ULTRARAVE Launching Issue

H OW W I L L B E RAVE AG A I N ?

D J Vo l v o x e x p l o r e s w i t h u s the future of raving in post crisis times.

J P CA LA B

LU C I D

It is our Future. p.8

DREAMS

Divining and shaping

the post crisis world. p.58.

VO LVOX D J Vo l v o x e x p l o r e s w i t h us the future of raving and community in post pandemic

U LT RA B E A M How the light gets in our Digital Paradises illuminating o u r c o m m u n i t y. p . 6 6 .

times p.18.

P LU RA L S What we can learn about respect and identity from ‘plurals’? p.32.

P O ST H U M A N RAVE The only thing left to

carry are the skins we are made of. p.74.

P LAS M A

FAC I N G M AS K S

The mysterious (and

Just a reminder that a

powerful) fourth phase of m a t t e r. p . 4 0 .

RAC I S M and how it Hijacks

perception: The heart brain dialogue. p.50.

face mask is not an uniform. p.92.

A N SWE RS L I E S I N T H E F U T U R E

WITH THE C O L LA BO RAT I O N OF

Isu Kim Lee

@isu_mignon_mignonne Ariana Paoletti @ D J Vo l v o x

Grace Smith

@grace_oni_smith Nindya Nareswari @__nareswari__ Pápay Fanny @papayfanny

Camilo Rojo

@camilorojo11 Daniel Perez @danielpe.m

Laura Gómez

@midnitebr0wnies Dale Grant

@dale.grant

WITH THE WO R K O F

Ryan Kopstick @yebutonu

Kushagra Gupta @kushlet

Shona Neary

@shona.designs Jenna Smith

@jennasmithmakeupartist

07

J P CA LA B is a creative hub/laboratory that proudly serves and supports the growing mixed/ queer/black communities in Berlin and all across Europe, bringing to light all the splendor and beauty that comes f r o m d i v e r s i t y.

Our aim is to align emotional

experiences

mental states, and

creative

impulses with a sense of connection, strenght and a creative courage we have already going on.

E M E RG I N G I D E N T I T I E S Self-exploration, spiritual awakening, p o l i t i c a l a w a r e n e s s . I n d i v i d u a l i t y, r a d i c a l acceptance and collective meaning.

Expressing oneself and our purpose is about living in a state of constant growth, creativity and freedom of expression, but overall, it is about having the structure and support to share our outcome in a t r a n s f o r m a t i v e w a y.

T E C H N O C U LT U R E More than music, artists and the rush of w i l d e x p e r i e n c e s , I t ’s s o m e t h i n g d e e p l y implanted in the fierce impetus of our c o m m u n i t y. I t ’s a b o u t s h a r i n g c r e a t i v e impulses, and motivations, which can take endless shapes and forms beyond sound.

F U T U R E DY N A M I C S We a r e s e a r c h i n g f o r e m e r g i n g t e c h n o l o g i e s and cultural exponents as well as social i s s u e s . We f i n d a c t i o n p o i n t s a n d i n s i g h t s between all those, approaching our city as a human-made “organism” that is in constant flux and evolution.

D I G I TA L RAVE Where social awareness and digital expression collides: we explore how digital expression, performances, talents and creatives minds are connected - on a progressive direction. Always high on our list of demands.

Vo l vox i s a d e e p wate r o rg a n i s m t h at l i ve s f o r m i n g c o l o n i e s i n w h i c h i ts i n d i v i d u a l s a re l i n ke d to g e t h e r by p l a s m i c c o m m u n i c at i o n s t h at f o r m a n i n t r i c ate o rg a n i c n e two r k .

Future Dynamics

Te c h n o C u l t u r e

Performative arts

Altered states

By Ariana Paoletti x Pablo Antia Artworks: JPCA Lab

18

T h e ro i l i n g a n d awe - i n s p i r i n g hy p e o f i ts f l u o re s c e n t d e p t h s g o e s w i l d e r t h a n a ny ot h e r k i n d o f p o n d a ro u n d .

I t i s i n s te a d , a we t , g l o o my a n d s te a my d y n a m i c o f a m b u s h p re d ato rs , h e r m a p h ro d i te s and mucus-hurling cannibals.

Vo l vox att r i b u te s i ts r i s i n g c o r ro s i ve a m b i a n c e s to t h e a d d i t i o n a l i n p u t o f c a r b o n d i ox i d a ro u n d . W h e n m o re d i ox i d e g o e s i n to t h e at m o s p h e re t h a n i s re m ove d , t h e b a l a n c e n ot o n l y t ra p s i ts sy n t h e s i s e r g e n e rate d ra d i at i o n t h at h e at u p t h e a i r a ro u n d , b u t a l s o m a ke s t h e d e p t h s i t m ove s i n j u s t m o re a c i d i c a n d s o m e h ow u n p re d i c t a b l e a c ro ss s p a c e a n d t i m e .

20

I ts m ove m e n t p atte r n s a re a l s o d r i ve n by t h e d i ve rs i ty of sou nds , s o u rc e s and h e av y b e at i n g t h u m p s , a n d b eyo n d t h at a w i d e ra n g e o f f a c to rs , i n c l u d i n g a n a c i d i c i n te n s i ty a n d a n av i d m ot i o n t h at g e n e rate s a s te a my w i l d e r n e ss a n d a d r i p py s p l e n d o r w h e reve r Vo l vox t a ke s ove r w i t h i ts u n i q u e s ty l e .

D J VO LVOX

has been appeari ng with a d i s t i n c t i ve a n d h i g h v i b ra n t n atu re o n s i g h t , t ra n s m i tt i n g a s t r i k i n g , i n te n s e vo l t a g e to t h e c u r re n t te c h n o p a n o ra m a .

C ry p to rave s , localism and the m e a n i n g o f g at h e r i n g and connection i n a p o s t - c r i s i s wo r l d .

A FUTURE VISION ON O U R RAV I N G DY N A M I C S

D J VO LVOX :

FUTURE DY N A M I C S RAV I N G I N A P O S T - PA N D E M I C E RA Ariana Paoletti has been the kind of DJ capable of getting deeply rooted in the transgressive spirit of a high d e m a n d i n g g l o b a l r a v e c o m m u n i t y.

Vo l v o x h a s b e e n u n d o u b t e d l y u p s c a l i n g t h e

Beyond being an imperative and strong force in the glocal techno panorama, She counts herself with an eminent but approachable creative sense, which proves, once again, what makes her the edgy and sharp kind of artist that she is. Paoletti has attained a well deserved local support and a prominent global recognition in the last recent years.

Ariana has toured extensively across Europe and has been spotted at Dekmantel and the ascendant Sustain-Release festival in the US. Moreover what these references might mean - only to name a few - her mission has been more about the authentic release of highly vibrational and transformational experiences she has been capable to create herself from her decks.

Besides constantly provoking the scene with her remarkable appearances at Berghain/ Panorama Bar in Berlin, she has also been producing UNTER, one of the the best marked a f t e r- h o u r s i n N e w Yo r k .

avid structures of acid - groovy techno with a potent yet thrilling endurance during her performances.

We e x p l o r e d t o g e t h e r w h a t m i g h t c o m e n e x t beyond the current limits on raves, along with her invasive phenomenal style that has penetrated and connected every larger city and town across continents in the last years,

27

“The pandemic experience has begged an essential question: what does it mean to be close… if our physical bodies must be separated? Gathering is perhaps the most essential human activity so what does it mean for our species if this basic ability is continually interrupted? It is not unreasonable to expect that future pandemics and other destabilizing forces will continue to impact our activities for years to come. It is therefore necessary to focus on developing solutions that improve the resiliency of our networks in the physical and digital realms. It is time to imagine new ways to connect beyond what the existing commercial social media platforms provide us with.

Contrary to mainstream culture, we are likely to see profound changes in underground culture and especially queer clubbing. In p a r t i c u l a r, I i m a g i n e a g r e a t e r e m p h a s i s placed on sustaining micro-economies led by local talent as opposed to an endless rotation of international bookings and adhering to the general pre-pandemic status quo. As international movements may be restricted from time to time, reliance on

28

local communities will grow in importance.

To p - t i e r h e a d l i n e r s a t m a s s i v e f e s t i v a l events might need to adjust to more realistic fees as governments will undoubtedly put limits on event capacities, leading to lower budgets overall.

Queer culture is already better positioned for self-sustainability as it generally operates via smaller players led by a strong community spirit. Furthermore, the relentless examining nature of queer culture positions it perfectly to digest new issues as they arise and to experiment with fresh solutions. Cryptoraves are just one example o f n e w, s a f e t y - o r i e n t e d s o l u t i o n s t h a t w e may see develop in the next decade.

The recent rise in mutual aid projects in the United States also points toward a greater sense of individual responsibility to each other and to collective goals. This new way of seeing what a collective of people can accomplish will help to finance and manage costly and complex projects (like underground raves) collectively as opposed t o i n d i v i d u a l l y, c o n t r i b u t i n g t o o v e r a l l growth and strengthening of local scenes.”

“ U l t i m ate l y, i t i s i m p e rat i ve t h at i n d i v i d u a l s wo r k towa rd s d e e p e n i n g mean i ng f u l con nections a c ro ss n at i o n a l , c u l tu ra l a n d ra c i a l d i v i d e s i n o rd e r to b r i n g a b o u t a g re ate r s e n s e o f s a f e ty a n d support.”

@ dj vo l vox

30

“ U l t i m ate l y, i t i s i m p e rat i ve t h at i n d i v i d u a l s wo r k towa rd s d e e p e n i n g mean i ng f u l con nections a c ro ss n at i o n a l , c u l tu ra l a n d ra c i a l d i v i d e s i n o rd e r to b r i n g a b o u t a g re ate r s e n s e o f s a f e ty a n d support.”

@ dj vo l vox

W h at we c a n learn about res p e ct a n d i d e nti ty f ro m

P LU RA L S Gender and identity

Fairness and equality

Va l u e s a n d b e l i e f s

Elizabeth Schechter is an associate professor in the department of philosophy and in the cognitive science programme at Indiana University Bloomington. She is the author of SelfConsciousness and ‘Split’ Brains: The Minds’ I (2018).

32

By Elizabeth Schechter Edited by Sally Davies Artworks: Grace Smith by JPCA Lab

G r a c e O n i S m i t h i s a Tr a n s * , Jewish, artist, musician and model b a s e d i n B e r l i n a n d M a n c h e s t e r, Their work often centres around themes of identity and politics surrounding the trans b o d y, drawing upon their experiences as a transgender woman. Over the last decade they have explored these themes through multiple disciplines, straddling the intersections of performance art, visual art,music and burlesque.

K I L L W I T H A G LA N C E O R D I E O F E M BA R RAS S M E N T

Human beings are self-conscious creatures: we can conceptualise ourselves as psychological beings, forming beliefs a b o u t w h o a n d w h a t w e a r e . We a l s o h a v e identities: self-beliefs that are sources of meaning, purpose and value, and that help to constrain our choices and actions.

In addition to being able to think about ourselves, self-conscious beings can recognise that we are the objects of other p e o p l e ’s t h o u g h t s . T h i s o p e n s u p t h e possibility of a conflict between our own identities and how we are perceived by others. This potential for conflict gives us u n i q u e p o w e r o v e r e a c h o t h e r, a n d a l s o makes us uniquely vulnerable: only selfconscious beings can kill with a glance or die of embarrassment.

Our vulnerability to how others regard us might create obligations to try to regard others in some of the ways they desire – ways that are consonant with their own identities.

But what about identities that we think are false or absurd – or that we simply don’t understand?

A plural is a human being who says things like: ‘I’m one of many people inside my head.’

A l t h o u g h t h e y a r e q u i t e r a r e ( i t ’s i m p o s s i b l e to say how rare), plurals are increasingly visible on social media and in the occasional

popular media article. At present, there is a handbook online about how to respond to a c o - w o r k e r ’s ‘ c o m i n g o u t ’ ( a s t h e d o c u m e n t puts it) as plural.

Yo u m i g h t t h i n k y o u ’ v e h e a r d o f p l u r a l s if you’ve heard of dissociative identity disorder (DID), because, like plurals, people with DID experience themselves as being psychologically multiple. But many plurals don’t meet the diagnostic criteria for DID. Often, this is because they don’t find their plurality per se to be distressing or impairing.

I n o t h e r c a s e s , i t ’s b e c a u s e t h e y d o n ’ t m e e t the amnesia criterion for DID, since the multiple beings that plurals experience as being inside them can share experiences or communicate to each other about their e x p e r i e n c e s . C o n v e r s e l y, m o s t p e o p l e w i t h DID aren’t plurals. Plurals don’t just feel as though they are psychologically multiple – they believe that they are. And they take each of these psychological beings, inhabiting o n e s h a r e d b o d y, t o b e a f u l l p e r s o n : l e t ’s c a l l e a c h o f t h e m a p e r s o n p, w h e r e t h e l i t t l e ‘p’ stands for ‘part of one human being’. As one personp puts it: ‘ Yo u p r e s u m e t h a t t h e r e ’s a “ r e a l p e r s o n ” u n d e r n e a t h a l l o f u s w h o ’s c o n j u r i n g u p “imaginary friends”. No, we’re just people, thanks.’

34

According to plurals, then, a plural human being isn’t a person, but a co-embodied group of people. Each personp takes him or herself to bear social relations to the others, as members of a household might. Different peoplep might speak

of liking or disliking, respecting and disparaging, cooperating and arguing and negotiating with e a c h o t h e r.

The most striking feature of plurals is that they d o n ’ t s a y t h i n g s s u c h a s : ‘ I a m m a n y p e o p l e p. ’ R a t h e r, t h e y m i g h t s a y, a s o n e p e r s o n p p u t i t i n a n open letter:

I a m o n l y m y s e l f ; I h a v e o n e i d e n t i t y, o n e s e n s e o f s e l f , o n e p e r s o n a l i t y. A l t h o u g h I am conjoined inseparably from the other members of my group … phrases like ‘your other selves’, or ‘when you were that other person’, or ‘the other you’ … [are] non-sequiturs. I don’t have ‘other selves’. I am never anyone but myself.

Plurals are defined by what I will call their plural identities. These plural identities can be difficult for singlets (including me) to wrap our heads around.

Singlets experience ourselves as being ‘alone in’ our bodies, and our strong default assumption is t h a t a l l p e o p l e c o m e , o n e p e r b o d y, i n t h i s w a y.

Meanwhile, plurals’ grounds for distinguishing between different peoplep seem to be essentially first-personal and phenomenological – that is, based on their own private experiences. They deny that different peoplep need to be unaware of

e a c h o t h e r p e r s o n p ’s t h o u g h t s a n d e x p e r i e n c e s , or necessarily have radically different characters.

Instead, plurals’ grounds for distinguishing between peoplep seem to be that each personp has h i s o r h e r o w n s e n s e o f s e l f a n d a g e n c y.

The

discontinuities

that

mark

the

boundaries

o f p e o p l e p, i n o t h e r w o r d s , a r e n ’ t b o d i l y ; n o r are they psychological attributes that can be observed from the outside, like differences in m e m o r y a n d p e r s o n a l i t y. T h i s i s a c h a l l e n g e for understanding the plural identity claim, on two levels: one, because we can’t access other p e o p l e ’s e x p e r i e n c e s j u s t i n g e n e r a l ; a n d t w o , because singlets don’t have these same types of experiences. (A singlet will, of course, experience a n o t h e r h u m a n b e i n g ’s a c t i o n s a s n o t m i n e – b u t t h a t p e r s o n ’s b o d y w i l l a l s o b e v i s i b l y d i s t i n c t . ) In light of these obstacles to understanding the plural identity claim, it would be natural to hope

‘ Yo u p re s u m e t h at t h e re ’s a “ re a l p e rs o n ” u n d e r n e at h a l l o f u s w h o ’s c o nj u r i n g u p “ i m a g i n a ry friends”. No, we ’ re j u s t p e o p l e , t h a n ks . ’

35

36

t h a t p l u r a l s m e a n t h e c l a i m m e t a p h o r i c a l l y. A f t e r all, there are many familiar metaphors involving something like multiple selfhood: I’m someone else when I’m with her; I don’t identify with who I was then; What I said before – that was my father speaking. The problem is that plurals explicitly reject these metaphors as not what they mean. As one personp puts it:

I t ’s c o m p l e t e l y t r u e t h a t p e o p l e e x p r e s s different sides of themselves according t o d i f f e r e n t c o n t e x t s . H o w e v e r, t h i s i s d i f f e r e n t f r o m m u l t i p l i c i t y. M e m b e r s o f a multiple group will individually experience themselves as having these ‘different sides’, just like everyone else.

Even if the plural identity claim must be m e t a p h o r i c a l s o m e h o w, i t ’s n o t c l e a r w h a t i t c o u l d b e a m e t a p h o r f o r.

Our identities matter to us. It also generally matters to us that other people respect those i d e n t i t i e s . B u t o n e m i g h t w o n d e r w h e t h e r i t ’s possible to respect an identity claim that one doesn’t believe, or perhaps even understand.

There are identities that we shouldn’t respect, because they reinforce unjust social arrangements ( s a y, ‘ p a t r i a r c h ’ ) . B u t p l u r a l s ’ i d e n t i t i e s a r e n ’ t l i k e this, and they evidently help plurals make sense of their experiences.

38

Some might say that we shouldn’t respect identities that are delusional, whether or not they’re harmful. But even if this were true, plurals d o n ’ t s e e m t o b e d e l u d e d , e x a c t l y, s i n c e t h e y realise that they can’t provide singlets with any observable evidence that peoplep exist. As one personp writes:

I don’t bother [engaging with skeptics] … because the experience is subjective and cannot be tested, all that I could say would be that I have experienced something that was real to me; I can do nothing tangible to convince anyone that I’m not alone in here.

Someone else might protest that we can’t be obliged to believe, or even try to believe, identity claims that strike us as absurd or simply wrong.

But respecting plural identities doesn’t require us to believe them. What it does require, at a minimum, is not correcting plurals when they act on the basis of their self-image, and not treating t h e i r p l u r a l i d e n t i t i e s d i s m i s s i v e l y. I t a l s o r e q u i r e s that singlets not engage with plurals for the purpose of persuading them that they’re wrong.

M o r e s t r o n g l y, r e s p e c t m i g h t r e q u i r e t h a t s i n g l e t s themselves accept, in the context of interacting with plurals, that peoplep are truly distinct people. By ‘acceptance’ I mean something articulated in 1992 by the philosopher L Jonathan

C o h e n , s o m e t h i n g d i f f e r e n t f r o m b e l i e f . To a c c e p t something, in the way I mean, is to commit to treating it, in a particular context, as though it w e r e t r u e . F o r e x a m p l e , a d e f e n c e l a w y e r, a c t i n g on behalf of a client, might accept that he is innocent, whether or not she believes that he is.

This view of what it means to respect plurals’ identities is modest but not toothless. It asks singlets to try to see a plural through their own e y e s – t h a t i s , t h r o u g h m u l t i p l e p e o p l e p ’s e y e s .

It also asks singlets to set aside how they might otherwise be inclined to respond to manifestations of plurals’ own identities.

The reasons for showing this respect are partly social and moral. Plurals live with a discord between what they believe about themselves and what everyone else believes. Out in the social world – that is, the social world outside their heads – they mostly live as if they were the way that singlets see them. Perpetually acting in conformity with what others believe about you, and with what you disbelieve, is a way of living a l i e . I t ’s a l i e e v e n i f e v e r y o n e e l s e i s r i g h t a n d you’re wrong. Many plurals would like to be able to live more truthfully yet without having to constantly defend themselves.

Another ground for respecting plural identities is epistemic. I became interested in this community because some of their writings were clearly the work of thoughtful, analytical people.

They made this one big claim that seemed (still

seems) outrageous – just obviously false. But i t ’s s o m e t h i n g t h a t t h e y ’ v e t h o u g h t a b o u t a l o t and that has been informed by aspects of their experience that I can’t access. It therefore seems reasonable for me to conclude that I don’t yet understand what they’re claiming to be. And sometimes the only way to understand an idea is to ‘try it on’.

The trying-on, in this case, can happen only in the context of respectfully engaging with a plural, e n g a g i n g w i t h t h e m a s a g r o u p o f p e o p l e p. T h i s engagement will establish a relationship out of which understanding might emerge. Of course, I might achieve this greater understanding without coming to believe that what plurals say about t h e m s e l v e s i s t r u e . A r e l a t i o n s h i p , h o w e v e r, w o u l d put me in a position to grasp what their plural identities mean to them – what this does for them, what it scaffolds or supports in their lives.

And that is the position we should work towards – the position we should always reach before challenging people about who they really are.

This article was originally published at aeon.co and republished under Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License.

39

P LAS M A T h e mys te r i o u s ( a n d p owe r f u l ) fourth phase o f m atte r Perception and reality

Cosmology

Astrophysics

By Luca Comisso Edited by Sally Davies Artworks: Nindya Nareswari x JPCA Lab

Luca Comisso is a postdoctoral research scientist in the department of astronomy and the Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory at Columbia University i n N e w Yo r k .

40

Nindya Nareswari is a Berlin based lighting designer and artist and graduated from H o c h s c h u l e W i s m a r, G e r m a n y.

Her work ranges from light products and sculptures, visual arts, to set and stage lighting design, and light art installations. Light, materials, and experience have always been the core keys in her works.

Her works focus on creating an emotional/immersive experience to the audience.

When I was at elementary school, my teacher told me that matter exists in three possible states: solid, liquid and gas. She neglected to mention plasma, a special kind o f e l e c t r i f i e d g a s t h a t ’s a s t a t e u n t o i t s e l f .

We r a r e l y e n c o u n t e r n a t u r a l p l a s m a , u n l e s s we’re lucky enough to see the Northern lights, or if we look at the Sun through a s p e c i a l f i l t e r, o r i f w e p o k e o u r h e a d o u t t h e window during a lightning storm, as I liked t o d o w h e n I w a s a k i d . Ye t p l a s m a , f o r a l l its scarcity in our daily lives, makes up more than 99 per cent of the observable matter in the Universe (that is, if we discount dark matter).

Plasma physics is a rich and diverse field of e n q u i r y, w i t h i t s o w n s p e c i a l t w i s t . I n s o m e areas of science, intellectual vitality comes from the beauty of grand theories and the search for deep underlying laws – as shown b y A l b e r t E i n s t e i n ’s a c c o u n t o f g r a v i t y i n g e n e r a l r e l a t i v i t y, o r s t r i n g t h e o r i s t s ’ attempt to replace the Standard Model of subatomic particles with tiny oscillating s t r a n d s o f e n e r g y. T h e s t u d y o f p l a s m a s also enjoys some remarkably elegant mathematical constructions, but unlike its s c i e n t i f i c c o u s i n s , i t ’s m o s t l y b e e n d r i v e n by its applications to the real world.

First, though, how do you make a plasma?

Imagine heating up a container full of ice, and watching it pass from solid, to liquid,

to gas. As the temperature climbs, the water molecules get more energetic and excitable, a n d m o v e a r o u n d m o r e a n d m o r e f r e e l y. I f you keep going, at something like 12,000 degrees Celsius the atoms themselves will begin to break apart. Electrons will be stripped from their nuclei, leaving behind charged particles known as ions that swirl about in the resulting soup of electrons.

This is the plasma state.

The connection between blood and ‘physical’ plasma is more than mere coincidence. In 1927, the American chemist Irving Langmuir observed that the way plasmas carried electrons, ions, molecules and other impurities was similar to how blood plasma ferries around red and white bloodcells and germs. Langmuir was a pioneer in the study of plasmas; with his colleague Lewi To n k s , h e a l s o d i s c o v e r e d t h a t p l a s m a s a r e characterised by rapid oscillations of their electrons due to the collective behaviour of the particles.

Another interesting property of plasmas is their capacity to support so-called hydromagnetic waves – bulges that move through the plasma along magnetic field lines, similar to how vibrations travel along a guitar string. When Hannes Alfvén, the Swedish scientist and eventual Nobel p r i z e w i n n e r, f i r s t p r o p o s e d t h e e x i s t e n c e o f these waves in 1942, the physics community

41

was skeptical. But after Alfvén delivered a lecture at the University of Chicago, the renowned physicist and faculty member Enrico Fermi came up to him to discuss t h e t h e o r y, c o n c e d i n g t h a t : ‘ O f c o u r s e s u c h waves could exist!’ From that moment on, the scientific consensus was that Alfvén was absolutely correct.

One of the biggest motivators of contemporary plasma science is the promise of controlled thermonuclear fusion, where atoms merge together and release intense b u t m a n a g e a b l e b u r s t s o f e n e r g y. T h i s w o u l d provide an almost limitless source of safe, ‘ g r e e n ’ p o w e r, b u t i t ’s n o t a n e a s y t a s k .

Before fusion can occur here on Earth, the plasma must be heated to more than 100 million degrees Celsius – about 10 times h o t t e r t h a n t h e c e n t r e o f t h e S u n ! B u t t h a t ’s not even the most complicated bit; we managed to reach those temperatures and b e y o n d i n t h e 1 9 9 0 s . W h a t ’s w o r s e i s t h a t hot plasma is very unstable and doesn’t like to stay at a fixed volume, which means that i t ’s h a r d t o c o n t a i n a n d m a k e u s e f u l .

Attempts to achieve controlled thermonuclear fusion date back to the early 1950s. At the time, research was done secretly by the United States as well as the Soviet Union and Great Britain. In the US, Princeton University was the fulcrum for this research. There, the physicist Lyman Spitzer

46

started Project Matterhorn, where a secret coterie of scientists tried to spark and contain fusion in a figure-8-shaped device called a ‘stellarator’. They didn’t have computers, and had to rely only on pen and pencil calculations. While they didn’t solve the puzzle, they ended up developing ‘the energy principle’, which remains a powerful method for testing the ideal stability of a plasma.

Meanwhile, scientists in the Soviet Union were developing a different device: the ‘tokamak’. This machine, designed by the p h y s i c i s t s A n d r e i S a k h a r o v a n d I g o r Ta m m , employed a strong magnetic field to corral hot plasma into the shape of a donut. The tokamak was better at keeping the plasma hot and stable, and to this day most of the fusion research programmes rely on a t o k a m a k d e s i g n . To t h a t e n d , a c o n s o r t i u m of China, the European Union, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the US has joined t o g e t h e r t o c o n s t r u c t t h e w o r l d ’s l a r g e s t t o k a m a k r e a c t o r, e x p e c t e d t o o p e n i n 2 0 2 5 .

H o w e v e r, i n r e c e n t y e a r s t h e r e ’s a l s o b e e n a renewed enthusiasm for stellarators, and the w o r l d ’s l a r g e s t o p e n e d i n G e r m a n y i n 2 0 1 5 .

Investing in both routes to fusion probably gives us our best chance of ultimately attaining success.

Plasma is also entangled with the physics of the space around Earth, where the stuff gets

carried through the void on the winds generated i n t h e u p p e r a t m o s p h e r e o f t h e S u n . We ’ r e l u c k y t h a t t h e E a r t h ’s m a g n e t i c f i e l d s h i e l d s u s f r o m t h e charged plasma particles and damaging radiation of such solar wind, but our satellites, spacecraft and astronauts are all exposed. Their capacity to survive in this hostile environment relies on understanding and accommodating ourselves to the quirks of plasma.

In a new field known as ‘space weather’, plasma physics plays a role similar to that of fluid dynamics in terrestrial, atmospheric conditions.

I’ve devoted much of my research to something called magnetic reconnection, where the magnetic field lines in the plasma can tear and reconnect, w h i c h l e a d s t o a r a p i d r e l e a s e o f e n e r g y. T h i s p r o c e s s i s b e l i e v e d t o p o w e r t h e S u n ’s e r u p t i v e events, such as solar flares, although detailed comprehension remains elusive. In the future, we might be able to predict solar storms the way that we can forecast bad weather in cities.

Looking backward, not forward, in space and time, my hope is that plasma physics will offer insights into how stars, galaxies and galaxy clusters first formed. According to the standard cosmological model, plasma was pervasive in the early Universe; then everything began to cool, and charged electrons and protons bound together to make electrically neutral hydrogen atoms. This state lasted until the first stars and black holes formed and began emitting radiation, at which point the Universe ‘reionised’ and returned to a

47

mostly plasma state.

F i n a l l y, p l a s m a s h e l p t o e x p l a i n s o m e o f t h e most spectacular phenomena we’ve observed in t h e r e m o t e s t r e g i o n s o f t h e c o s m o s . Ta k e f a raway black holes, massive objects so dense that even light can’t escape them. They’re practically i n v i s i b l e t o d i r e c t o b s e r v a t i o n . H o w e v e r, b l a c k holes are typically encircled by a rotating disk o f p l a s m a m a t t e r, w h i c h o r b i t s w i t h i n t h e b l a c k h o l e ’s g r a v i t a t i o n a l p u l l , a n d e m i t s h i g h - e n e r g y photons that can be observed in the X-ray spectrum, revealing something about this extreme environment.

I t ’s b e e n a n e x c i t i n g j o u r n e y f o r m e s i n c e t h e d a y s I thought that solids, liquids and gases were the only kinds of matter that mattered. Plasmas still seem rather exotic, but as we learn to exploit their potential, and widen our view of the cosmos, one day they might seem as normal to us as ice and w a t e r. A n d i f w e e v e r a c h i e v e c o n t r o l l e d n u c l e a r fusion, plasmas might be something we can no longer live without.

This article was originally published at AEON Magazine: aeon.co and has been republished under Creative Commons. This Idea was made p o s s i b l e t h r o u g h t h e s u p p o r t o f a g r a n t f r o m t h e Te m p l e t o n R e l i g i o n Tr u s t t o A e o n M a g a z i n e .

The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not n e c e s s a r i l y r e f l e c t t h e v i e w s o f t h e Te m p l e t o n R e l i g i o n Tr u s t . F u n d e r s t o A e o n Magazine are not involved in editorial decision-making, including commissioning

RAC I S M T h e b ra i n - h e a r t d i a l o g u e s h ows h ow ra c i s m h ij a c ks p e rc e p ti o n Racism might not be something that societies can simply overcome with fresh narratives and progressive political messages. It might require a more radical form of physiological retraining, to bring our embodied realities into line with our stated beliefs.

Neuroscience

# B L A C K L I V E S M AT T E R Human rights and justice

B y M a n o s Ts a k i r i s Edited by Sally Davies Artworks: Moh Mackenzie, JPCA Lab

50

M a n o s Ts a k i r i s is professor of psychology at Royal Holloway University of London. His research investigates the neural and cognitive mechanisms of selfawareness and social cognition.

- T h e p ro b l e m c o m e s f ro m t h e b ra i n ’s i n a b i l i ty to re s o l ve t h e c o n f l i c t b e twe e n a n a u to m at i c a l l y a c t i vate d s te re oty p e , and a consc ious ly he l d e g a l i t a r i a n b e l i e f.

If you’re black in the United States, you’re more than twice as likely as a white person to be unarmed if you’re killed in an encounter with the police.

Why? Some kind of racial profiling is at work, but the precise psychological mechanism is poorly understood.

Investigations into police shootings show that the officers often perceive cellphones and other non-threatening objects as weapons in the hands o f a p e r s o n o f c o l o u r. S o d o p o l i c e officers misinterpret what they see, or are they actually seeing a gun where there is none?

The classic psychological account would ascribe these mistakes to a failure of executive control, provoked by some external stimulus. That is, t h e p r o b l e m c o m e s f r o m t h e b r a i n ’s inability to resolve the conflict between an automatically activated stereotype, and a consciously held egalitarian belief. Seeing a black face might automatically activate the stereotype that black men are more dangerous, leading to activity in brain areas implicated in fear responses.

But this automatic response, which could trigger a f i g h t - o r- f l i g h t reaction, should be suppressed w h e n t h e f e a r i s i r r a t i o n a l . Ye t t h e tensions between automatic and control processes are not always readily resolved, and result in errors.

N e w s t r a n d s o f w o r k i n p s y c h o l o g y, neuroscience and philosophy of mind challenge this brain-centric o r t h o d o x y. R e s e a r c h e r s o f ‘ e m b o d i e d c o g n i t i o n ’ f o c u s i n s t e a d o n t h e b r a i n ’s interdependence on physiological processes that allow an organism to sustain itself. From this point of v i e w, t h e m i n d m u s t b e u n d e r s t o o d

a s e m b e d d e d i n a b o d y, a n d t h e b o d y as embedded in a physical, social and cultural environment. Reality is not simply out there for the taking, but is summoned via the constant fluctuations of our own organic m a t t e r. A s t h e F r e n c h p h i l o s o p h e r Maurice Merleau-Ponty wrote in Phenomenology of Perception (1945): ‘The body is our general medium for having a world.’

Among neuroscientists, i t ’s increasingly popular to think of the brain not as a passive organ that receives and reacts to stimuli, but as more of an inference machine: something that actively strives to p r e d i c t w h a t ’s o u t t h e r e a n d w h a t ’s going to happen, maximising the chances of staying alive. But the body isn’t simply controlled topdown.

R a t h e r, its signals are c o n s t a n t l y c o m b i n i n g w i t h t h e b r a i n ’s inferences to generate our perception of the world. Imagine you hear a door slamming: you’re more likely to picture an intruder if you’re watching a scary movie than if you’re listening t o s o o t h i n g m u s i c . Yo u m a k e t h a t prediction (otherwise quite unlikely) because it accounts for your fast h e a r t - r a t e a n d t h e s o u n d o f t h e d o o r.

We s t i l l k n o w v e r y l i t t l e a b o u t e x a c t l y how these processes might relate to the phenomenon of racism, but now we have some idea of where to look.

If the predictive story of behaviour is correct, perception (including that of the police) suddenly seems a lot closer to belief, and is a lot more embodied, than we used to think. Recent studies highlight the influences of visceral signals across many domains, from emotional processing and decision-making to self-awareness. For example, scary

51

stimuli are judged to be more fearful when presented during heartbeats, rather than between heartbeats.

A t m y l a b a t R o y a l H o l l o w a y, U n i v e r s i t y of London, we decided to test whether the cardiac cycle made a difference to the expression of racial prejudice.

The heart is constantly informing the b r a i n a b o u t t h e b o d y ’s o v e r a l l l e v e l of ‘arousal’, the extent to which it is attuned to what is happening around it. On a heartbeat, sensors known as ‘arterial baroreceptors’ pick up pressure changes in the heart wall, and fire off a message to the brain; between heartbeats, they are quiescent. Such visceral information is initially encoded in the brainstem, before reaching the parts implicated in emotional and m o t i v a t i o n a l b e h a v i o u r. T h e b r a i n , i n turn, responds by trying to help the organism stabilise itself. If it receives signals of a raised heart-rate, the brain will generate predictions about the potential causes, and consider what the organism should do to bring itself down from this heightened state.

This ongoing heart-brain dialogue, then, forms the basis of how the brain represents the body to itself, and creates awareness of the external environment.

I n o u r e x p e r i m e n t , w e u s e d w h a t ’s k n o w n a s t h e ‘ f i r s t - p e r s o n s h o o t e r ’s task’, which simulates the snap judgments police officers make.

Participants see a white or black man holding a gun or phone, and have to decide whether to shoot depending on the perceived level of threat.

In prior studies, participants were significantly more likely to shoot an

52

unarmed black individual than a white one.

But we timed the stimuli to occur either between or on a heartbeat.

R e m a r k a b l y, the majority of misidentifications occurred when black individuals appeared at the same time as a heartbeat. Here, the number of false positives in which phones were perceived as weapons rose by 10 per cent compared with the average. In a different version o f t h e t e s t , w e u s e d w h a t ’s k n o w n as the ‘weapons identification task’, where participants see a white or black face, followed by an image of a gun or tool, and must classify the object as quickly as possible. When the innocuous items were presented following a black face, and on a heartbeat, errors rose by 20 per cent.

Ye t i n b o t h i n s t a n c e s , w h e n t h e judgment happened between heartbeats, we observed no d i f f e r e n c e s i n p e o p l e ’s a c c u r a c y, irrespective of whether they were responding to white or black faces.

It seems that the combination of the firing of signals from the heart to the brain, along with the presentation of a stereotypical threat, increased the chances that even something benign will be perceived as dangerous.

I t ’s s u r p r i s i n g t o t h i n k o f r a c i a l b i a s as not just a state or habit of mind, nor even a widespread cultural norm, b u t a s a p r o c e s s t h a t ’s a l s o p a r t o f t h e e b b s a n d f l o w s o f t h e b o d y ’s p h y s i o l o g y. T h e h e a r t - b r a i n d i a l o g u e plays a crucial role in regulating blood pressure and heart rate, as well as motivating and supporting

adaptive behaviour in response to external events. So, in fighto r- f l i g h t r e s p o n s e s , c h a n g e s i n c a r d i o v a s c u l a r f u n c t i o n p r e p a r e the organism for subsequent action. But while the brain might be predictive, those predictions can be inaccurate. What our findings illustrate is the extent to which racial and possibly other stereotypes are hijacking bodily mechanisms that have evolved to deal with actual threats.

The psychologist Lisa Barrett Feldman at Northeastern University in Boston coined the term ‘affective realism’ to describe how the b r a i n p e r c e i v e s t h e w o r l d t h r o u g h t h e b o d y. O n t h e o n e h a n d , this is a reason for optimism: if we can better understandW the neurological mechanisms behind racial bias, then perhaps we’ll be in a better position to correct it. But there is a grim side to the analysis, too. The structures of oppression that shape who we are also shape our bodies, and perhaps our most fundamental perceptions. Maybe we do not ‘misread’ the phone as a gun; we might we actually see a gun, rather than a phone. Racism might not be something that societies can simply overcome with fresh narratives and progressive political messages. It might require a more radical form of physiological retraining, to bring our embodied realities into line with our stated beliefs.

This article was originally published at AEON Magazine: aeon.co and has been republished here under Creative Commons.

54

Lucid Dreams As society moves through a phase of social distancing, isolation and quarantine, humans are beginning to realize the importance of sanctuary spaces in their daily lives in which to retreat their mind from the routine and systematic models of day to day living.

Spirituality

Rituals and celebrations We l l b e i n g

By Pablo Antia Edited by Rigel Pereira Artworks: Fanny Papay

OUR MIND AS OUR TEMPLE Recharging our mind and finding inspiration as comfortably as possible during these times brings new approaches and emerging attitudes around how we persevere in a world under crisis.

We b e g i n t o s h a p e t h e a t m o s p h e r e s a r o u n d u s and use our time towards simply switching into a meaningful hibernation mode, soothing our anxieties, connecting with friends, self-reflection and in the best cases, digging deeper into the realms of our own mind.

S A N C T U A R Y O F C R E AT I V I T Y More than helping people deal with stress or r e g u l a t e t h e i r e m o t i o n s i n t i m e s o f a u s t e r i t y, creativity is both our ultimate highest nature and at the same time our most elementary innate ability to perceive the world in new ways.

T h r o u g h i t w e f i n d h i d d e n p a t t e r n s o f r e a l i t y, making connections between seemingly unrelated phenomena and generate solutions towards the output we receive from the outer world. Higher creativity and a proclivity for divergent thinking does not come alone. Once the mind finds itself in the abyss of what is possible, new features on our own psyche becomes easier to access.

61

FUTURE LUCID DREAMING Either awake or asleep, we now have more time t o t h i n k a b o u t o u r d r e a m s . We h a v e m o r e t i m e to become more conscious and proactive in our chosen sphere. When we focus more on our dreams while we’re awake, we tend to remember them b e t t e r. We a r e c o n n e c t i n g a n d t h e r e b y b r i n g i n g these realms a bit closer to the conscious and the unconscious states of our mind.

Lucid dreams: Dreaming wide awake brings out a possibility for change and even creates new a s p e c t s o n o u r c u r r e n t d r e a m s . Yo u ’ v e p r o b a b l y heard of the continuity theory of dreams, which hypothesizes that people dream about all the things they’re thinking about and doing while they’re awake. If we feel some degree of fear about what is going on, or a spark of hope on t h e f u t u r e t h a t i s o p e n i n g u p , t h e n i t ’s n o r m a l for those types of themes to appear in our dream content, reinforcing the idea and motivation we obtain from our own experience.

62

C R E AT I N G N E W R E A L I T I E S Our mind has the ability to alter the state of matter itself, and more important, the mind has the power to encourage our physical world to move in a specific direction. It would probably require creating a proactive scenario or a useful object repeatedly each time we dream, while putting a lot of emotional and vital energy into it. If this has been done, the scenario/object or something similar may find its way into our r e a l i t y, t r a n s f o r m i n g i n t o w h a t o u r m i n d c a n conceive possible and achieve, though not by just simply materializing. It becomes a process of interconnected phenomena.

DIVINING WORLD

AND

SHAPING

THE

P O S T- C R I S I S

This moment is not a reason to postpone innovation ideas-flux. Maintaining hope, a lucid mind and a growth orientation is key to discover the benefits from investment in our own self, our ideas, plans and projects for the future we want to shape in the aftermath. The best time for differentiated growth is when some kind of aggregate growth is l o w. C r e a t e a n d b r i n g u n s e e n a s p e c t s o f r e a l i t y into light, innovate around new opportunities and reinvest in growth pillars with a global vision is the way to capture opportunity in adversity and shape a post-crisis future, instead of vanishing i n t o a n i g h t m a r e o f f e a r a n d u n c e r t a i n t y.

64

D I G I TA L PA RAD I S E S

A creative Production of JPCA LAB Photography: Pablo Antia / Dale Grant Make Up: Jenna Smith Models: Emanuele Corsini.

Malte Bolsen.

Vlad Stark.

And with collaboration of Dale Grant Florian Schulze Lucas Avid

D I G I TA L PA RAD I S E S AN D E N H A N C E D SO U L S

Coming from the Heights, there is a bright beam of light that gets deep through your mind and illuminates everything that exist within and around, from every corner and from every side it s h i n e s L i g h t . U LT R A B E A M o f l i g h t i s s o m e t h i n g for your mind, your body and your soul to grow and expand.

The words that come from your lips shall face i t s c o u n t e n a n c e . Yo u t u r n y o u r s e l f t o t h e r i g h t , and you will find a splendorous light, and you turn yourself to your left and you will find a shining light. These lights awaken upon yourself the many other Lights that surrounds you.

Through this light you ascend. Through this light you Enhance. Through this light you evolve. There is no other way that can elevate a body high above.

U LT R A B E A M addresses the To p i c of transhumanism in the era of infinite Data: Enhancement of the human spirit, consciousness a n d a e s t h e t i c s t h r o u g h Te c h n o l o g y, d a t a i s m a n d Te c h n o - r e l i g i o n s . U LT R A B E A M a d d r e s s e s how the light we face is the one who enhances us.

POST HUMAN RAV E

By Laura Gómez Artworks Laura Gómez

75

Cyborgs, metahumans, Holograms and every known or unknown entity is allowed in this space.

Melanin has no power here, neither abstract creations as social statuses or nations.

Horizontal hierarchy where pupils look at each others at the same level and souls connect to the sounds of alternate dimensions, waves become visible and gravity loses strength, the weigh of the artificial structures disappears and the only thing left to carry are the skins we are made of.

FAC I N G M AS K S

By Isu Kim Lee Artworks JPCA LAB

81

Encountering the strangers in the stream of people, random flow yet destined collisions. In the parks and supermarkets. On the trains and streets.

Our eyes spew out a ray of projectiles, which land on each others’ surfaces, inscribing names.

The very first touches is the the face. An a contractual masks.

surface that the ray t i p o f o u r u p p e r b o d y, uneasy embracement, caress, wrappings of

Where h o s t i l i t y, hospitality and indifference are coiled up like a bundle of snakes.

Exchange of stares might result in s m i l e b u t a l s o i n d e m e a n i n g l a u g h t e r.

Exchange of voices might get you a hand of help but might also expose you i n d a n g e r.

Our encounters are always bound by the masks that we wrap around each others’ faces. Countless layers of masks that are overlapping on faces.

I f i t ’s p o s s i b l e t o p e e l t h e m a l l o f f , What would be waiting behind there?

Is there even anything laying underneath?

An extra layer of material masks imposed on top of the layers of masks of projection. What do they manifest? What do they cover? What do they reveal? Scenery of mystery or mundanity? A moment of thrill or disillusionment?

Some of us learned a long time ago, to put an imaginary layer around ourselves.

Screens to prevent the exchange of stares, Headphones to prevent the exchange of voices. Which enabled us to act as if we were simply sharing the space, but didn’t exist to each others.

I wished I didn’t exist to you.

A Face mask might protect us from the viral particles, but more viral are the ray of projectiles.

I n M a rc h 2 0 2 0 , fa c e m as k o n a n as i a n h e a d wa s i d e n t i f i e d a s f o re i g n e rs bri ngi ng To d ay,

the

face

virus

to

mask

on

E u ro p e . black

or

b row n h e a d i s st i l l d e e p l y e n g rave d in

our

Ye t us,

p e rc e p t i o n

a n ot h e r but

it

is

as

t h re at .

l aye r

is

n ot

blank

a

Isu Kim Lee @isu_mignon_mignonne

J u s t a re m i n d e r t h at a f a c e m a s k i s n ot a n u n i f o r m .

Isu Kim Lee by JPCA LAB

a

b e twe e n l aye r.

W W W. J P C A . L I V E © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2021