
Masque – Wearable that manipulates a user’s perception of their own respiration - mattbierner
https://www.media.mit.edu/projects/masque/overview/
======
bjterry
> We observed a statistically significant difference (p =.048) in terms of
> changes in anxiety between the groups who heard two different rates of
> breathing.

Studies with p-values that close to .05 never replicate. Likely p-hacking.

> With high precision and fast speed temperature sensor, Masque detects the
> user's breathing activities and plays back a _mediated breathing_ sound
> synchronously through a bone conduction headphone. The _medicated breaching_
> sound is real-time synthesized, thus its breathing rate can be modified by
> the user at any moment.

I just find this typo amusing

~~~
jschwartzi
My BS detector started going off as I was reading the linked article. Talking
about the body "[sensing] itself internally and local[izing] its actions"
providing "the basis for a material sense of self-existence" isn't even
pseudo-scientific.

It's an interesting idea but I'm concerned that this is an art project looking
for a scientific explanation.

~~~
arthurcolle
Denying subjective experiences doesn't mean they don't exist, especially not
to the observer

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in_hindsight
Wow can’t tell anything about subject of the piece, but as at as design goes
it is an almost 100% rip off of Miriam Simin’s “Agalinis Dreams”. Incredible
that MIT would let this kind of thing happen.

Here is an image of the work I mention - happened to see it in NYC in person a
while back, it was working with the sense of smell too, so, looks like subject
matter is also uncomfortably close [http://www.arts.uci.edu/event/embodied-
encounters](http://www.arts.uci.edu/event/embodied-encounters)

~~~
TACIXAT
It is entirely possible that they have spoken to the artist. Let's not jump to
conclusions about it being a "rip off".

~~~
ohyes
I would expect it to be mentioned on the project page if that were the case.

It's also possible that there are only so many ways to design a nice looking
mask that puts something in front of your nose. So it could be coincidence.

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seymour333
Combine this technique with something like this:
[https://www.medgadget.com/2014/06/mits-wifi-system-
detects-p...](https://www.medgadget.com/2014/06/mits-wifi-system-detects-
peoples-breathing-heart-rate-even-through-walls.html)

and we can start modifying people's responses to any ads or other media that
has audio. Just pipe in fake respiratory signals under the source audio and
boom, that car ad really got your heart racing.

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woliveirajr
> Can Masque manipulate people? > No, not entirely. Masque causes cognitive
> bias in people's behaviors.

So, no manipulation, just an effective sugestion that changes behavior.
{/sarcasm}

~~~
epicide
They do say "not entirely", implying that it can be used for _some_
manipulation. Specifically, manipulation in the form of "cognitive bias in
people's behaviors".

I imagine I couldn't manipulate someone into buying a product they have zero
interest in by changing their breathing, but I could subtly influence/bias how
they feel when first observing a product.

Is it manipulation? No, not entirely.

That being said, I would still be cautious about any sort of abuse.

~~~
lgas
How would you consider that anything less than manipulation?

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RGamma
So this was created by MIT students? Geez...

> When the body senses itself internally and localizes its actions, it
> provides the basis for a material sense of self-existence. At the same time,
> the mind registers the sense of an agency with free will, the sense of
> being, the cause of voluntary action.

After reading these first two sentences I thought this was supposed to be a
parody or somesuch thing.

> The design of Masque draws inspiration from Italian carnival masks. For
> critics of Commedia dell’Arte, there was a direct connection between
> covering one’s face and hiding one’s heart. [...] The visual design implies
> the inherent tension between self-control and self-disguise in the device.

Yep, art project gone haywire. This apparently is part of some strange
armchair psychology/human biology Master's thesis:
[https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/114069](https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/114069)

The design of the mask does look intriguing though!

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nine_k
The interesting part is that what is hacked is the _external_ feedback loop
between breathing and perception. The loop through the acoustic channel,
likely completely different from whatever way(s) you have to internally
perceive your breathing. But apparently the brain does not trust only the
internal sources, and correlates them with an independent channel of sorts.

~~~
jschwartzi
One of the techniques used to develop skill at meditation is to bring
perception of your breathing to your conscious mind. So early on when learning
to meditate you might be asked to focus on and "note" each breath as something
that is happening in your body. It's a way to practice paying attention to the
unconscious processes of your body and eventually your mind.

I can see how something like this might be an aid to learning how to do that.
For what it's worth, you can actually hear yourself breathe in a quiet enough
room, and you can certainly sense your own breathing as a "drawing in" even if
you can't hear it.

I think meditation is a useful tool for slowing down your thinking and
reducing the influence of your irrational self on your rational self when
you're trying to think about situations which make you anxious.

------
naringas
sci-fi story scenario:

they install it in babies and never really tell them about what it is and
does.

edit: obviously a sleeker version directly integrated into the body.

~~~
Cthulhu_
There was a Black Mirror episode that is tangentially related, called Arkangel
iirc, which censored any scary and not safe for kids content in their vision,
installed at an age where the child was probably too young to remember the
procedure or a life before having that system installed.

~~~
ker0r0
Also a short story called Different Kinds of Darkness which the whole world is
blocked for kids out except certain areas.

[http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/different-kinds-
of...](http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/different-kinds-of-darkness/)

audio version: [https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/stitcher/levar-burton-
reads...](https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/stitcher/levar-burton-
reads/e/53487869)

