Altered Perception Experiences Research

Centering the Audience and Origins of Immersive Courses by Noah Nelson - Fall 2023 and Spring 2024

I’ve been conducting research on "Altered Perception Experiences" for my immersive experience design coursework at CalArts. This research will culminate in contributing to the Immersive-wiki, a collaborative, Wikipedia-style repository designed by the immersive creator community. It aims to archive immersive projects, case studies, and insights through time for public reference.

My research encompasses case studies, valuable references, and profiles of experience creators who are redefining the limits of perception, consciousness, and the human experience. I'm investigating how innovative technology, imaginative environmental design, and purposeful interventions can significantly transform and enhance individual perceptions and experiences. Among the examples I've delved into are:

🔮 Sensory Deprivation and Overstimulation Experiences:
Deliberately reducing or heightening sensory input to challenge perception. Pushing individuals beyond their usual sensory thresholds.

🌊 Sensory Submersion Experiences:
Immerse individuals in environments that manipulate or fully engage their senses, creating a heightened sensory experience. This could involve immersion in water, altered gravity environments, or audio-visual simulations.

⏳ Time-Distortion Experiences:
Play with temporal perception, either by altering the perception of time passing or creating non-linear experiences where time seems distorted or inconsistent.

💭 Dream Incubation Experiences:
Environments designed to influence dream content, vividness, or lucidity. These experiences aim to enhance dream recall, induce specific dream themes, or facilitate controlled dreaming.

🧪 Substance-Infused Experiences:
Consuming legal and controlled substances that affect cognitive function, alter sensory perceptions, or induce specific mental or emotional states.

🎨 Synesthetic Experiences:
Blurring the boundaries between senses, eliciting a phenomenon where stimulation of one sensory pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in another.

🧘‍♂️ Mood-Modulating Experiences:
Influence emotional states by manipulating environmental factors, sensory input, or technological interventions.

🧠 Neurofeedback Experiences:
Measure brain activity and provide feedback in real time. By influencing brainwave patterns, these experiences enhance cognitive function, relaxation, or altered states of consciousness.