Categories
Illusions

Slinky Demonstration

This demonstration shows how our awareness of something is based on our brain’s interpretation, instead of exactly what is going on in the world.

How can you experience this yourself?

You will need:

  1. A metal slinky
  2. Two pieces of string
  3. Another person (ideally)

How to do it:

  1. Tie the two pieces of string to one end of the slinky.
  2. With the other ends of the string, make small loops that you can fit your index fingers through.
  3. Put your fingers through the loops and get someone else to hold the slinky.
  4. Hold your hands out in front of you and get the other person to drop the slinky. Notice how it sounds.
  5. Then, put your fingers in your ears, lean forward, and get the other person to drop the slinky again. Notice how it sounds different and consider what sound you relate it to.

Consider: what does the new sound remind you of? What does it remind the other person of? Can you reframe your interpretation of the sound towards the other person’s idea?

What should happen?

The slinky should sound different when it is dropped with your hands in front of you, compared with when you have your fingers in your ears. You may think that the sound with your fingers in your ears sounds a bit like sound effects from movies with aliens, being underwater, or other things.

How does this relate to pain?

We can interpret the same information in multiple ways – this is called reframing: actively changing how we think about something. Knowing that we can reframe things can help with pain. People who have recovered from persistent pain have highlighted that one of the most important things for them to learn was that pain does not mean you are damaging your body – it means that your brain has concluded that you need protecting from a potential danger. Understanding this can help you reframe your interpretations of body sensations.

How does this demonstration work?

When we drop the slinky in front of us, we hear the sound because the slinky vibrates the air – some of which enters our ears. When we have our fingers in our ears, the vibrations from the slinky go directly into our ears, through the string and our fingers. This means that the vibrations are a bit different, so the slinky sounds different.