Ring Wars and better uses of neuroscience advances

As you might have gathered from some of my posts over the past five years, I think secrecy is overrated.

I just saw something that could be interpreted to mean that oaths, covenants, and confidentiality agreements could be used to set up a circular war, a "ring war."

Instapundit used to mockingly talk about "circular firing squads" and the prisoners' dilemma (a hypothetical where prisoners can get a shorter sentence by all confessing but a longer one if they are the only wrongdoer who confesses, so they all stay quiet).

How do we end secrecy-dependent ring wars? Since people are going to respond to rational incentives, society needs to be change the prisoners' dilemma. Genuinely repentant wrongdoers should be given a lesser penalty for being the first to confess, especially if they help identify their co-conspirators. It should be a race to confess first.

How do we discern who is actually repentant from who is merely manipulative and insincere? There is a large body of neuromarketing research now on how to find out what people prefer. Use it in law enforcement. Also, use it in security clearances! If someone shows a preference for service to fellow humans, they should get jobs that need people with such a preference (as opposed to a preference for wielding power to use others). All that brain activity research should be put to uses more important than finding out which kind of cola we prefer.

Song title word "games"

Last year, the Eurovision submission from Israel was a song called "Hurricane." Cancellation of doubled letters turns that song title into "Hui Cane." Eight days after the Eurovision finale, Iran's president and foreign minister were killed in a helicopter crash. The helicopter was a Bell 212, which appears to be the kind of helicopter known as a "Huey." "Cain" is the first recorded murderer (see the book of Genesis in the Bible), something which would have been common knowledge to both Iranians and Israelis, despite their many differences.

If the 2024 song title was an announcement of an intended attack via helicopter crash, then we should all scrutinize the 2025 Israel song title being submitted to Eurovision now: "New Day Will Rise"

Doing cancellation of doubled letters on "New Day Will Rise" results in "NDA Y RS." 

An NDA is a non-disclosure agreement. "RS" is pronounced "ars," as in crafts and skilled arts. "Y" looks like a drover's rod for herding cattle. 

I've posted some articles recently that point to the development of technology that can "read" and "nudge" people's minds (see https://petticoatgovernment.blogspot.com/2025/02/mind-reading-can-be-done-by-technology.html cancellation), and I think someone in Israel is using this song title to tell the western world that this kind of technology is being used to herd us and that many who know about it are unable to openly discuss it due to non-disclosure agreements.

(As you look at Israelis demonstrating to show disgust and anger at their leaders for bombing tens of thousands of civilians in Gaza, remember that some of those Israelis likely know about any psy-ops being used to stoke conflicts but are prevented from saying anything about them. Violating confidentiality agreements in the military can result in prison and possibly worse consequences. Most Israelis are good people, and they need to be freed from their own captors.)

A scripture passage that was fulfilled despite looking on the surface as though it wasn't

In the Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi 21:9-10 says

For in that day, for my sake shall the Father work a work, which shall be a great and a marvelous work among them; and there shall be among them those who will not believe it, although a man shall declare it unto them. But behold, the life of my servant shall be in my hand; therefore they shall not hurt him, although he shall be marred because of them. Yet I will heal him, for I will show unto them that my wisdom is greater than the cunning of the devil.

This statement appears to be about Joseph Smith, Jr. But it says he wouldn't be "hurt," and Joseph Smith, Jr. was murdered by a mob in 1844 in Illinois. So wasn't this prophecy not fulfilled? Also, how can one be "marred" yet not "hurt"? That seems logically impossible.

The meaning of "mar" is 1) to ruin or diminish the perfection or wholeness of : spoil; 2) (archaic) a) to inflict serious bodily harm on; b) destroy. (See https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mar.)

Joseph Smith, Jr. repeatedly had serious bodily harm inflicted on him. He was never "perfect," so the first definition about "diminishing perfection" seems inapplicable to him.

My enormous old dictionary, in its etymology and meanings for the word "hurt", points to a lesser-known definition of "to hurt" as meaning "to check" or "to hamper" (see the 2b definition):

As we know from hockey, checking is blocking, not necessarily injuring (see definitions 5 and also 6):

The inclusion of abating as a synonym of checking is interesting. "Abate" is a strong word in its most common legal and construction usages, meaning to nullify or get rid of. See https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/abate.

The "check" meaning of "hurt" is kept in the first definition of "hurter":

I think this Book of Mormon passage above is saying that Joseph Smith, Jr. would be marred--both in the sense that he would suffer serious physical injury and that his work would be tarnished and slowed down, including by his unjust death--but that he and his work would not be entirely blocked. It has taken 200 years now, but his main work--the bringing forth of the Book of Mormon--still continues. The Book of Mormon tells the world that Jesus was divine and that he really rose from death (not just a chemical stupor like the fictional Juliet in Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet) and visited his "other sheep," i.e., people in the Americas.

Men in Black and Marbles

The news has been hot about President Trump yelling at President Zelenskyy in the White House recently. One tidbit stood out:

Volodymyr Zelenskyy was wearing black slacks, boots, and a black sweatshirt with an embroidered Ukrainian trident...."You're all decked out today," Donald Trump remarked mockingly.

https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/world/did-zelenskyys-outfit-at-the-white-house-tick-off-donald-trump-heres-what-he-was-wearing-as-the-president-took-a-sarcastic-dig-at-him/ar-AA1A3xQS?ocid=BingNewsSerp

Zelensky was all in black, including a sweatshirt, for a very formal kind of meeting. What is the symbolism he was going for? To some people, "men in black" are pirates (who might be good guys underneath), as we see in The Princess Bride movie.

To others, "men in black" are super cool defenders of the universe from the really bad creatures out there.

But, as the movie and its rap song spell out for us, "Men In Black" equals "M.I.B."

Here come the Men In Black

It's the MIB's, uh, here come the MIB's

Here come the Men In Black, Men In Black

They won't let you remember*

Nah nah nah.

The good guys dress in black, remember that

Just in case we ever face to face and make contact

The title held by me, MIB

https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/3529257/Will+Smith

I was intrigued to find in my huge, old dictionary that "mib" means "mig" in the sense of a marble used for playing marbles. See https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mib.

Do you remember how, at the very end of the first Men in Black movie, the earth and our universe are portrayed as being inside a marble that an alien hand is playing marbles with? I don't think that was a lucky vocabulary coincidence. Is that final movie scene saying that the men in black are being "played with" just as much as everyone else? If so, who is playing everyone else? The technology we see and know about is like the visible tip of an iceberg, and I have felt myself "nudged" to do or say things in the past few years that I wouldn't have otherwise thought of doing or saying.

Of course, a "Mig" is also a USSR-era fighter jet.

So, when Trump makes a big deal out of Zelenskyy showing up dressed as a "mib"....what is really going on? There's so much that is unclear in international politics right now.

* If mind reading and altering technology has been being researched and patented since the mid-1970s (see https://patents.google.com/patent/US3951134A/en) then there has likely been progress on helping induce forgetfulness in targeted ways. Perhaps the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was only partially science fiction.

Mythology dark sides

My daughter is taking a world mythology class. Yesterday she was in tears over having to read raunchy Native American mythology stories about graphic sexual violence. I find nothing amusing about perpetuating the idea that appreciation of Native American cultures includes acceptance of such horrible behavior, especially since "Native or Indigenous children are 7 times more likely that other children to be subjected to criminal physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, or a combination of all of these" (https://www.ncacia.org/post/the-overlooked-epidemic-child-abuse-in-indigenous-and-native-american-populations).

The stories that are used to set forth the ideals, or lack thereof, of a culture are powerful. 

For example, some can take a verse in Genesis to mean that God will let them have influence over sin itself if they walk the path of "Perdition," as did Cain, the first murderer:

And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

Genesis 4:6-7.

"Unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him." Say what? The devil/sin will want to please people if they follow him? He's represented in the Bible as being selfish. That makes no sense.

Joseph Smith, Jr. was inspired to write that passage as follows:

And the Lord said unto Cain: Why art thou wroth? Why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, thou shalt be accepted. And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door, and Satan desireth to have thee; and except thou shalt hearken unto my commandments, I will deliver thee up, and it shall be unto thee according to his desire. And thou shalt rule over him;

"It shall be unto thee according to his desire." Now that makes sense. This second passage puts people on notice that the devil/sin aims to accomplish his/its own purposes, not the wishes of those who give in to him/it.

See how a little difference in a founding story of mythological import can mean the difference between thinking the devil is going to try to please a person versus being warned that the devil is going to exploit that person? They are basically opposite beliefs and will take us down different roads behaviorally.

We should always be ready to examine the power of myths in our lives and cultures. Failure to examine them only makes dysfunctional outcomes persist longer.

Artificial intelligence software can cause a loss of faith in LDS media content creators

When looking closely at my paper copy of the 1980s LDS triple combination index, I discovered something in the entry for "Book of Commandments" (the original name of the Doctrine & Covenants). It has the following reference:

67:7 the Lord counsels to study B. of C.

But that's not what verse 67:7 says. Here is that verse and the surrounding ones:

5 Your eyes have been upon my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and his language you have known, and his imperfections you have known; and you have sought in your hearts knowledge that you might express beyond his language; this you also know.

6 Now, seek ye out of the Book of Commandments, even the least that is among them, and appoint him that is the most wise among you;

7 Or, if there be any among you that shall make one like unto it, then ye are justified in saying that ye do not know that they are true;

8 But if ye cannot make one like unto it, ye are under condemnation if ye do not bear record that they are true.

9 For ye know that there is no unrighteousness in them, and that which is righteous cometh down from above, from the Father of lights.

Why is there a printer or publisher error pointing directly at this verse? I think it's because the publishing field has likely had access to content creation software since the 1980s, software that could duplicate specific writing styles the way any child can these days with ChatGTP. Because some publishers could produce writing that sounded like the Doctrine & Covenants, they could feel justified in not believing the very scriptures they were printing.

If I am correct, that would explain a lot of the published material coming out of Utah these days. Shallow gospel interpretations that constantly push a myth of "prophetic infallibility" on us have become the norm, when The Book of Mormon itself clearly teaches that church leaders don't always know about bad things going on in the world and even in the LDS Church (see Mosiah 26:9, where Alma, the prophet of the Nephite church didn't know about iniquity in the church and had to be told of it). It appears some nonbelievers in Church media services don't want us to question anything they say as they pretend to be faithful enough to fit in in Salt Lake City.

[Update 2/16/2025: I found another significant-looking typo in the triple combination index. This one points to a KGB connection to supposed signs and poisons in use by super-secretive groups within the LDS Church. I know, incredible, right? But keep in mind that the index was put together in the early 1980s when the USA and the USSR were pointing nuclear missiles at each other and relying on the idea of "mutually assured destruction" to keep the other side from hitting the launch buttons. A little messing with a staunchly anti-Communist, pro-military church (especially one whose adherents avoid most kinds of substance abuse) is hardly something the Soviets would have been ethically above doing.

I'll lay out the details:

1) The index entry for "refrain" erroneously indicates that Alma the Elder ("Alma1") lectured his son Corianton; it should have said Alma the Younger ("Alma2"), the actual father of Corianton.

2) Double-cancellation on the index entry for Alma1 (including the "1" as the start of the references and not considering it to be part of the entry title) gives the following string of letters and numbers: z0jwcyghpr2945ond. Dividing the numbers by 26 and using the remainders to get the corresponding letters of the alphabet, I get zzjwcyghprgond; using the doubled letter correspondence trick, that gives mjwcyghprgond. 

From the index entry title, "Alma", I do doubles-cancellation and get "LM" to indicate which cipher to use. Applying the "LM" cipher to mjwcyghprgond, I get lobvzrqigrjku. Combining the two strings of letters and removing the ones that form words (joke, gap, argon, and lobe), I am left with mydvzrqigrjku.

Application of the v trick (start at the v and move to the front and back sides) gives dzyrmqigrjku.

Then, application of the z trick (zigzag from the ends in towards the z) gives dukjrgiqmry. Turn it upside-down to get pnk(rj)gibwjl. (The rj is left out as it tells us just that this clue is upside-down. Y upside down is the Greek letter lambda, or "l".) Sounding this out, we can read "pen KGB wjl."

Three-letter ciphers are something I recently started looking at. They can be made by imitating the shape of a slide rule. A cipher based on wjl looks like this:

A   B   C   D    E    F    G    H     I     J     K

                       Q    P    O    N    M   L

                       R    S     T    U     V   W    X    Y    Z

Isn't that cool looking?

Going back and applying this cipher to lobvzrqigrjku, I get wj-tg-b-im-z-eq-re-mv-ot-eq-lw-k-hn. Removing the letters that form words (ream, vote, and cane), I am left with wjtgbimzeqqlw. 

Double q is a d, so I now have wjtgbimzedlw.

Doing the z trick starting from the left side gives me wwjltdgebim, which (because ww=j and jj=w) is wltdgebim; turned upside-down, it reads wiqd(bp)tlm; leaving out the bp as an indicator that this clue should be turned upside-down, we get a string that appears to say "wicked teal M," which appears to be a cryptic clue linking naughty Masons in the LDS church to the color teal.

Doing the z trick to wjtgbimzedlw from the right side, I get wwljdtegbim, which is jljdtegbim. Turning it upside-down, I get w-iq-b-d-t-prlr. "W" frequently shows up in these kind of possible clues as an indication of a poison or toxin, so this clue can be read as "toxic to intelligence is the tea parlor." While a missionary in Poland in the mid 1990s, I saw the height and health differences between young men raised drinking lots of tea in Poland and LDS young men raised avoiding tea in the USA. I don't pretend to know whether the American boys were also more intelligent, but they were obviously much taller and healthier than their Polish counterparts. A KGB audience could easily believe that there was also an intelligence-damage connection with tea here.

Which came first? The teal and tea clues were intentionally inserted? Or, what I consider more probable, a printer inserted a call out by/to different subgroups in the KGB/CIA to get their attention and then some people who know what kinds of messages printers can send via typos and moderately basic ciphers spent a couple of decades "fulfilling" the "clues"? Communists know all about the need for patience and "long marches" through institutions they want to gut and destroy from the inside out.

A problem with secret messages is that they can be made to appear where they were not originally intended and the audiences who think they are "in on it" won't know they are being fooled because...secrets!]

"Mind reading" can be done by technology you are wearing and carrying around

There's a whole field called neuromarketing that focuses on neural processes and emotions, such as fear, anger, happiness, and sadness. The purpose? To sell you items! And to convince you to do/believe/think in a variety of desired ways: agitation, fervor, complacency, etc. Market research has come a long way from relying on focus groups and telephone surveys.

The neural-investigation devices used in scientists' studies are quite small and wearable these days. Think cellphone- and smartwatch- small. They need to be able to measure blood oxygenation, which is cheaply done. Nowadays, one can buy an oximeter for under $8 on Amazon, including shipping.

Have you ever wondered how Facebook gets you to keep scrolling and knows what algorithms to deploy on you to keep you engaged? Your cellphone camera(s) can track your eye movement, which indicates what you are interested in.

The neuromarketing technology has gotten so good that it can read your unconscious preferences. For example, it can predict what people will do with respect to stock transactions even before people have consciously come to a decision.

This is impressive, world-altering technology, and we too often are oblivious that is available to marketers and influence-sellers. There is a reason that data analysts are so highly paid. There is a lot of data out there to analyze.

Here are some studies to back up the above claims:

1) Cherubino P, Martinez-Levy AC, Caratù M, Cartocci G, Di Flumeri G, Modica E, Rossi D, Mancini M, Trettel A. Consumer Behaviour through the Eyes of Neurophysiological Measures: State-of-the-Art and Future Trends. Comput Intell Neurosci. 2019 Sep 18;2019:1976847. doi: 10.1155/2019/1976847. PMID: 31641346; PMCID: PMC6766676. Online at https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6766676/

[F]irstly, we will describe the historical development of neuromarketing and its main applications in assessing the sensory perceptions of some marketing and advertising stimuli. Then, we will describe the main neuroscientific tools available for such kind of investigations (e.g., measuring the cerebral electrical or hemodynamic activity, the eye movements, and the psychometric responses). Also, this review will present different brain measurement techniques, along with their pros and cons, and the main cerebral indexes linked to the specific mental states of interest (used in most of the neuromarketing research). Such indexes have been supported by adequate validations from the scientific community and are largely employed in neuromarketing research. 

2) Rawnaque FS, Rahman KM, Anwar SF, Vaidyanathan R, Chau T, Sarker F, Mamun KAA. Technological advancements and opportunities in Neuromarketing: a systematic review. Brain Inform. 2020 Sep 21;7(1):10. doi: 10.1186/s40708-020-00109-x. PMID: 32955675; PMCID: PMC7505913. Online at https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32955675/

Physiological response measuring techniques such as eye tracking, skin conductance recording, heart rate monitoring, and facial mapping have also been found in these empirical studies exclusively or in parallel with brain recordings. 

3) Rigby D, Vass C, Payne K. Opening the 'Black Box': An Overview of Methods to Investigate the Decision-Making Process in Choice-Based Surveys. Patient. 2020 Feb;13(1):31-41. doi: 10.1007/s40271-019-00385-8. PMID: 31486021. Online at https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31486021/

A variety of methods of pre-choice process analysis have been developed to investigate how and why people make their decisions in such experiments and surveys. These techniques have been developed to investigate how people acquire and process information and make choices. These techniques offer the potential to test and improve theories of choice and/or associated empirical models. This paper provides an overview of such methods, with the focus on their use in stated choice-based healthcare studies. The methods reviewed are eye tracking, mouse tracing, brain imaging, deliberation time analysis and think aloud. For each method, we summarise the rationale, implementation, type of results generated and associated challenges, along with a discussion of possible future developments.

4) Colomer Granero A, Fuentes-Hurtado F, Naranjo Ornedo V, Guixeres Provinciale J, Ausín JM, Alcañiz Raya M. A Comparison of Physiological Signal Analysis Techniques and Classifiers for Automatic Emotional Evaluation of Audiovisual Contents. Front Comput Neurosci. 2016 Jul 15;10:74. doi: 10.3389/fncom.2016.00074. PMID: 27471462; PMCID: PMC4945646. Online at https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4945646/

Estimation of emotional states is a powerful tool in the marketing field. Efficient monitoring of human emotional states may provide important and useful information for marketing purposes (Frantzidis et al., 2010a). Such monitoring could follow either subjective or objective methods. Subjective methods (psychology-oriented approach) are based on qualitative behavior assessment or by means of questionnaires and interviews, whilst objective methods (neuropsychology-oriented approach) consist on monitoring and analyzing the subject biosignals (Frantzidis et al., 2010a).

It is now recognized that making use of standard marketing techniques, such as depth interviews or focus groups, in which customers are exposed to the product in advance of its massive launch or afterwards, provides biased answers due to the respondents cognitive processes activating during the interview and by the influence that the interviewer may have on their recalls (Vecchiato et al., 2014). Furthermore, people are not able to (or might not want) fully express their preferences when they are explicitly asked (Vecchiato et al., 2011a). Therefore, marketing researchers prefer to complement traditional methods with the use of biosignals.

To follow the objective approach, different features of either positive or negative emotions can be extracted from physiological signals, such as electrocardiography (ECG), electroencephalography (EEG), galvanic skin response (GSR) or the breathing response (Frantzidis et al., 2010a). This techniques allow to assess human emotions in terms of it is able to reveal information that is unobtainable employing traditional methods (Vecchiato et al., 2014).

Electroencephalography and the magnetoencephalography (MEG) allow to record on a millisecond basis the brain activity during the exposition to relevant marketing stimuli. However, such imaging brain techniques present one difficulty: the recorded cerebral activity is mainly generated on the cortical structures of the brain. It is almost impossible to acquire the electromagnetic activity yield by deep structures which are often associated with the generation of emotional processing in humans with EEG or MEG sensors. To overcome this problem, high-resolution EEG technology has been developed to enhance the poor spatial information content on the EEG activity. With this technology, brain activity can be detected with a spatial resolution of a squared centimeter on a milliseconds basis, but only in the cerebral cortex.

Furthermore, autonomic activity such as Heart Rate (HR) and Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) are also able to assess the internal emotional state of the subject (Christoforou et al., 2015; Ohme et al., 2011). GSR activity is actually a sensitive and convenient way of measuring indexing changes in sympathetic arousal associated with emotion, cognition and attention (Critchley, 2002). Lang et al. (1993) discovered that the mean value of GSR is related to the level of arousal. Blood pressure and Heart Rate Variability (HRV) also correlate with emotions, since stress may increase blood pressure. Pleasantness of stimuli can increase peak heart rate response, and HRV decreases with fear, sadness and happiness (Soleymani et al., 2008). Respiration has proven to be an adequate emotional indicator. It is possible to distinguish relaxation (slow respiration) and anger or fear (irregular rhythm, quick variations and cessation of respiration). It is possible as well to detect laughing because it introduces high-frequency fluctuations to the HRV signal (Appelhans and Luecken, 2006).

5) Stallen M, Borg N, Knutson B. Brain Activity Foreshadows Stock Price Dynamics. J Neurosci. 2021 Apr 7;41(14):3266-3274. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1727-20.2021. Epub 2021 Mar 8. PMID: 33685944; PMCID: PMC8026346. Online at https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8026346/

Many try but fail to consistently forecast changes in stock prices. New evidence, however, suggests that anticipatory affective brain activity may not only predict individual choice, but also may forecast aggregate choice. Assuming that stock prices index collective choice, we tested whether brain activity sampled during the assessment of stock prices could forecast subsequent changes in the prices of those stocks. In two neuroimaging experiments, a combination of previous stock price movements and brain activity in a region implicated in processing uncertainty and arousal forecast next-day stock price changes—even when behavior did not. These findings challenge traditional assumptions of market efficiency by implying that neuroimaging data might reveal “hidden information” capable of foreshadowing stock price dynamics.

6) Çakar T, Filiz G. Unraveling neural pathways of political engagement: bridging neuromarketing and political science for understanding voter behavior and political leader perception. Front Hum Neurosci. 2023 Dec 21;17:1293173. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2023.1293173. PMID: 38188505; PMCID: PMC10771297. Online at https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10771297/

The present investigation used a near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) system as primary data collection instrument. The NIRS system utilized in this study is produced by fNIR Devices, model 11001 and is rooted in the research development units of Drexel University (Philadelphia, PA, USA) (Ayaz, 2010). The system consists of three elements: a flexible sensor with 16 optodes (8 light sources and 8 detectors) arranged in a 4 × 4 grid, and which is securely fixed to the participant’s head; the control box with electronic components and analog-to-digital converters; and the system computer, which runs the COBI Studio software and facilitates real-time data monitoring and recording. The sensor, equipped with four distinct light sources, detects oxygenation levels through ten detectors while concurrently recording data streams across sixteen distinct channels (Ayaz et al., 2011). Notably, the sensor is designed so that the light source and the detector are approximately 2.5 centimeters apart, thereby enabling measurements from depths of approximately 1.25 centimeters. This fNIRS system uses two wavelengths (760 nm and 830 nm) to measure the concentration of oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO2) and deoxygenated hemoglobin (Hb) in the blood. Functionally, the system boasts a data acquisition frequency of 2 samples per second (2 Hz) and is capable of measuring neural activity within the Brodmann areas BA9, BA10, BA44, and BA45 (Ayaz et al., 2011).

The non-invasive and portable nature of the optical brain imaging system is instrumental to its effectiveness. 

[Update 2/12/2025: Not only can it "read" our minds, our portable technology can also be used to affect our mental states. Smart phones now usually come with the capability of generating infrared light, which can be used to improve mood and reduce inflammation:

Giménez MC, Luxwolda M, Van Stipriaan EG, Bollen PP, Hoekman RL, Koopmans MA, Arany PR, Krames MR, Berends AC, Hut RA, Gordijn MCM. Effects of Near-Infrared Light on Well-Being and Health in Human Subjects with Mild Sleep-Related Complaints: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study. Biology (Basel). 2022 Dec 29;12(1):60. doi: 10.3390/biology12010060. PMID: 36671752; PMCID: PMC9855677. Online at https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9855677/

Therapeutic exposure to doses of red and NIR, known as photobiomodulation (PBM), has been effective for a broad range of conditions. In a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study, we aimed to assess the effects of a PBM home set-up on various aspects of well-being, health, sleep, and circadian rhythms in healthy human subjects with mild sleep complaints. The effects of three NIR light (850 nm) doses (1, 4, or 6.5 J·cm−2) were examined against the placebo. Exposure was presented five days per week between 9:30 am and 12:30 pm for four consecutive weeks. The study was conducted in both summer and winter to include seasonal variation. The results showed PBM treatment only at 6.5 J·cm−2 to have consistent positive benefits on well-being and health, specifically improving mood, reducing drowsiness, reducing IFN-γ, and resting heart rate. This was only observed in winter. 

I think that housing people in windowless buildings is a very bad idea, per this study. We need some of this kind of light.]

[Update 2/13/2025: I think the most secretive, well-funded agencies have been working on mind reading capabilities for decades. Last fall, Popular Mechanics reported the military is going to develop mind reading helmets for aircraft pilots, ones that are non-invasive (i.e., not relying on brain implants) and so precise that the military intends to have the pilots use the mind reading capabilites for launching weapons. You don't rely on technology to launch weapons until you're sure it works and works extraordinarily well! Here's a link to the Popular Mechanics story:

https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/a62719626/darpa-n3-ai-helmet/

If mind reading technology is being used on us civilians these days, I think DARPA and other such agencies are obligated under the Constitution, as constructed and understood to be about providing for the common defense, to tell us about it, no matter how many non-disclosure agreements they initially signed back when our society wasn't being run into the ground by unproductive uses of new technologies.]

[Update 2/16/2025: As I look at news headlines, I'm struck with the realization that they make a lot more sense if one hypothesizes that some people are using advanced technology to manipulate politicians and prominent business/entertainment people. Sort of a Sim-City game, but real. Is it plausible?]

[Update 2/24/2025: Here's more to read about non-invasive mind reading tech. https://gizmodo.com/the-next-generation-of-brainwave-control-helmets-looks-5484416. The article is already four years old.

So what about technology that goes the other way? Instead of merely observing, it  influences, massages, and even induces brainwaves in a way targeted to create, amplify, or dampen a person's emotions? It looks like that actually can be done non-invasively now.

Despite many studies showing abnormal brain rhythms in multiple diseases, limited means to target deep brain regions noninvasively has restricted the therapeutic potential of driving brain rhythms. Accordingly, we developed a noninvasive millisecond precise sensory stimulation to drive brain rhythms. Here, we introduce for the first time newly developed open-source software and instructions for building, testing, debugging, and using BrainWAVE (Brain Wide-spectrum Audio/Visual Exposure) stimulation. We demonstrate BrainWAVE stimulation across multiple species and different experimental settings. 

Attokaren MK, Jeong N, Blanpain L, Paulson AL, Garza KM, Borron B, Walelign M, Willie J, Singer AC. BrainWAVE: A Flexible Method for Noninvasive Stimulation of Brain Rhythms across Species. eNeuro. 2023 Feb 24;10(2):ENEURO.0257-22.2022. doi: 10.1523/ENEURO.0257-22.2022. PMID: 36754625; PMCID: PMC9979148. Online at https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9979148/

Here's a patent on tech that remotely changes brain electrical activity that was filed back in 1975: 

Apparatus for and method of sensing brain waves at a position remote from a subject whereby electromagnetic signals of different frequencies are simultaneously transmitted to the brain of the subject in which the signals interfere with one another to yield a waveform which is modulated by the subject's brain waves. The interference waveform which is representative of the brain wave activity is re-transmitted by the brain to a receiver where it is demodulated and amplified. The demodulated waveform is then displayed for visual viewing and routed to a computer for further processing and analysis. The demodulated waveform also can be used to produce a compensating signal which is transmitted back to the brain to effect a desired change in electrical activity therein.

https://patents.google.com/patent/US3951134A/en

Why would anyone blithely stare at screeens for hours or wear headphones once they find out brain activity-altering technology exists? And that it has existed since at least 1975! Oh, almost nobody knows. 

If the average person even considers the possibility of mind control being done by their wearable tech, they are going to think it's just science fiction. Meanwhile, the people who know it has become scientific fact are either intentionally keeping it out of public view for their own purposes or are bound by confidentiality agreements, as is routine in research and government jobs.]

[Update 3/21/2025: Here's a report of achieving mind control (or at least "mind nudging"):

In summary, we investigated whether ultrasound, a pressure wave applied remotely, can modulate brain activity to an extent of producing notable effects on forming decisions. We found that brief, low-intensity ultrasonic pulses remotely delivered into oculomotor circuits of nonhuman primates markedly influence perceptual decisions. The presence and polarity of the effect were controllable by a specific target region. This result takes us a step closer to being able to modulate, noninvasively and reversibly, neuronal activity in specific brain circuits. This could open the way to future systematic studies of brain function in humans and to targeted personalized treatments of brain disorders.

Kubanek J, Brown J, Ye P, Pauly KB, Moore T, Newsome W. Remote, brain region-specific control of choice behavior with ultrasonic waves. Sci Adv. 2020 May 20;6(21):eaaz4193. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aaz4193. PMID: 32671207; PMCID: PMC7314556. Online at https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aaz4193]

[Update 3/31/2025: If technology has gotten to the point where it can manipulate the brain from outside of the skull, what else can be done remotely? Muscle relaxation seems likely, due to the electrical impulses that are involved in muscle contraction and relaxation. Such a use has potential for great good and great harm. The heart is a muscle, a really important one. 

Remotely affecting someone's heart's electrical activity could either fix heart rhythm issues or cause them. High tech "invisible" assassinations, anyone?...Talk about a technology that would almost certainly be kept secret by government agencies via non-disclosure agreements.... I think it already exists. 

I saw a TED video where one person's nerve impulses were detected and used to move someone else's arm; while that video from years ago relied on wires and electrodes connecting the people to computers (and through computers to each other), they were not implanted inside the participants' bodies and so I think the process could be done wirelessly, too. People are far too casual about the mini-computers (for example, smart watches, headphones, and cellphones) they compulsively keep on or right next to their bodies. Those personal computing devices transmit and/or receive all kinds of data and instructions wirelessly.]

Fenugreek, paranoia, and a hidden cure

Five years ago, life got weird. Before 2020, I was just a homeschool mom, researching and writing about nutrition insights in my spare time.

I found myself really hyper after I started to eat toasted fenugreek seeds. 

I got a lot of robo-phone calls trying to sell me extended warranties. Instapundit, a blog I had followed for a decade, started to have comments that appeared to refer to things going on in my life. 

Then, as the world watched COVID advance and close everything down, I blogged and posted repeatedly on social media about glucosamine and its possible role in helping heal from respiratory illnesses before they progress to pneumonia.

The robo-phone calls kept coming, and after the calls, I suffered from paranoia episodes. Some were very frightening. Finally, I checked myself into mental health in-patient care. After more than a week, I was able to come home. I had been prescribed Seroquel, which I took for a few days. But then insidious thoughts of suicide started to float around in my mind. Because I knew that suicidal thoughts are a common side effect of Seroquel and similar pharmaceuticals, I stopped taking the Seroquel.

I continued to float around in a semi-paranoid but functional-enough state while the USA shut down for COVID. My spouse worked from home, I homeschooled (like everyone else in the country, but it was basically our usual routine), and I cried and dealt with anxiety-causing delusions on my own time when the rest of my family was occupied with other things.

Then it was Passover time. We celebrated it as a cultural, educational event, and to be more authentic, we included foods imported from Israel. My cry of "Hosanna!" ("God save us!") was one of the most devout things I've ever said at the dinner table.

Two hours after we ate our Passover meal, the delusions I'd been suffering quietly started to lift. I was able to talk to my husband about what was going on, and the next morning when I woke up, the paranoia was gone. For the first time in two months, I wasn't paranoid.

Over the next seven months, I was able to narrow down the trigger for my sudden, non-pharmaceutical release from paranoid delusions. It was the matzoh crackers--kosher but not certified for a Passover dinner--imported from Israel.

Fenugreek is common in the middle East and south Asia. I think it's likely that some people in the middle East have known and even weaponized toasted fenugreek's ability to mess with mental states. Perhaps it explains the two phases of life of the founder of Islam, for those who have studied the difference between his Mecca and Medina stages. I similarly think that some people have figured out how to counteract fenugreek's potential harmfulness and that I benefitted from their knowledge when I ate Israeli matzoh crackers. I now avoid all maple flavoring (it can be made by boiling fenugreek seeds) and fenugreek, and I haven't had a recurrence of the paranoia I experienced in 2020.

More on nutrition and IQ

I think aspartic acid compounds are linked to higher spatial intelligence. Here's a roundup of a few sources supporting that:

Low levels of choline and high levels of NAA were associated with high IQ.

Statistical analysis showed that the chemicals together could account for 45% of IQ variation. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/388548.stm

N-Acetylaspartic acid, or N-acetylaspartate (NAA), is a derivative of aspartic acid with a formula of C6H9NO5 and a molecular weight of 175.139.

NAA is the second-most-concentrated molecule in the brain after the amino acid glutamate. It is detected in the adult brain in neurons,[2]oligodendrocytes and myelin[3] and is synthesized in the mitochondria from the amino acid aspartic acid and acetyl-coenzyme A.[4]  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N-Acetylaspartic_acid

Working memory and N-acetylaspartate level in hippocampus, parietal cortex and subventricular zone

 Introduction. Recent studies show that decreased N-acetylaspartate (NAA) level results in memory decline in animals (Xi, 2011) and in humans with mental disorders (Bertolino, 2003; Harris, 2006). In present study we compared memory tests performance and NAA level in different brain structures of healthy subjects. Methods. Subjects: 18 right-handed females (mean age – 59±16) without neurological and mental disorders. All subjects performed working memory tests – verbal and spatial N-back task and visual memory task of complex spatial figures (“snake”). NAA levels in hippocampus, inferior parietal cortex and subventricular zone of both hemispheres were measured with proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy performed with 3T MRI scanner. The received data was analyzed by calculating non-parametric correlations (Spearman, p < 0.05) between individual behavioral and biochemical measurements. Results and conclusions. According to the obtained data, N-back task performance correlates negatively with NAA level in right hippocampus. Moreover, the amount of correct answers in verbal task variation correlates positively (0.71), whereas in spatial task variation the correlation is negative (-0.81). “Snake” test performance correlates positively with NAA level in left hippocampus (0.83). Reaction time in both variations of N-back task correlates negatively (-0.83 for verbal and -0.70 for spatial variations) with NAA level in subventricular zone. No significant correlations between memory tests performance and NAA level in inferior parietal cortex were revealed. Thus, NAA level in both hippocampi and subventricular zone might indicate working memory functioning characteristics in healthy humans.

https://istina.msu.ru/publications/article/1079814/

http://nutritiondata.self.com/foods-000092000000000000000-1.html?

Neuroimage. 2012 Jan 16;59(2):1058-64. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.08.114. Epub 2011 Oct 1.

N-acetylaspartate concentration in corpus callosum is positively correlated with intelligence in adolescents.

Aydin K1, Uysal S, Yakut A, Emiroglu B, Yılmaz F.

Author information

1

Istanbul University, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Capa, Istanbul, Turkey. dr.aydink@superonline.com

Abstract

The corpus callosum is the largest white matter bundle in the brain and integrates inter-hemispheric cortices during sensory-motor and high-order cognitive processes. The aim of the present study was to investigate the associations between the metabolite concentrations in the corpus callosum and intelligence among adolescents. Thirty male adolescents aged between 14 and 16 years were included into the study. We measured the intelligence quotient (IQ) scores of the subjects by using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (verbal, performance and full-scale IQ) test. We used proton MR spectroscopy to measure the absolute concentrations of N-acetylasparate (NAA), creatine (Cr) and choline (Cho) in the genu, midbody and isthmus/splenium regions of the corpus callosum. We also measured the whole brain parenchymal size and used it as a confounding factor in the statistical analyses. We assessed the correlations between neurometabolite concentrations and verbal, performance and full-scale IQ scores. We found a significant positive correlation between the whole brain parenchymal size and the full-scale IQ scores. And, the NAA concentration in the isthmus/splenium region was positively correlated with the performance IQ and full-scale IQ scores. NAA is a marker of neuro/axonal integrity. NAA concentration in white matter is related to the structural and functional integrity of axonal fibers. The positive correlation of the IQ scores with the NAA concentrations in the isthmus/splenium region indicates that more efficient inter-hemispheric data transfer between parieto-occipital cortices may enhance intellectual performance.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21983183

J Clin Psychiatry. 1993 Dec;54 Suppl:19-25.

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy in social phobia: preliminary findings.

Davidson JR1, Krishnan KR, Charles HC, Boyko O, Potts NL, Ford SM, Patterson L.

Author information

Abstract

Proton localized magnetic resonance spectroscopy was studied in 20 social phobics and 20 age- and sex-matched controls. Stimulated Echo Acquisition Mode volume element localization was used with chemical shift imaging. Choline and creatine signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) were significantly lower in social phobia than in controls in subcortical, thalamic, and caudate areas. In the social phobic group, N-acetylaspartate (NAA) SNR was significantly lower in cortical and subcortical regions, and ratios of NAA to other metabolites were lower in social phobia. Choline, creatine, and NAA SNRs were inversely correlated to total social phobia and fear symptoms, as measured by the Brief Social Phobia Scale, in the thalamic and noncortical gray areas. In a small number of patients who received clonazepam, posttreatment SNRs generally increased relative to baseline. Our results suggest a promising place for magnetic resonance spectroscopy in social phobia and also indicate potential pharmacodynamic uses of this technique.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8276746

Amino Acids. 2010 May;38(5):1561-9. doi: 10.1007/s00726-009-0369-x. Epub 2009 Nov 5.

Evidence for the involvement of D-aspartic acid in learning and memory of rat.

Topo E1, Soricelli A, Di Maio A, D'Aniello E, Di Fiore MM, D'Aniello A.

Author information

Abstract

D-Aspartic acid (D-Asp) is an endogenous amino acid present in neuroendocrine systems. Here, we report evidence that D-Asp in the rat is involved in learning and memory processes. Oral administration of sodium D-aspartate (40 mM) for 12-16 days improved the rats' cognitive capability to find a hidden platform in the Morris water maze system. Two sessions per day for three consecutive days were performed in two groups of 12 rats. One group was treated with Na-D-aspartate and the other with control. A significant increase in the cognitive effect was observed in the treated group compared to controls (two-way ANOVA with repeated measurements: F ((2, 105)) = 57.29; P value < 0.001). Five further sessions of repeated training, involving a change in platform location, also displayed a significant treatment effect [F ((2, 84)) = 27.62; P value < 0.001]. In the hippocampus of treated rats, D-Asp increased by about 2.7-fold compared to controls (82.5 +/- 10.0 vs. the 30.6 +/- 5.4 ng/g tissue; P < 0.0001). Moreover, 20 randomly selected rats possessing relatively high endogenous concentrations of D-Asp in the hippocampus were much faster in reaching the hidden platform, an event suggesting that their enhanced cognitive capability was functionally related to the high levels of D-Asp. The correlation coefficient calculated in the 20 rats was R = -0.916 with a df of 18; P < 0.001. In conclusion, this study provides corroborating evidence that D-aspartic acid plays an important role in the modulation of learning and memory.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19890700

Flexing

A weird thing happened at my church conference last month. A leader stood and talked for a while about the good qualities of a fellow church leader--admirable, but eventually tedious. Then the speaker looked around, paused, and flexed both his biceps at once in front of hundreds of church goers. There were a few little laughs, but most people didn't seem to realize he'd just posed like a bodybuilder. Then he grinned, as if he'd just gotten away with something.

I asked my husband about it, and he didn't even notice it had happened.

Another odd thing has been happening in my church. We are taught our whole lives to respect the temple ceremonies, which are given through revelation to the church leaders. We do not discuss them much outside the temple, except in general terms, for we are taught that they are sacred. But they have been altered four times in the past five years. They rarely changed before that. What is going on? Why is no one speaking up and saying that something seems odd about that?

I think that new technology is being used to "blind" people, or at least distract them. The two odd things I mention above seem like "flexes" to check to see how distracted we are.

Why do I find them odd while my husband and others don't seem to notice?

I have some hypotheses:

1) I remember to verbally revoke the overly generous permissions I have given to technology apps.

2) I follow the counsel given to Joseph Smith to avoid tobacco, hot drinks (tea and coffee, back then), and strong drink. I have even started avoiding any yeast products, as yeast makes alcohol and yeast is regularly bio-engineered to make pharmaceuticals.

3) I wash my clothes with baking soda and a minimal amount of detergent. I make certain not to add sulfates.

4) I am, as any reasonable person would do, experimenting with not wearing the church-issued garments. Yes, I still dress modestly, as I would to cover the garments, but people used to be able to sew their own garments. Now we are all expected to wear church-issued underclothes with no exceptions. That seems unreasonable to me, and the guidance we receive about garments is that we don't have to wear them when it would be unreasonable to do so. My husband is serving as my control group for this experiment, and he really does seem less bothered by things that I think would otherwise bother him a lot.

I think we're living through a time described by 2 Nephi 28:21. We know music can help us feel comfortable and less annoyed by unpleasant things. I think other forms of media, as well as biological and chemical interactions, are being used to help increase senses of false security.

[Update 3/16/2025: Now I'm wondering what other "flex" signs there might be out there. I think raising the right arm at a right angle is being used currently, but it's done so often in other settings for non-bragging reasons that it would be hard to single out as as an intentional signal. I wouldn't be surprised to find out the Nazi salute was being used as a "flex" sign around a decade ago.]

A key to faking angelic visitations

Yesterday, I found what looked like an encoded message in a Brandon Sanderson fantasy novel that said "angel" and "EMI." EMI was a British movie studio, so I looked at what special effects could be used to cause people to appear like they glow, i.e., angelic.

There are compounds called "scintillators" that glow under the right wavelengths. Long ago, when I was college-aged, I went to the Manti Temple pageant staged outdoors by the Manti temple in Utah. It told about the Book of Mormon and had some impressive special effects when it came to angels; the actors playing angels really did seem to shine in the stagelights. Sadly, the pageant no longer is held. 

One of the top British science fiction movies is The Man in the White Suit (1951), which stars Alec Guinness (the original Obi-Wan Kenobi) as a man in a super-white suit that can't be stained. I wonder whether there was some scintillator use in his white suit, for I remember watching the film and thinking that his suit practically glowed in comparison with its surroundings.

If someone wanted to pretend to be an angel, especially if they wanted to fool a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, using scintillators would be an obvious thing to do. Here is one description of angels that most Latter-day Saints would recognize:

I discovered a light appearing in my room, which continued to increase until the room was lighter than at noonday, when immediately a personage appeared at my bedside, standing in the air, for his feet did not touch the floor....He had on a loose robe of most exquisite whiteness. It was a whiteness beyond anything earthly I had ever seen; nor do I believe that any earthly thing could be made to appear so exceedingly white and brilliant. His hands were naked, and his arms also, a little above the wrist; so, also, were his feet naked, as were his legs, a little above the ankles. His head and neck were also bare. I could discover that he had no other clothing on but this robe, as it was open, so that I could see into his bosom....Not only was his robe exceedingly white, but his whole person was glorious beyond description, and his countenance truly like lightning. The room was exceedingly light, but not so very bright as immediately around his person.

Joseph Smith History 1:30-32.

I hope Latter-day Saints are aware that even angelic visitations can be faked with the right special effects. (And shaking a fake angel's hand wouldn't tell you anything--see Doctrine and Covenants 129--because live humans can shake hands, too. I'd watch out for the ones doing "special" handshakes, especially.)