Dragons coming from the pavement
What are the limits of our imagination? Can we imagine an apple 100 miles away, or a sound higher pitched that we can hear? Can we project our imaginations into our actual vision? Vynn and Francis are interviewed by video games designer Berbank Green. He stretches our imagination with a series of exercises (see full list below). Can you imagine a smell that knocks you out? Can you imagine an apple as large as the moon? How accurate are our imaginations? Berbank describes his "prophantasic" ability to put an imagined apple on the actual table in his real vision, and how he used this in childhood. Timestamps: 00:48 Detail of imagining an apple 05:10 Imagining a distant apple 09:00 An eagle's perception 11:18 Microscopic and earth-sized apples 16:13 Thinking of lots of apples at once 19:30 4D apples 23:48 Inner experience of designing a video game 27:07 Imagining emotions in video games 30:35 Limits of audio imagination 35:17 Prophantasia - imagining things in the real world 40:10 Imagining being something else 51:40 Noticing where language comes from 57:23 Dreaming and the subconscious 64:02 Apple having an eccentric British accent Show Links: * Teach Your Monster to Read [https://www.teachyourmonster.org/] - a video game Berbank made * Berbank's Twitter account [https://twitter.com/berbank] * Miegakure [https://miegakure.com/] - a true 4D puzzle-platforming game * Fire Kasina with Jane Flowers [https://zencastr.com/z/BhH1iPLN] - earlier episode of this podcast * Consider Phlebas [https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/iain-m-banks-3/consider-phlebas/9780356521633/] - novel with mind fragmenting Berbank's Imagination Exercises: Imagine an apple - what does it look like? - where is it? - can you smell it? - taste it? - feel how heavy it is? - does it make you remember anything? OK now test limits: - Can you see the apple if it's behind you? - How far away can you make the apple before you can't see it? - What is your perspective of the apple at this distance? - How small can you imagine that apple? - What happens when it gets too small? - How heavy is that? - Can you make it lighter? - Can you feel how light your max imagination is? - How large can you imagine it? - What happens when it gets too large? - How heavy is that? - Can you make it heavier? - Can you feel how heavy your max imagination is? - How many apples can you think of at once? - How powerful can you make the smell of the apple? - Can you imagine it to the point where it's overwhelming? - Can you imagine a 4 dimensional apple? - Can you imagine an apple that has a face? - That's actually in front of you? - That's floating in front of you with sparkling effects and crackling lightning? - That's talking to you in an eccentric British accent? etc. etc Contact Details: Twitter: @imagine_apple [https://twitter.com/imagine_apple] @SurenVynn [https://twitter.com/SurenVynn] @frabcus [https://twitter.com/frabcus] Email: imagine@flourish.org Theme by: @MJPiercello [https://twitter.com/MJPiercello]