new way to deal with anxiety. Yay therapy! It helped me work through anxiety, too.
Aphantasia! You learn something new every day (and a heroic Scrabble word). I have a mental picture, but it’s murky, nothing like a Sherlockian mind palace. Amplifying your call: Who’s got a mental picture?
+50 Points! Have you tried a notebook by the bed? It’s worked well for me.
I'm in a similar boat. Not full-on aphantasia, but there's almost nothing there when I try to conjure a mental picture, and even the faint shadow takes a lot of effort. A mind palace full of vivid images would be super handy, but I still manage to (more or less) write and paint without it...
It seems to be genetic. My mom and son both have it. It's also more common among people on the spectrum. If you really want to break your brain a little, my son has both aphantasia AND anauralia, so he has no mental picture and he doesn't have a mental voice. So if he wants to think something out, it pretty much has to be out loud.
wait ok I would very much like to join this discussion. I'm not sure if I have this thing but I can tell you one thing that I've always found very weird - when I read books or stories, I don't have a mental picture of the characters in my head like AT ALL. I sort of picture their vibe, like their energy and how I feel about them, but even that I don't know how much I picture? I dont know. But I do feel like its weird that I have no real image of basically all the characters that I read about. Is this the thing you're talking about lol?
That sure sounds like it! If you're asked to picture a peaceful place in your mind, or describe your childhood home, can you visually see the details in your mind, and your verbal description is based on what you can see in your head?
That sounds just like it is for me. My usual way to explain it to people is to have them picture an apple. Are you able to see it, rotate it, change the color? Or do you know you're thinking of an apple, but unable to actually envision it? There's degrees of it, too. Some people get flashes of images, or hazy images.
Sure. Even if someone doesn't believe we have a soul -- or a consciousness -- each of us has an electromagnetic field, and the e-m field interacts in every moment with the Zero Point Field.
Had a busy but fun day the other day, and spent most of it looking forward to doing this quest, was a fun way to wind down. I feel like it's rare for me to get a good outcome on the first try, but I did this time. Oh, I should probably spin this to say that I'm prescient now or something.
I do not believe in psychic abilities, but I want to believe! I mean, who doesn't want to read minds or move objects with their minds or predict the future? That would be pretty fantabulous.
Also, in this little adventure I turned from psychic to CPA, which basically means I'm going to strike it rich as a crypto bro.
This was fun! And really cool to see Alex create some interactive fiction!
Do I believe people can possess psychic abilities? Yeah, I think so, but I'm also skeptical. My wife is a big fan of tarot, which is very different from a psychic reading. I was skeptical of tarot, but then she had a reading for her and a few friends for her birthday one year. I was impressed that the tarot reader seemed to be picking up on a lot of stuff about our friends. Then it was my turn and I tried to throw the reader off, but she saw right through that and right into some of the stuff that was really on my mind. Another time, we were at a hotel in Palm Springs and there was a tarot card reading class, so I learned a little about how tarot works, and I gotta say it's really interesting, but also it's a system for reading people that isn't all that different from a system that a detective or a reporter might use. Is it perfect? Nope. But it is a methodology, and like any methodology, those who practice it can become rather skilled with the toolset.
Have I ever bounced back from a bad situation? Hell yes! Story of my life. Actually, I think that's the story of most people's lives. If you're still kicking, you're probably more resilient than you think.
When you close your eyes, what does your “mind palace” look like? It's a lot of open space, there are a lot of snacks, and questions fly at me from all directions. There's also a bidet, for some reason.
The bidet is a nice touch.
I agree. Especially if there are snacks accessible from the bidet - the ultimate luxury!
snacks are accessible everywhere all at once
Glad you liked it. I think Alex did an amazing job! He really invested a lot of time and care in the story of the characters and it shows.
Yeah, this lines up with my thinking on tarot. It's the potentially impressive art of reading people with a layer of rad mysticism. I think anyone who's really good at their art - be it tarot reading, painting, dancing - can make it feel like magic by virtue of their skill.
Alex really outdid himself.
getting this put on a tshirt
I think it’s time for a BAT t-shirt.
with this quote?
I could see a couple of BAT t-shirts. One that just says Both Are True. And one that says Alex really outdid himself. Would wear both in public so I can meet other BATheads & preach the gospel, according to BAT.
If it were me, I’d put it on my tombstone.
I'm a die hard skeptic, who doesn't even remotely believe in psychic abilities. Age (and marriage to a believer...) has taught me to be more accepting when people do believe, but I only contain my skeptical face for those I love.
Bad situations and I are BFFs. I had this problem for a good 10 years where if I got too happy, I immediately needed to find a way to burn my whole life to the ground. Found a good therapist, fixed it, and now I spend all that anxiety on planning ahead for bad situations so I'm rarely in them.
I'm really jealous of people who have a "mind palace." I discovered recently that when people talk about picturing something in their head, they can actually SEE the picture with their mind's eye, not just know they're thinking about it. Looked it into it, and it's called aphantasia when you don't have a mental picture. I'm always curious about it, so if anyone reads this far: if you do artsy things, do you have a mental picture? I haven't met an artist yet with aphantasia, so I'm super curious to know how many of them there are in the world, and how it works for them.
Bonus challenge: My psychic abilities tell me that I will be unable to come up with a single witty answer for this question, until I wake up at 2am, with an absolutely genius answer, which will be forgotten by the time I get out of bed, and the loss of that answer will bug me for days.
So you and your partner are like a real life Mulder and Scully? I love that you can look past your differences on things... just like Mulder and Scully did.
I know folks who self-sabotage. So glad you worked through it with a therapist and you’ve found a new way to deal with anxiety. Yay therapy! It helped me work through anxiety, too.
Aphantasia! You learn something new every day (and a heroic Scrabble word). I have a mental picture, but it’s murky, nothing like a Sherlockian mind palace. Amplifying your call: Who’s got a mental picture?
+50 Points! Have you tried a notebook by the bed? It’s worked well for me.
I'm in a similar boat. Not full-on aphantasia, but there's almost nothing there when I try to conjure a mental picture, and even the faint shadow takes a lot of effort. A mind palace full of vivid images would be super handy, but I still manage to (more or less) write and paint without it...
How interesting. I'm wondering if this condition is more widespread than imagined.
It seems to be genetic. My mom and son both have it. It's also more common among people on the spectrum. If you really want to break your brain a little, my son has both aphantasia AND anauralia, so he has no mental picture and he doesn't have a mental voice. So if he wants to think something out, it pretty much has to be out loud.
wait ok I would very much like to join this discussion. I'm not sure if I have this thing but I can tell you one thing that I've always found very weird - when I read books or stories, I don't have a mental picture of the characters in my head like AT ALL. I sort of picture their vibe, like their energy and how I feel about them, but even that I don't know how much I picture? I dont know. But I do feel like its weird that I have no real image of basically all the characters that I read about. Is this the thing you're talking about lol?
That sure sounds like it! If you're asked to picture a peaceful place in your mind, or describe your childhood home, can you visually see the details in your mind, and your verbal description is based on what you can see in your head?
That sounds just like it is for me. My usual way to explain it to people is to have them picture an apple. Are you able to see it, rotate it, change the color? Or do you know you're thinking of an apple, but unable to actually envision it? There's degrees of it, too. Some people get flashes of images, or hazy images.
Wow, that is such a different way to see and be in the world. Neurodiversity needs more attention and understanding.
My brain is a little broken, but also fascinated.
Yeah, I'm curious now, too...
I'd settle for a mind screen saver. Love those flying toasters!
I lack faith in my ability to read my 2am handwriting, but I may start talking notes on my phone! Thank you!
Sure. Even if someone doesn't believe we have a soul -- or a consciousness -- each of us has an electromagnetic field, and the e-m field interacts in every moment with the Zero Point Field.
First of all, if a band is looking for a name, may I humbly suggest Zero Point Field.
Very cool! Do you believe a Zero Point Field can be interpreted by the human brain in the way we think of consciousness / spirituality?
Am I really talking about metaphysical theories on a comedy Substack? LOL.
Hell yeah, Table Talk is where we go deep!
Haha. That would be a good name for a band.
I agree with the scientific theory that all animal and human consciousness is made of quantum light.
what is...zero point field?
the inmost dimension of the natural universe -- the dynamic whole from which every "holon" in the universe emerge and to which they return
Had a busy but fun day the other day, and spent most of it looking forward to doing this quest, was a fun way to wind down. I feel like it's rare for me to get a good outcome on the first try, but I did this time. Oh, I should probably spin this to say that I'm prescient now or something.
Thanks for making this quest part of your day and congrats on nailing your first run through.
You *knew* you were going to enjoy this Adventure Snack. It was a premonition!
I do not believe in psychic abilities, but I want to believe! I mean, who doesn't want to read minds or move objects with their minds or predict the future? That would be pretty fantabulous.
Also, in this little adventure I turned from psychic to CPA, which basically means I'm going to strike it rich as a crypto bro.
I know, it’d be a better world with a few more X-Men around.
Haha, get that bag! Mint those BriaNFTs!