The History of the Pain Machine, and Other Ephemera

Since I am about to stomp off Godzilla-like to my CS midterm, I wanted to place some interesting links and thoughts that I doubt that I'll have time to formulate anytime soon.

Mindhacks posted this awesome post about an exhibit going on in Germany about visionary art regarding "pain machines."  Visionary art usually denotes "outsider" status, or sometimes even more specifically, the art of the mentally insane. So, the interesting thing is that historically, schizophrenic people take note of technology early on and integrate them into their experiences. Probably because the experience is so foreign that it requires an "outside" intermediary agent as an explanation.

the delusions of people with schizophrenia often involved them being influenced by a 'diabolical machine', just outside the technical understanding of the victim, that influenced them from afar and is operated by a shadowy group of the person's enemies.

I've always regarded visionary art as a medium for messengers who go to this strange land. It's especially compelling, because much of the time, visionary artists aren't technically gifted, but they are absolutely compelled to convey and communicate their experience.

Of course, reality is becoming as fiction, especially after Raytheon invented a functional pain machine.

PS. It can't possibly be helping me that I'm listening to "Red Right Hand" while ensconced in the Mathematics Library. Truly, music and environment to encourage this sort of thing:

You're one microscopic cog
in his catastrophic plan
Designed and directed by
his red right hand