Getting to the next level

This post is a bit strange to me. I delayed writing it for several months. Eventually, my curiosity won, and I decided to explore the ideas presented for example here, here, here, here, here, here,  here, and here.  Unlike most of my posts,  what I describe here is highly controversial and you are not advised to try it at home.

Real life superhumans

Several events following my marriage with Anna resulted in me reading faster than scientific literature reports to be humanly possible. There is no magic involved: simply the methods I use to bypass the limitations quoted by scientists. Similar scientists published countless papers arguing that the silicon chips could not ever be as dense as they are now, placing a new limitation every time their peers bypassed the previous limitation.

Let’s face it: our understanding is limited and a lot of new things appear indistinguishable from magic. We know for sure, that our biology is capable of much more than the science admits. I do not really know which mechanisms are involved and which limitations are bypassed.  The brain, especially in trans state, can cause a chain reaction flooding the body with various hormones. These hormones can be unhealthy in long-term scenarios but provide an overwhelming short-term advantage: increased strength, different perception of reality and pain, or ability to withstand cold.  Further achievements are possible in case of certain mutations, technological tools, and training.

Most of us are mutants

Almost everyone can speedread. Most of our students safely pass 800wpm  (words per minute) limit, but only 20% have the determination and talent to bypass the 1000wpm mark. Very few people in the world can read well above 3000wpm. I am not sure if this is something special to our training or some mutation we have.

There are many common examples of mutations. Consider the blood types. Everyone who is not O negative is a mutation. Regarding alcohol consumption, there are at least two different mutations that prevent us from poisoning. The Asians who often do not have these mutations get drunk significantly quicker than Europeans. Scientists identified some of the mutations in Olympic champions.  For example,  some athletes have a rare condition which allows their body to rapidly flush lactic acid from their system. Certain mutations modify sensitivity to pain.

At the current level of scientific progress, it is possible to identify some of the mutations some of the time. It is probably safe to assume that most of us are mutants in some way, we just did not have the chance to discover it. Increased doses of radiation and contamination should also raise the speed of our mutations for the last 100 years.

I speculate that most of us are mutants in many ways, we just do not know or do not care.

Stronger after a trauma

A very different mechanism of acquiring superhuman capabilities is healing after trauma. The best-known effect is calcium accumulations in microfractures of the athletes’ bones, which generate superior bone structure and strength.

We do not really understand the effect of trauma on brains. When some nerves are damaged, the brain develops bypasses for many activities. This is called neuroplasticity.  Then the traumatized nerves may recover, and effectively double the brain power for certain activities.

Occasionally the brain wiring gets mixed. For example in synesthesia the ways we process different senses get mixed. You can acquire synesthesia in several ways: being born with it, suffer trauma and acquire it or train for synesthesia.

Do I recommend slightly fracturing bones or reliving traumatic events in our mind? Only if highly motivated and with professional coaching.

Training

Extreme training can also modify our skills. For training to have some superior success we need some coach, rigorous training success and access to top-notch training facilities. Quite often all you need to start is a computer and finding the right site.

Unfortunately, any training is very specific to the skill being trained. So if we want to acquire a new toolset, we need to train many different skills. However, if we want some strange capability like synesthesia, we can train specifically for it. You can find many training exercises on this site.

If we do not train for a while we may lose some agility, yet certain skills stay with us forever. I do recommend to practice all the skills you want to use actively as a part of your weekly routine, however, this limits the number of skills we can actively use.

Medication

Certain medications can boost training effects.  Not all medication has a strong adverse effect. For example, drinking coffee prior to training might be a good idea. When we get tired, dark chocolate can provide a short-term energy boost. There is some controversy about vitamins, yet I  personally think you can safely use Omega or Magnesium.

I am not sure about stronger medication. Adderall can be a very potent nootropic, but not all people respond positively. You would probably not take steroids for your body, yet you will likely consider strong nootropics.

In WWII Germans used methamphetamines to energize their armies. Soldiers could fight for days, without sleeping or getting tired. However, this was incredibly immoral and dangerous with huge damages not only for the people conquered but also to the soldiers involved. Do not do this to yourself…

Technology

We are becoming one with our technology. Some of our knowledge and communication skills moved to computers and mobile devices. We definitely need cars and planes to cover large distances. Often we can program a bot to do some dirty work for us. Sleep technology, like certain apps. is helping against insomnia. Why stop there?

Any training can be done in simulated and gamified environments. If we look through binoculars in the wrong direction, that reduces the sensation of pain. Certain illusions modify depth perception or generate strange physical effects like phantom body sensations.

We can apply electrical stimulation directly to our brain, improving certain functions for 20 min or so without any negative effects. Transcranial brain stimulation is cheap and easy to do at home.  You can stimulate your brain to improve motoric skills, visual processing, concentration and so on.  This can be combined with biofeedback to alter your state of consciousness.

I am not recommending using technology to its full potential like hacking into strategic infrastructures. Hackers are more dangerous then martial arts masters. Anyone armed with great technological skills should have an equally great moral compass and judgment. Otherwise, someone will target you: another hacker, government, private security agencies.

Spiritual

Certain techniques like meditation or breathing should not work, yet they do. We do not even understand why hypnosis works. Spirituality is not unlike hypnosis, only it does not require a license.

When we focus on something, it can modify our perception entirely. There are many physical exercises for this.  I quote about Ganzfeld Procedure:

At first, this might sound like a bad practical joke. Begin by tuning a radio to a station playing static. Then lie down on a couch and tape a pair of halved ping pong balls over your eyes. Within minutes you should begin to experience a bizarre set of sensory distortions. Some people see horses prancing in the clouds or hear the voice of a dead relative. It turns out that the mind is addicted to sensation so that when there’s little to sense (that’s the purpose of ping pong balls and static) your brain ends up inventing its own.

Or consider this trick:

Lift your right foot a few inches from the floor and then begin to move it in a clockwise direction. While you’re doing this, use a finger your right index finger to draw a number 6 in the air. Your foot will turn in an anticlockwise direction and there’s nothing you can do about it! The left side of your brain, which controls the right side of your body, is responsible for rhythm and timing. The left side of your brain cannot deal with operating two opposite movements at the same time and so it combines them into a single motion.

We should not be surprised that meditation modifies our perception and makes us more sensitive to the things we would not notice otherwise. Most people use meditation to discover deep truth about themselves. Occasionally, spiritual people use their different focus to discover different things, like underground tunnels.

I do not really believe in something that defies explanation, Possibly, people can fine-tune their senses much deeper than we usually do. It’s like star-gazing. If you want to see distant stars, you should get out of cities and their pollution. Why not do the same with other senses?

Motivation

Having a good plan and acting accordingly to it is a very powerful tool. While we can acquire certain skills in many ways, we can also achieve extreme results using very ordinary determination. How many of us can devote 20 years of our lives to a single cause? Such extreme focus can generate amazing results. A single person can solve one of the universe’s mysteries, or plant a forest. A determined group can change the world. Planning and execution skills supersede all other skills, maybe except learning, because you can acquire any capability you need if you act wisely.

Here all other skills converge. You are different because you were born differently, had special training and became stronger after unique traumas. Most technology, medicine or spiritual practice are easy to acquire if you are not extremely poor. Leverage your unique skills, invest several years from your life and you can achieve anything, at least in theory. All that is left: learning. But hey, this is easy with our methodology.