This article was taken from the June 2013 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by <span class="s1">subscribing online.
You can dupe your own brain in all sorts of ways, many of which neuroscientists are still trying to explain. Here are four do-it-yourself brain hacks that suggest your grey matter may not be as smart and reliable as you think.
The Rubber Hand Illusion
Place your hand palm-down on a table and hide it behind a cardboard partition. Put a fake hand (an inflated rubber glove will work) in front of you. Get someone to stroke both hands in the same spot and at the same time. Keep looking at the fake rubber hand, and you'll soon be under the illusion that it's your own.
Phantom Pain
This occurs when a person feels that an amputated limb is still attached to the body and is causing pain.
Neuroscientist Vilayanur Ramachandran came up with a solution: position a mirror so that a patient's functioning limb is reflected, giving the illusion of two working limbs, which reduces pain.
The Pinocchio Illusion
A blindfolded subject touches their nose while someone taps their biceps. The movement in the muscle tells your brain that your hand is moving away from your body, yet you can feel it on your nose. Your brain integrates these two inputs and decides that your nose is moving with your hand, elongating like Pinocchio's.
The Double Flash Illusion
The close link between your visual and auditory senses in the cerebral cortex results in the Double Flash Illusion. The subject waits to see either one or two flashes of light, and to hear one or more beeps. If more beeps are heard, they perceive more flashes alongside them -- even if there is only one.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
