Last night I showed my “Hallucination Generation” device at the The Robot Group meeting and many people asked me how the device could cause visual hallucinations. I have a theory about that.

First in normal people speak. Sensory overload in your eyes makes you see stuff.

Now in geek speak. The phenomenon of pareidolia, which is a type of apophenia, is the brain’s (dis)ability to see patterns where none exist. When the UBHG device flashes lights in the eyes it causes retinal fatigue. As the duration of exposure and frequency changes, the amount of noise coming from the cones and rods increases. The brain does its best to interpret the noise. Depending on the viewer’s natural tendency of pareidolia, what the brain interprets can range from just a flashing light to religious icons. Most see patterns like checkerboards, spirals, and triangles.

The next logical question is: Why use Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Theta waves as the basis for the frequency of flashing? I guess the best answer is: Why not? They seem to work fairly well. I do want to make a future version where each of the four frequencies can be tuned to what works best for my body’s specific nature.