Health and Travel

HEALTH

Vaccines

Panama does not currently require any special vaccines to enter (unless you are coming from a fever listed as “at risk” of yellow fever. Yellow Fever was obliterated pretty good within Panama during the construction of the canal especially along the canal region (where Gamboa is).

The CDC reccomends all travelers to be up to date on

  • routine vaccines
  • Hep A and Hep B
  • Typhoid

Malaria is not really present in the parts of Panama we will be located in, and Rabies vaccines are required if you will be handling mammals (such as bats).

If you will be doing other travelling outside of the Canal region you might want to look into Yellow Fever and Malaria risk.

Full details here:

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/clinician/none/panama

General Health

We will be in jungle areas in the rainy season. Stuff gets wet and kinda stays wet. Keeping your clothes dry and fresh is a good way to keep comfortable and prevent things like rashes and skin or other bodily irritation.

Basic travel medicine such as anti-diarrheals, laxatives, nausea, and Urinary Tract and Yeast infection treatments are probably good to have on hand.

VISAS

Panama is one of the more visa-friendly countries in the world. People coming from many countries do not need to get a visa beforehand.



This includes most of Europe, North and South America, Australia, and some parts of Asia and Africa.

Also if you have a multiple-entry visa valid for at least 6 months at the time of entry, or residency documents issued by any of the following countries:[10]

 Australia Canada European Union Japan Singapore South Korea United Kingdom United States

You also do not need to get a separate visa!

You can check out the full visa policy in this Wikipedia article.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_policy_of_Panama

Unfortunately we do not have resources to aid with obtaining visas and other travel logistics. You are entirely responsible for your own visas and travel plans.

If you need any kind of official looking letter of invitation though, we can happily give you one!

Other Conferences

Hey, maybe you can’t make it to dinacon this year! There are plenty of other gatherings happening all around the world!

Maybe one of these will work for you!

Pifcamp – Slovenian outdoor hacker camp

http://pif.camp

ITPcamp – NYU’s unconference about art and technology

https://itp.nyu.edu/camp2019/

Africa Open Science Hardware – AfricaOSH

http://africaosh.com/aosh-summit-2019/

Tropixel – Pixelache – Brazilian art, science, technology, society festival

http://tropixel.ubalab.org/pt-br

Signal Fire – Terrific Artist’s backpacking residency!

http://www.signalfirearts.org/

SV Seeker – Build an open source research ship

http://www.svseeker.com/wp/

Frequent Questions

Main Rules

What are the official rules of the conference?

1. You must complete something.

Aim big, aim small- just figure out a task for yourself that you can commit to that you can accomplish during your time at the conference. It can be any format you want: sculpture, a movie, a poem, a fingerpainting, a journal article – you just have to finish it!

2. Document it openly.

You need to document what you made and share it with our group at the conference (even if it means just sharing your article you wrote, or taking a photo of the thing). Everything will be made open-source and publicly accessible! At a minimum, this just means publishing a post on our wordpress.

3. Get written feedback on your project (x2).

You need to find at least two other participants who will provide you with written (or video, or any kind of non-ephemeral ) feedback about your project. For instance you can get someone to agree to send you an email, give you a handwritten note, or film a video impression of their feedback, and give it to you. We want to make sure that you get the most out of your surroundings and people there to help refine your projects. We also want to help you not get overwhelmed, which is why the feedback you get must be in some form that you can review at a later time, perhaps when you have left dinacon, and can reflect in a more relaxed manner.

Following our very basic rules ensures that everyone going to the conference comes away with a finished project in hand, that has been reviewed by amazing experts you got to co-habitate with.

Anything other rules?

4. You need to stay at the conference for at least Four (4) consecutive nights.

5. Be nice to all humans and non-humans

What is “Agoutis?”

Agoutis are these wonderful strange creatures that sort of lope around Gamboa. When they get scared, their butt hair puffs up (because they are related to porcupines), and they love eating your banana peels. Also if you are filling out a form that is checking to see if you actually read the FAQ, the word “Agoutis” is functioning as a bit of a shibboleth. So if you see the word “Agoutis” appear somewhere, you should check it. (And also read this whole page!)

How come it isn’t free anymore????

Last year we were able to make the registration free because Andy used the personal money from his job to cover a large amount of expenses (~$10K). But now he quit that job, and he has a new mortgage on the dinalab. So money is a lot tighter! Whoops!

Luckily, we worked hard to minimize costs, and still have one of the cheapest conferences to attend! Most of the money you will spend will just cover your housing and food.

Accomodations

What is Gamboa like?

It’s a magical, strange little town crawling with fun animals and weird scientists. You can learn more about on our Location description page, and also if you want a deep dive on gamboa knowledge you can check out this document of collective wisdom of past Smithsonian Scientists.

How can I get WIFI or Cellphone data?

It’s pretty easy. We have 100mbps fiber optic internet at both the dinacon venue as well as dinalab! If you want personal data service on your phone, you can get a sim card at the airport for like $50 per month/ $20 per week of somewhat unlimited service, or if you stop by albrook mall, you can get a sim card for like  $5 a week or $20 a month. Digicell and Claro both seem to work pretty ok in Gamboa.

What is the food like?

This year we are hiring full time local chefs to make all our meals (It’s actually a service bundled with the housing cost). We get 3 meals per day. They will serve all meals buffet style, and the food will be vegetarian with a meat option.

Are there options for special needs foods.

That being said, if you have special dietary constraints you might want to stop at the grocery store and pick up your own supplies to supplement your diet.

We will also be trying (but can’t promise) to use some of the food fee to help supplement the meals with some extra basic staples and interesting additions.

Do I need to pack in all my own food?

Probably not! You can if you want! There is a little “tienda” (shop) in town where you can get very minimal food, and there are grocery stores leading in to town, but Gamboa itself has pretty minimal food offerings. That is why we are hiring a chef to make stuff. If you have special needs for your food, you may need to supplement with a run to the grocery store. We have spaces to store your extra food for special food needs folks.

I want to cook all the time and use the kitchen! Can I???

At the main housing facility, the kitchen will be off-limits, because it will be in use full time by the staff preparing everyone’s meals. You will be free to use the dinalab kitchen though!

Will I be able to bring my own tent/hammock and camp?

Yes! Though it is the rainy season. We also have very limited camping spots. You will also still have to pay for registration and the food fee.

Is this conference going to be rough? Will i have to live outside in a deadly jungle the whole time?

Just like the previous dinacon, we tried to set up our location to accommodate people of various adventurousnesses.

It takes place in a cute little town near a jungle and you don’t really have to even step foot outside into the forest if you don’t want to. You can choose your level of outdoorsy-ness for  stay: live in a fancy hotel room at the Gamboa Rainforest resort, stay in some dorms with us, live in a tent in the backyard, or go live in the deep forest for the whole time.- it’s up to you! Note that you are responsible for your own safety and comfort. So do not sign up for a camping spot, unless you are prepared for rough jungley rainy nights.

What are the accommodations like?

We are still working on them. They will be minimal and shared. Likely dorm-style housing with bedrooms holding 3-8 people. It will also be in the tropics which means hot, damp, full of biting things, and beautiful luxurious nature! Full description of our accommodations will be here: Housing.

Costs

So how much is it going to cost me to go to this conference?

There is a sliding scale, and we are still working out the exact costs, but a typical person’s costs will be about $68 per day, or $340 for a 5 day stay including housing and meals! This is cheaper than just the cost of most hotel stays at most conferences! Full breakdown of costs is available on this page- Costs.

Heirarchy

What’s with all this “node leader” and “chair” nonsense? All people should just be people! Down with Hierarchies!

Our entire conference exists to create interesting creative spaces. The “node leaders” are just people who have been working with us who are carrying the extra responsibility of hosting a public workshop or event with the rest of you at dinacon. The “chairs” are just the folks spending all their free time during the rest of the year organizing this thing for you. Nobody is “above” anybody else, some folks have just been working along with us for a while and took on extra responsibilities to help out give you an awesome experience!

So if nobody is in charge, I can just do whatever I want and be mean to people and mess up the place!

The only basic hierarchy we have is that if you become a problem to the conference, or the local community, we reserve the right to boot you out of the conference without any kind of refund. Just be nice, and respect the people and places around you and you will be fine! We have a posted code of conduct you will need to sign before coming. We haven’t really had any problems before, so help us keep up our tradition of being friendly and nice.

Groups

I am part of a group or team, and I was accepted, but I am the only one who filled out any forms or paid any deposits.

Hey great for you! You have a spot at dinacon! Any of these other random folks do not though.

Oh, how do i get the rest of my group in dinacon?

Well you need to have talked with us and gotten it approved by us, but then also importantly filled out all the forms and paid fees for every single person in the team.

Kids and Families

I have a child that is super amazing and brilliant, can I send them to your conference?

Sorry, this conference is meant for autonomous individuals and groups to interact with each other. Everyone is entirely responsible for themselves, and thus we can only admit persons 18 years old and up.

I, a person over 18 years old, have a family that I want to come with me. Some of my family joining me is under 18. Can we come?

-Yes! Each person needs to have filled out an application so we have a valid headcount, and you should register your group as a team. Importantly, note that you will be ENTIRELY responsible for not only yourselves but also any individuals under 18 that are in your care (i.e. I’m sorry to say we cannot provide any babysitting services). We have had families come to the previous dinacon and it was great!

Ok cool, so i have my kid with me what do i need to do for them registration-wise?

They will be just treated as another member of your team! So fill out a form for every under-18 year old (and mark them as part of your group on the welcome form), pay a deposit for all of them, and pay the fees for all of them.

Documentation

What’s this rule that everything has to be open-sourced and shared?

Being good scientists, artists, and technologists, we know that all work builds off the works of others. Therefore our goal is to expand humanity’s collective knowledge, and not limit it. For this reason, a key rule at our conference is that everyone’s projects have to be publicly shared.

I wanted to use the conference as a writing retreat to write articles, and get them reviewed in preparation for submitting to different journals or conferences. Won’t sharing my article prohibit me from publishing in these other places?

Nope, you can just share what you are working on as a “pre-publication” which is some sort of loophole that lots of these publishers don’t seem to mind!

What Types of Participants?

I don’t consider myself a field biologist, or an artist, or an engineer. Can I still come?

Totally of course! You can be whatever you want, no experience required, just have an interest in any aspects of these areas!

I’m a biologist, but I usually work in the laboratory, not in the field. Should I still try to come?

Totally of course! Take the cool things you know and do in the lab, and come try them out in the field with us!

I’m an artist without much experience in art or technology stuff, but i’m interested in exploring it more in the wild with you. Should I try to come?

-Totally of course! We will love combining your talents with all the other interesting stuff going on!

I am really into food, should I come?

Yes! Food seems to be an amazing topic that elegantly ties together many of our big concepts at dinacon. It merges craft, science, and technology in a visceral, everyday experience.

I’m an engineer working with computers or electronics, I’ve never been outside, but i want to try it out with you, should I come?

-(are you starting to notice a pattern) Totally of course!

I’m a jerk, and I’m real mean to people, and I don’t care about the environment, should I try to come?

-uhhhhgg i guess probably not?

Misc

I am upset that you didn’t choose my application to join dinacon. I hate you. I am going to keep writing you mean emails.

Well that’s not nice to say. There are many reasons people don’t get in to dinacon. We have super limited space, logistical issues, and plain old human error. Plus it’s just straight up random. There are so many unique applicants, and we have to make some decisions about who can make it from a pool of talented people we don’t know. At many points this just means we have to make totally random decisions. Also we try to work in as many people from the waiting list as possible. So if you get denied, we apologize, but please don’t attack us, this is just a fun thing we are trying to do for people!

You are trying to put on a nice event for people to join together and learn about new ways of interacting with nature, so is everything perfect and happy and flawless about your conference?

Totally not. Any kind of large event has to navigate tons of socio-economic difficulties. We are trying our best to include as many different amazing people as possible, but we will of course make mistakes, and not always be able to faciliate everything that would be great. But we are really trying.

Won’t this conference involve people flying from all over the world, leading to the release of lots of greenhouse gases and increasing the toll on our earth?

Yeah. Unfortunately so like most other international conferences of academics. The longevity of the conference aims to help keep folks in place longer than most conferences though (where people zip in and out for a couple days). The eventual goal of this conference is to hopefully spawn lots of “Digital Naturalism” conferences in a similar style around the world, where people can rent out some land, and invite people to live and work on it in a more localized fashion.

—————–

And that’s it! We will keep updating this as more common questions emerge.

Housing+Food

These are the costs of living with us at dinacon in a world renown scientific village in the Soberania National Forest! These include access to potable water, bathrooms, and includes 3 daily meals of a vegetarian buffet with additional meat options.

We will be staying at “The Soberanía Field Station” run by Guido Berguido’s ADOPTA organization which serves as an eco-education center and functions to raise money to save rainforest in the Darien Region. It has 11 rooms; which includes 2 double bed rooms, 4 dorms for up to 4 pax each, 4 dorms for up to 10 pax each, 1 dorm for up to 5 pax

  • Ecolodge Housing ($42/night including food) – You are staying in dormitories with us inside
  • Tent Housing * ($19/night including food)- you can bring your own tent and stay on the lawn outside our eco-lodge
This is a preview of the commute from Dinalab to the Dinacon Headquarters.

Side Yard with Agoutis – #SoberaniaFieldStation #Dinacon 2 – Spherical Image – RICOH THETA
Three Person Room – #SoberaniaFieldStation #Dinacon 2 – Spherical Image – RICOH THETA
Large MultiBedroom- #SoberaniaFieldStation #Dinacon 2 – Spherical Image – RICOH THETA
upper porch – #SoberaniaFieldStation #Dinacon 2 – Spherical Image – RICOH THETA

or you can arrange your own stuff at the Gamboa Rainforest Resort Hotel nearby which charges ~$135 USD per night http://www.gamboaresort.com/default-en.html . We are not associated with them and cannot offer any support for these options.

*Camping Note: It is the Wet Season. Most field biologists out here don’t camp then. It will rain in a burst everyday, and hard! You need a decent tent/camping hammock.  Our camping spots are also highly limited.

**IMPORTANT: IF YOU ARE NOT A LOCAL, DO NOT JUST PLAN TO SHOW UP TO GAMBOA and expect to find your own housing! It’s an extremely busy time of the year, and there is already a huge housing crunch. Unless you have definite, concrete arrangements, you will need to stay with us during dinacon.

*** It is highly recommended to join us for the meals, as dinacon is about bringing people together, and making stuff. We have expert chefs making food for you all day, which frees you to spend time connecting with each other, exploring the jungle, and working on your projects!

Daniëlle Hoogendijk

Daniëlle is an international field researcher, environmental educator, paraveterinarian, and soon-to-be tropical forester from the chilly Netherlands. Dani not only documents projects, but uses her skills as an adventurous polymath to help practioners solve problems and fully realize their goals in wilderness contexts.

In dinacon 1, she served as the excellent documentarian capturing everyone’s amazing projects and experiences!

(Monitor dissection photo by Killdall)

Valerie Harris

Valerie is the Director of the Wildlife Cancer Observation Network and a PhD student at Arizona State University. She studies all things animal, evolution and cancer related. Her particular interest lies in how cancer affects non-human animals, and how the different evolutionary paths each species has taken might affect how susceptible each one is to cancer. Additionally, she wants to understand how anthropogenic influences might affect cancer in animals and use this as a tool to explore our changing world. In her free time she plays cello, climb rocks, and occasionally trains computers to write poetry. 

Biobang! 0007: “Sailing Away from Thailand” Khan + Quitmeyer, Yannick Mazy, Madeline Schwartzman, Koh Lon, The Tide (feat. DJ Dez + JPOM)

Andy, Tasneem, and Yannick say goodbye to Dinacon, and set sail for new adventures, they head towards Africa, but who knows where the next Dinacon will be located? Meanwhile they chat with Artist, Architect, and Professor, Madeline Schwartzman about putting robotic nature on your face, they chat with the Island’s consciousness, The Tide stops by, and Yannick pokes through Space+Time! Apologies for sound quality, the island seemed to have been going through some tectonic movements, and kept releasing background “burping noises.”

They plug:

Madeline Schwartzman’s new books- “See Yourself X” https://www.amazon.com/See-Yourself-Human-Futures-Expanded/dp/1910433225

“See Yourself Sensing”

-Fighting Single Use Plastic / Upcycling

-Being One

-The Diva Marine Learning Lab – www.divamarine.com https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/vessel-for-inquiry-a-marine-learning-lab-pilot#/

-The Second Digital Naturalism Conference! Dinacon 2!

Hosts:

Tasneem Khan

Andy Quitmeyer

Featuring:

Yannick Mazy, Madeline Schwartzman, the Island, Koh Lon (Dani Hoogendijk), The Tide (Umeed Mistry)

Music by:

Dj Dez (https://dezmediah.bandcamp.com/album/beep-boop)

and JPOM (https://jpom.bandcamp.com/)

Subscribe on iTunes:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/biobang-the-digital-naturalism-podcast/id1393912055

Get it on stitcher:

Book

Proceedings of the Second Digital Naturalism Conference, Gamboa, Panama (2019)

The Dinacon 2 Book is published!

You can order your own printed copy of this gorgeous 408 page, full-color, A5 sized book full of the projects and reflections of participants from the Second Digital Naturalism Conference in Gamboa, Panama.

Proceedings of the Second Digital Naturalism Conference (Print-$50.16)

Proceedings of the Second Digital Naturalism Conference (Economy Print – $26.00)

You can also view or download digital versions of the entire book for free!

Download the Full High-Res PDF https://tinyurl.com/dinacon2Book

Preview and Download at Archive.org

This book is free to read, download, and share!
If you want to contribute to dinacon and Dinalab.net, we have a suggested donation of $7.00 USD.

We take Paypal, Venmo, Square Cash, Cryptocurrencies and even Credit/Debit Cards! All proceeds help fund future conferences!

Hope you like it, and maybe if it gets you interested in joining us for dinacon next year, you can sign up for our mailing list for future conferences.

Proceedings of the First Digital Naturalism Conference, Koh Lon, Thailand (2018/2561)

The first Dinacon book from Koh Lon, Thailand is also still available for print as well as free downloads!

You can order a print on-demand in two sizes:
Large (A4 Size) Color Print ($28.79)

Small (A5 Size) Color Print ($25.87)

or you can download and print the whole thing yourself on Archive.org

Biomimeticx2

 

This project has been performed in the premises of Dinacon (KohLon, Thailand), Harakka island and the Maj & Thor Nestling Foundation pop-up work space (Helsinki, Finland)

A biomimetic case discovered by Biomimeticx2 (Päivi Maunu and Marko Nykänen) at DiNaCon, KohLon June 2018

 

We have revealed flying tropical carpenter’s bee (Xylocopa latipes) expressing the prominent phenotype with shiny metallic bluish green wings. The ultrastructure of the wings provide vital opportunities for the insect to persist successfully within its niche. Its ultrastructure encompasses meshwork of intercalating, longitudinally and horizontally traversing, cytoskeletal fibers. Those provide structurally and efficiently ingenious resolutions for survival in the most challenging climate and environment.

The erudite ultrastructure of the wing counterparts analogously with the ultrastructural cytoarchitecture of the brush border (i.e. terminal web) in the apical part of human airway epithelial cell, where comparable meshwork of intercalating cytoskeletal fibers occur as in the wings of Xylocopa latipes. On the basis of these ultrastructural cytoarchitectural specifics, we were able to comprise a biomimetic resolution where the crucial ultrastructural cytoarchitecture enables efficacious survival both for the tropical carpenter’s bee and human epithelial cell.

However, architectural establishments like the pillar of the Greek temple built by humans, have not been as efficacious persisting in natural extreme circumstances like the pillar cell in the Corti’s organ of human inner ear. The cell is able to endure intense vibrational forces within the cochlea. Also the pillar cell has the homologous and analogous ultrastructural cytoarchitecture to the human epithelial brush border and cytoskeletal meshwork in the wings of Xylocopa. See the similar pattern of ultrastructural cytoskeletal elements in the micrographs captivated by transmission electron microscope (the counterpart images).

 

Human cultural evolution could not be able to cater the refined flexible and durable architecture as the natural evolution has done. Thus, the comprised biomimetic resolution provides an intriguing and encouraging option to tackle more fruitfully with the dramatic challenges associated with the global climate change, e.g. superstorms.

 

 

The source image displays tropical carpenter’s bee (Xylocopa latipes) 

 

The dorsal part of insect’s left wing is exhibited in the magnification. 

 

The counterpart figure portrays vertically traversing cytoskeletal microfibers associated with the cytoskeletal meshwork (the terminal web i.e. brush border) in the apical part of human airway epithelial cell (pseudocolored transmission electron micrograph of freeze-fractured replica coated with platinum/carbon, magnification x 120,000).  

 

The source image reveals the pillar at the temple of Olympian Zeus (Athens, Greece) and its counterpart, the pillar cell, discovered in the human inner ear cochlea (in the Corti’s organ). The pillar cell has a giant desmosome analogous to the helix below the architrave of the temple pillar, and the cannelures in the pillar portray visual resemblance to vertically traversing cytoskeletal fibers in the pillar cell. The scale bars show remarkable discrepancy expressed here as kilometers. The pillar cell in Corti’s organ is over 330,000 times shorter and a million times thinner than the temple pillar (transmission electron micrograph, magnification x 90,000). 

 

 

 

The Harakka island is displayed in the Winter. The macroworld image pairs (i.e. KohLon in the Summer and Harakka in the opposed season) imitate analogously the extremes in the measures that has also been depicted between the image pairs (the source and counterpart images). 

 

 Still during late March, it was possible to walk on the intact ice from mainland to the island….

 

… However, already in April, the ice was melting away and isolating the island.

 

Flyer for DiNaCon Extension, Visual Art Exhibition in Harakka island.

 

Visual Art Exhibition, Dinacon Extension, was arranged June 12-17 immediately after landing of our flight very early morning at Helsinki back from Thailand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Snapshots from DiNaCon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ImmerSea: Digital Naturalism Conference Field Report

Subversive Submersibles, water-adapted augmented reality 

Oya Damla, Kira deCoudres, Adam Zaretsky, Ryan Cotham

Abstract – ImmerSea: Subversive Submersibles is water-adapted augmented reality (AR). This included aquatic AR goggles, immersive AR environments and AR submergibles.

ImmerSea: Subversive Submersibles are installation experimentations involving creative real time superimposition of re-mashed audio visual overlays onto everyday audio-visual and other sense data for experience alteration and tabulation of reactions. The experiments focused on (1) Eye Candy Disruptors, (2) EcoSensual Synesthesia and (3) Gamification of Risk. Centered around our pop-up sustainable miniature golf course, we designed transmissions and communicated odd augmentations to our immersed and submerged co-artists in the Andaman Sea.

Field Report: IMMERSEA: SUBVERSIVE SUBMERSIBLES DETAILS

We had wonderful experiences doubling our sound and vision under the sea. Kira, Oya, Adam and Ryan formed a temporary collective of multimedia artists, bioartists, psycho-geographers, biologists and free thinkers who collaborated in the ImmerSea: Subversive Submersibles node at the Digital Naturalism Conference. We manipulated live feed footage from environmental settings. We designed and built submerged interactive/immersive sound and video wearables for architecturally encasing art installations using site specific sonic and tactile sources. We ran experiments in psychological experience and altered states of semi-consciousness. We dedicated our time on the island to rugged prototyping allowing for flexibility that utilized the ready-made technics we brought, borrowed and found. We incorporated naturally occurring sounds found in the acoustic environment of Koh Lon and build them into our novel device laden suits.

In the mists of a lush tropical island environment, we composed six channel, ‘real’ surround sound for zorb ball immersive experiences and Video Jockey creative misuse of AR software explorations for a hand crafted underwater iPad floatie suit. We detuned, crashed out and mashed up with our sound art, performance art and mad interdisciplinary sciart skillz in the DinaCon Cone of Tropical Geekdom (DCCTG). Underscoring our critical quandary into behavioral, cognitive and queer studies, while relying on our own brand of fringe philosophy, we unpack for you here our experimental designs and the resultant psychoacoustic/psychogeographical analysis of augmented underwater experience.

Yes, we designed submerged aquatic AR environments and underwater AR submergible wearables. ImmerSea: Subversive Submersibles made installations of DIY bio-body art experimentation by building mediated exoskeletons and getting in them, in the water. We were receiving creative, real-time and re-mashed audiovisual overlays while in and on the sea. We had that experience of alteration that mocks, and yet joins in, screen hypnosis through gadget love/hate relations. In this field report we include our own qualitative tabulation of reactions from the audio visual occlusion front of mixed reality superimposition. Working from the vantage points of artistic self-experimentation, tech-no-masochism and begrudgingly admitted tech-titillation, the following is our lab book.

What is Hydro Immersive Augmented Reality (HIAR) to Us?

Augmented Reality is a super-imposition of digital media onto the natural world for artificial intimacy. We study Computer aided User Deprogramming Experience (UDX) as well as push-advertisement styled media coersion. Is immersion in the sea a way towards more easily abscessed critique of a common mass obsession? Due to the changing state of the aqueous mind, an undersea, layered-on, disruptor of immersive relaxation may be the ticket towards a reveal of the prosthesis between the blinds of both inner and outer worlds. In other words, we theorize that Underwater AR may provide evidence of cognitive glitch implicit in consciousness (i.e. equating the needless stressor blow out anomie to the thrill of mediated stim seduction excess). Does the fall of alienation through a leisurely addition of social entertainment screens open us to gamified virtual vacation communication as utter surrender?

“We lived once in a world where the realm of the imaginary was governed by the mirror, by dividing one into two, by theatre, by otherness and alienation. Today that realm is the realm of the screen, of interfaces and duplication, of contiguity and networks. All our machines are screens, and the interactivity of humans has been replaced by the interactivity of screens.  … We draw ever closer to the surface of the screen; our gaze is, as it were, strewn across the image. We no longer have the spectator’s distance from the stage — all theatrical conventions are gone. That we fall so easily into the screen’s coma of the imagination is due to the fact that the screen presents a perpetual void that we are invited to fill. Proxemics of images: promiscuity of images: tactile pornography of images. Yet the image is always light years away. It is invariably a tele-image — an image located at a very special kind of distance which can only be described as unbridgeable by the body.  … There is no ambiguity in the traditional relationship between man and machine: the worker is always, in a way, a stranger to the machine he operates, and alienated by it. But at least he retains the precious status of alienated man. The new technologies, with their new machines, new images and interactive screens, do not alienate me. Rather, they form an integrated circuit with me.”

– From Xeorox and Infinity, Jean Baudrillard / Translated by James Benedict

This essay was originally published as part of Jean Baudrillard’s “La transparence du mal: Essai sur les phénomènes extrèmes” (1990), translated into English in 1993 as “The Transparency of Evil: Essays on Extreme Phenomena”, http://insomnia.ac/essays/xerox_and_infinity/

That the near entirety of living human animal populations could be bought off so succinctly with a two thumbed, LCD touch sensitive, tool-being hand to eye sized bauble that bleeps intermittent rewards is a tribute to the era of Homo Rechargerus and the addictive nature of conditioning. Regardless of however trite the reward (the bleep for bleep’s sake or the glow brightness itself as iHearth), regardless how onerous the odds, regardless of how guaranteed the eventual amnesiac economy of loss, this is tech that offers satiation on the installment plan and hence satisfaction for many.

Simply by cataloging the percentage of time spent recharging our handhelds we can tabulate the incremental toll, the hemorrhagic loss of service that our screens take. The moth-like to the light of the screen identity is a relic of the TV years. Identity has now gone beyond the CRT beam hook into the infinite line of LCD glow scrolling (touch sensitive screen) and the audio intermittent reward of Pavlovian ring tones and alerts. The ‘you’ve got mail’ instaSnap Limited Interactivity Extended Reality (ISLIXR) of AR superimposition is the clicker training of the commons.

How and Why are We Using AR?

This project engages with topics of behavioral immersion by connecting environmental and experiential bio-data-tics across human, animal, and technological populations. Here, media manipulation serves to make post-environmental and post-biological post-truth information experientially available, stimulating curiosity and interest previously inaccessible to post-programmed populations (the human, post-human and a-human organismic masses). Initializing User Deprogramming Experience (UDX) for Mashup Remix Mixed Reality (MRMR), we present third or fourth level irony in a time where Kitsch has fallen flat. The layers of bullshit detectable have upped the delayed ante up on Critique. We are still trying to favir pop-regurg-a-purge hypnogogic options to standard immersion. Into which product orientation seminars shall we build satire? What exactly has been left un-gamified? What target has the naturalism to uncover, to reveal, as opposed to make appear less world wide cobwebby?

Our three experimental designs are titled: Eye Candy Disruptor, EcoSensual Synesthesia and Gamification of Risk. This report includes the materials, methods and results of these three experiments. It is our hope, in the spirit of the Digital Naturalism Open Source Public Lab Aesthetics (DINAOSPLA), that the art over data ratio (A/d) will be equal or greater than one. This is of course plus or minus a 3% negsanguineously margin of error for the duration of our unstill life studies.

Immersea Experiment One: Eye Candy Disruptors

Experiment One: Eye Candy Disruptor 

Goals: Through the mediatization of audiovisual fields with Live VJ Blipvert AR in a wearable AR snorkeling suit, we monitor Exposure Therapy to virtual/physical superimposition. The attempt to approach some semblance of mediated saturation, beyond both utility and entertainment was our goal. We were able to modulate variables of visual time alterity and applied repetition media regimes. This confirms with our intention to study the effects of the artistic taking over of the augmented visual and audio field with more Crap than is already available while swimming in the open sea.

Materials: DIY Water Proof iPad, wearable AR snorkeling suit

Methods: Much of our ‘data’ is based on pre-present & post surveys of human performance volunteers focusing on Annoyance, Habituation and Recall as quantitative, qualitative and catatonicative data sets. Qualitatively, we used an all-orificial data set including questionnaires for tabulation. This entails a synopsis of amalgamated qualitative data from all 11-13 of the major collection points or body portals of our voluntary human arts subjects. This survey data was compared to motion analysis of body language tracking video documentation. Use of binaural new age meditation audio with 31% translucent clouds as a control was meant to approximate degree zero samsara experiential authenticity in order to compare the subject reactions to experiential, repetitive, strobic, vaporwavicle, remash noise ratios.

 

 

Results: People had fun! People clamored to be inside the contraption. People craved to swim with a screen in their face, to snorkel in the most lovely sea while looking through a busily augmented screen full of touch sensitive 3d emojis[1] and first person zombies[2] to shoot and three dimensional glitter drawings tracked by space and head movement[3]. The idea was that snorkeling through schools of fish or peeking at anenomes in coral reefs would be reason enough to dispose of the screen. We were wrong, most people want to augment and peer through the screen as often as they can. Instead of non-virtual fidelity, celibate edutainment is the norm.

Future Research: We hope future experiments will include real-time monitored reactions to live blipvert wireless VJ remashed madvertisments. Superimpose motion tracked data collection with specific experimental brain wave stimulating binaural-sextanaural new age automated samsara control variables, and we may score that mind control research grant we always dreamed of. The plan for now is to expand our repertoire into a wider manipulative media range through: percentage of audiovisual augmentation (loudness and field of superimposed vision), speed of editing-jumpcutting, strobic/distorted sonic and signal to noise ratios. should be automated to increase whole brain de-synchronicity and imprint vulnerability. We are still looking for something like real-time giphy world 3D sculpt brush AR jockey software for beaming real time to others in the underwater AR screen spectator faceplant worlding. Perhaps that is something we could seek collaboration for building.

Immersea Experiment Two: EcoSensual Synesthesia

Goals: We are focused on smell, taste, CNS nerve stimulating (touch) and proprioception for this experiment. We created an inhabitable instrument–the semi-submerged wireless human augmented reality zorb ball interface (See image + caption) — to measure sonic arousal in a spherical 360 degree sextanaural sound space.

Materials: We created an inhabitable instrument — the semi-submerged wireless human augmented reality sextanaural zorb ball interface. This included a zorb ball and six waterproof portable MP3 players with six MicroSD cards synched to play our six channel compositions. We composed several six track digital audio compositions. These included six tracks to 6 speakers in the Zorb Ball (Front, Back, Up, Down, Left, Right), as well as experimenting with binaural standing waves in full six channel dimensionality (hence sextanaural sonic space) in a closed and yet N degree of cognitive freedom user movable space.

Methods: In order to transmit the sensual sounds of the island into a semi-submerged human augmented reality zorb ball interface we positioned the waterproof speakers: fore, aft, port, starboard, stern and bow. The six channel sonic compositions are available online mixed and as original six directionally distinct tracks. Made from generated, remashed and digital audio field recordings from the Koh Lon local island ecosphere soundscapes.

You can try this yourself! “Music For Zorb Balls” is the result of a Digital Naturalism Conference Project, ImmerSea: Subversive Submersibles. An experiment in sext-o-phonic sound (6-channel 3D omni-directional audio), “Music for Zorb Balls” documents audio tracks created for an immersive media-tastic soundscape while in an inflatable bubble on water. For our purposes, we assigned each directional track to six separate wireless Bluetooth speakers attached to points inside the Zorb ball. The audio can be streamed through any audio-playing device: iPhones, iPods, iPads, iAmASpeaker, Car Stereo Speakers, etc. Try duct taping pillows to friends and slipping their phones on loop into the pillow cases and then modern dance moshing with them while connected to their feet and hands with industrial rubber bands. This may give you the interactive UDX experience that it takes to feel the interface.

The album is free for public access and includes each artist’s contribution to the interactive sound installation. For public replication of this experiment, download each directionally determined track and assign each to individual speaker outputs for the best, most disorienting experience.

To download the full album from Bandcamp, select “Buy the Full Digital Album” but rest assured, the album and all tracks are free! Name your price at $0 (or more!). To download only specific tracks from the album, select the track(s) of choice and select “Buy Digital Track”. FREE. Enjoy!

https://immerseadinacon.bandcamp.com/album/music-for-zorb-balls

The system of zorb-bodies conformed to the human hamster wheel XYZ audio architechture simplot. Our research subjects were floating spherical on the waves of an immersive interface. This six channel Zorb space is semi submerged with user controlled motion and multi sense intensities. This is implicit in most full immersion media heavy, seafaring globes of transparent inhabitation. Our interest in binaural sounds stemmed directly from researching the CIA funded Monroe Institute[4] declassified documents.

Results:

“Being a primary experiment subject contained within the Zorb Ball fulfilled many fetal fantasies of being inside of a techNO-FEAR PROTECTO-SPHERE. Surprisingly, this enclosed experience externalized dissociation in a most dreamy, oxygen-deprived way. The sun beaming down on the Andaman Sea quickly steamed the dream bubble, creating a sauna effect. This, coupled with sonic bombardment from all directions (up, down, left, right, front, back) was immediately disorienting and yet, cacophonously comforting due to cultural familiarity with over-commercialization of experience. It was a clumsy kinetic learning-curve to walk on water, with big Jesus-like footsteps to fill. This tumbling was quite entertaining and meditatively exhausting due to the amount of energy exertion required to move an immeasurable amount in any direction. This cyclical going-nowhere and treading on water must be what hamsters and laborers trapped in capitalist loops feel like. In conclusion, this inverse rebirth was enlightening and recommended for anyone in search of an affixiatingly intense psychophysical re-alignment through mediated reprogramming.”

– Kira deCoudres.

 Future Research: We would like to experiment with waterproof, six channel, acoustic contact microphones that use streaming wifi. Live streaming from six sonic on-ground (or hydrophonic ‘in-water’) contact sites of interest would be fun and analog enough to have a warming mediatationed effect. With the right psychogeographically positioned field station, we could include instrumentation used to collect data that measures arousal, (for instance, a penile or clitoral plethysmograph, a electromyograph for rythym contraction data, Doppler velocimetry penis cuff/sleeve, etc). But there is a limit to the measurement devices available for five kingdoms wide, cross species real time arousal. These interspecies types of inclusive all-phylum arousal economies of fetish measurement devices can be prescient techno-predictors of both the chemistry and early reporter weather predictions[5]. Orgonomic coefficients coincident with ecological forecasting may yet prove that incorporating the sensual psychophysiology arts into climate change studies is a novel use value for our currently sparse interspecies, Kinseyesque, sexual response data and… correlated to climate change… we have even more reasons to cum[6].

Immersea Experiment Three: Gamification of Risk

Goals: This experiment is about what level of virtual overtaking of the ‘actual’ is possible by sudden and incremental alarming risk suggestion. We are looking at demonstrating extreme what ifs, neurotic paranoia and underwater fear factors to induce panic. This is to see if reliance on augmentation is such an addictive autopilot that users are capable of downgrading risk assessment or if danger as a concept can be subsumed by the multisensorial eye candy and responsive ISLIXR HIAR environments.

Materials: Zombie Apocalypse AR software, fake shark fin hat,fear itself and general tropical sea/mangrove/rain-forest fear mongering information sessions for players.

Methods: The intention is to compare notes on the reaction to panic attack inducing threatcasts, with or without augmented reality. Working with the generation of psychotic states or schizogenesis, we combine overlaying the audiovisual experiences of emergencies with actual dangerous or convivially able to be perceived of as dangerous environments such as the Andaman Sea. So, this is predominantly a genre of overlaid media to be explored while at risk of shark attack, drowning, unusual currents, poisonous fish, stinging jellyfish and sea gypsy pirates of the Malay Peninsula. Immersea experimental volunteers were subjected to a media barrage of: flashing lights, loud voices giving orders, mass media styled endless emergency warnings, faux shark attack and crashed, impeded glitch, audiovisual environments.

Results: Actual dangers encountered were: strong currents to nearly drown us, coconuts falling from the sky, jelly fish stinging and oxygen depletion in the Zorb ball as well as AR zombies everywhere. There was a distinct inability for the volunteers to conceptualize a difference between the Gamified Eye Candy and the emulation of mind control fascist depersonalization indoctrination cult tactics. It all seemed like an enjoyable and playful adventure, until the air started running out or the drowning feelings started. At that point, the virtual became secondary to survival, so there is still much to learn before we overcome that urge to stay alive outside of the MRMR XR.

Future Research: The superimposition of a second, generated or algorithmically filtered version of your sense data accruement through your inborn and falsifiably inept orifice input-output economy may be safer than separating the two on competing screens (LCD/Flesh). Commercially available screens are brighter than the in-born filtered (i.e. eyes or nostrils) sense data of the everyday world. Interestingly, we found that digital LCD camera flowthrough screens that are not semi-transparent (like phones or tablets) may be of a higher bodily harm risk than mixed reality helmets or headgear. Semi-immersive gadgets are smaller, brighter, louder, more vibratory and more penile than immersive headgear or wearable environments. Comparing risk assessment artifacts and actual risk of the handheld gadget versus the wearable gadget may be worth looking into further. It does seem that any situation other than life endangering impact crashes or other forms of sudden, potentially fatal, mortal ruin are considered to be most often ignorable in or out of augmented reality. On the other hand, even long, drawn out, miserable pain itself can plausibly always be heightened by the digital.

A final Gamified Risk analysis involves the cognitive effect of the amplification of technological pain along with analog pain. This is a question of the rehabituation of illusory meta-pain in dialogical interplay with brute force. The competition between immersive digital torment and screen based digital torment in relation to bodily (technologically unattached) torment is a Department of Defense (DoD) issue worth pursuing[7]. Perception of risk is a fun and interesting area to analyze when comparing distinct media to the cognitive conception of the unmediated Central Nervous System (CNS). The real money is probably in how much poor risk assessment behavior can be coordinated through UDX AR MRMR DoD & ISLIXR CNS (see Terms Key below) as opposed to other kinds of mind control in terms of fully trained assets and glitching enemy assets.

Sustainable Mini Golf

Simply as a Central Node for ImmerSea: Subversive Submersibles at Dinacon, we spearheaded the first ever Sustainable Miniature Golf Course. Nearly on the equator, this might start an equatorial fad, especially with a Biodiversity Banking Theme!

Miniature golf is great low-impact fun especially if it is sourced from local and sustainable materials. Our node hosted a social outpost made from crafted natural golf balls (baby casaba), DIY golf clubs (bamboo and brain coral and conch shells, tied together with coconut twine) and temporary redesign of loosely themed nature. Equatorial Sustainable Miniature Golf Courses are a perfect interface to teach-in about biodiversity, human gene editing and bioethics.

The ImmerSea: Subversive Submersibles Equatorial Biodiversity Bank Themed Sustainable Miniature Golf Course was a home base for our node as well as the source-mixing and wireless beaming for our remixed Immersea databank. Beginning with local Koh Lon mangrove, rainforest and coral reef biomes, this minimal impact portable eco-minigolf course houses the qualitative and quantitative ImmerSea: Subversive Submersibles library of biodiversity. The ImmerSea: Subversive Submersibles Equatorial Biodiversity Bank Themed Sustainable Miniature Golf Course is the AR-VJ immersive transmission station to our underwater ImmerSea: Subversive Submersibles Human Subjects Our video, audio, photo and written collection of ImmerSea: Subversive Submersibles biodiversity notes have been kept in a water proof lab book; notes and data available by request. We beam our tracks for output into the ImmerSea: Subversive Submersibles Biodiversity Bank Themed Sustainable Miniature Golf Library which functions as a VJ home base for UDX AR MRMR ISLIXR underwater and semi-submerged transmissions.

Let’s talk about how the genes for the natural excesses of exuberant traits in the tropics might be pasted into the human genome. The Public Lab Book includes a tabulation and interpretation of Natural Excesses, Exuberant Traits and BioBanks for Future Human/Nonhuman Germline Hybrid Experiments in Human Inherited Genetic Modification. What do you think the range of possible future bodies is? Which GMO humans should be included in the Transgenic Human Genome Project (THGP)? What can the biodiversity of Koh Lon and the Andaman Sea tell us about the range of potentials, enhancements and options for future human anatomies?

Future of Artistic Research on the Interspecies Physiology of Immersive ArtSci Environments

This is an emotionally deep research process compared to the usual data recording pilot studies. Instead of using the general facial recognition software, eye tracking, blink assessment and live cortisol level monitoring (without a funding dollar spent on gestural, full embodied or any lower body orificial economy explorations), We would like to propose artistic research to amass fuller than standard physiological data spacescapings. Contiguous with our biomediated-popsyche-ecosensual experiential developmental theme, we are striving for an all-body-portal accumulative database. Future research will include anal-tensegrity monitoring as a part of any full physiological observation of our (w)hole organism [assuming this is an organism with an anus]. Along with gene expression patterning over time (including multi generational epigenetic environmental effects) and further collection of tangible and intangible objects from our subcognitive focus groups, we intend to use AI to data mine our UX bioinformatics data swarms to provide further MRMR iterative, permutative and pseudo random artistic nodes for future studies in Artistic Research on the Interspecies Physiology of Immersive DINAOSPLA ISLIXR HIAR ArtSci Environments.

TERMS KEY:

  •  AV = Audio Visual
  •  AR = Augmented Reality
  •  HIAR = Hydro Immersive Augmented Reality (HIAR)
  •  VR = Virtual Reality
  •  VJ= Video Jockey
  •  XR = Extended Reality
  •  ISLIXR = instaSnap Limited Interactivity Extended Reality
  •  UX = User Experience
  •  UDX = User Deprogramming Experience
  •  DCCTG = DinaCon Cone of Tropical Geekdom
  •  UI = User Interface
  •  MR = Mixed Reality
  •  MRMR = Mashup Remix Mixed Reality
  •  DoD CNS = Department of Defense Central Nervous System
  •  DINAOSPLA = Digital Naturalism Open Source Public Lab Aesthetics
  •  A/d = art over data ratio

Thanks to Andy and Tasneem for all the organizational skills and joy of DINACON. We did independent DIY research and fun, wild, hacking together with resultant novel instrumentation for alternate realities. Thanks also to Pat Pataranutaporn and Werasak Surareungchai of the Freak Lab https://freaklab.org KMUTT for generous support and for hosting us to review, presentation and exhibition of our Artistic Research on the Interspecies Physiology of Immersive ArtSci Environments through Eye Candy Disruptor, EcoSensual Synesthesia and Gamification of Risk. Additional thanks to Tentacles Gallery, Bangkok, Thailand.  Thanks to Praba Pilar for designing the initial Underwater AR prototype at our Woodstock gridfree residency in preparation for the NO!!!BOT performances at Grace Space in NYC, May 2018. https://www.prabapilar.com/events/nobotnyc

[1] the 3D AR software Giphy World https://giphy.com/apps/giphyworld

[2] ARZombi iOS11/ARKit game https://www.arzombigame.com/

[3] World Brush https://worldbrush.net/

[4] for instance Binaural Beats and the Regulation of Arousal Levels by F. Holmes Atwater, BA,  (Hemi-Sync Journal, Vol. I, Nos. 1 & 2, Winter-Spring 2009) https://www.monroeinstitute.org/article/3002 More information: The Monroe Institute, Binaural PTSD recovery and Astral Projection for military remote viewing and CIA mind Control. P.O. Box 505, Lovingston, VA 22949. Founded and directed by Robert Monroe from 1974 until his death in1995, the Institute held classified contracts with the U.S. Army Intelligence & Security Command (INSCOM) on orders by Gen. Albert Stubblebine. The Institute studied their hemi-synch techniques to see if they could enhance soldiers’ performance and concentration. (Emerson, Steven, Secret Warriors, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1988, pg 103-4) The primary area of research at the Monroe Institute involves using a binaural beat to cause different psychological effects. A binaural beat is created by using stereo headphones with each speaker emitting a slightly different frequency. The result is a tone at the frequency between the two, which allegedly causes the brain to “entrain” on the frequency, i.e. the brain waves regulate themselves to the same frequency.The National Research council evaluated the Institute’s claims that the method could be used to improve learning. (National Research Council, Enhancing Human Performance, National Academy of Sciences, 1988, pg 111-4)  “..located near Charlottesville, Virginia. Bob Monroe, author of many books on Out of Body experiences, has long and close ties with the C.I.A. James Monroe, Bob’s father, if I’m not mistaken, was involved with the Human Ecology Society, a C.I.A. front organization of the late 50’s and 60’s. The Monroe Institute has done research on accelerated learning and foreign language learning through the use of altered states of consciousness for the C.I.A. and other government organizations. Government interest in the more radical research going on at the institute remains only tantalizing speculation. Official classified document storage boxes have been seen at their mail-order outlet located in Lovingston, VA.” – Porter, Tom, Government Research into ESP & Mind Control, March, 1996 THE MONROE INSTITUTE S HEMISYNC PROCESS – Document Type: CREST Collection: STARGATE Declassified: December 4, 1998 CIA-RDP96-00788R001700210004-8.pdf Approved For Release 2003/09/10 : CIA-RDP96-00788R00170021000THE MONROE INSTITUTE’S HEMISYNC PROCESS “Hemisync is a patented auditory guidance system which is said to employ the use of sound pulses to induce a frequency following response (FFR) in the human brain. It is reported that the Hemisync process can heighten selected awareness and performance while creating a relaxed state. Hemisync is more than this however, and an extensive evaluation is warranted.

[5] This is why we are seeking an antianthropocentric, anthropo-scenic ecologist/ meteorologist device developer to join our team. Please contact vastalschool@gmail.com if you are interested in applying.

[6] See: http://sexecology.org/ ,  https://www.fuckforforest.org

[7] Neurological Manifestations Among US Government Personnel Reporting Directional Audible and Sensory Phenomena in Havana, Cuba, Randel L. Swanson II, DO, PhD1,2Stephen Hampton, MD1,2Judith Green-McKenzie, MD, MPH2,3; et al