A group of neuroscientists in Sweden have achieved the illusion of "body-swapping". It's not quite as sci-fi as it sounds; basically, these guys have succeeded in completely fooling people into thinking that inanimate 'bodies', like those of mannequins, were in fact their own bodies.
In one experiment, the team fitted the head of a mannequin with two cameras connected to two small screens placed in front of volunteers' eyes, so that they had the same view as the mannequin.
When the mannequin's camera eyes and a participant's head were directed downwards, the participant saw the mannequin's body where the person would normally have seen their own body.
The researchers created the illusion of body-swapping by touching the stomach of both the mannequin and the volunteer with sticks. The person saw the mannequin's stomach being touched while feeling (but not seeing) a similar sensation on their own stomach. As a result, the person developed a strong belief that the mannequin's body was actually their own.
Poking people in the stomach with sticks...for science! How many people can say they made a breakthrough, and got paid, for poking people with sticks?
Even more interestingly:
This illusion worked even when two people looked different or were of different sexes.
I can't help but wonder how many male subjects instinctively reached for their chests upon being 'swapped' into a female body.
And then there's this:
It did not work when a non-humanoid object -- such as a chair or large block -- was used.
Now this makes me wonder where the 'stomach' on a chair is. Is it on the cushion, or maybe the lower part of the back, but the front side of the back? You know, where it's technically still the back, but it's the forward-facing part, so it's more like the front?
I'm weird.
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