{"id":360,"date":"2018-03-02T09:26:22","date_gmt":"2018-03-02T09:26:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antonyhallphd.wordpress.com\/?p=360"},"modified":"2019-03-08T17:24:32","modified_gmt":"2019-03-08T17:24:32","slug":"on-the-embodiment-of-unfeasible-objects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/on-the-embodiment-of-unfeasible-objects\/","title":{"rendered":"On the embodiment of unfeasible objects"},"content":{"rendered":"

Further to my last post detailing experiments relating to the embodiment of invisible and even third hands<\/a>, here are some notes on my first ‘Clay hand Illusion’ <\/a>experiments…<\/p>\n

The \u2018Rubber hand illusion<\/a>\u2019 shows it is possible to convince participants that a rubber hand is their own by placing it in front of them while stroking it in the same way as their hidden real hand. The use of self-made clay hands, or objects [see below] in place of the rubber hand raises several interesting possibilities for exploration, which move away from the embodiment of replica body\u00a0parts, and towards the possible embodiment of modified body parts, or completely ‘unfeasible’ objects.\"tactile_object3.jpg\"The clay\u00a0allows for the gradual and immediate morphing of forms and for the participant to build a sensory connection with the object through its creation. As an artist [who has worked with clay] I feel a sense\u00a0of deep connection with the objects I make, especially during making them. For example, I feel my face move and contort when I am trying to draw a face. I wonder if this is true of others? This is why for my first participants I am choosing those who work with clay.<\/p>\n

In regard to the embodiment of ‘unfeasible’ objects, the possibility of such a thing has been\u00a0loosely\u00a0disproven in several studies [See ‘The Invisible Hand Illusion’<\/a>]. Whereby a plank of wood and a spoon\u00a0were substituted in place of the embodied hand. Therefore I am keen to explore this further. So far I have had encouraging results which build on the results from the first workshop session [See image below]. Is it easier to achieve a connection\u00a0with self-made\u00a0objects, rather than an irrelevant object, such as the plank of wood?
\n\"hands03\"In my first ‘beta’ study, I worked with a participant who is a maker and uses clay in their work. After\u00a0making a good connection with their self-made clay hand, I asked if they could make a non-hand\u00a0like an object, or a modification to the clay hand, for a further experiment. They immediately\u00a0opted to make a roundish blob. Followed by a further iteration; a doughnut shape. They\u00a0were able to make a strong feeling of connection with the\u00a0blob and the Doughnut, though not as strong as to the hand, and the connection took longer to achieve. The connection was patchy, in parts, and mapped over the surface.<\/p>\n

I found that the fingers could be mapped around\u00a0the object by using a combination of synchronous\u00a0tapping and swapping over the embodied finger with other\u00a0digits, and the moving the already\u00a0embodied finger over to a new location on the object. For example, the index finger feels fully connected to the clay object but, the ring finger does not. So I tap on\u00a0the real ring finger and say I’m tapping on the index finger. They then seem to believe that this finger is now connected, when I return to the index finger – they now believe the finger next to the index finger is now newly connected to the clay. It’s not easy to explain! More on this later. The main part of the hand did not feel fully embodied.<\/p>\n

It seemed like that with time, and combinations of synchronous and non-synchronous tapping, the hand could be mapped in two dimensions over the surface\u00a0of the object.<\/p>\n

I also found an interesting ‘compression’ in the perceived\u00a0length of the fingers! When I tapped on the knuckle where the finger joins the hand, the participant thought this was the middle of their finger.<\/p>\n

Working with the clay has an interesting\u00a0effect of leaving traces of the tapping and stroking process so over time a textural surface is built up. When experimenting with the clay blob the participant made the following comment…<\/p>\n

\"IMG_1640\"Unfeasible Object #1 Participant 1<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0“I fully believe that’s my hand,\u00a0but like there’s an obstacle, like you cant push past it…it feels like my hand is made out of this clay, but there is only so far you can push into it…it\u00a0feels like a barrier”<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The barrier seemed to be just under the surface of the clay. Perhaps this suggests\u00a0a\u00a0\u00a0surface-deep sensation of the perceived\u00a0embodiment? Another interesting comment…<\/p>\n

“It’s like when I’m making something, I can feel my hand moulding something, and it feels like I’m on the opposite side of that”
\n<\/em><\/h2>\n

The significance\u00a0of this\u00a0comment hit home when my supervisor picked up on the idea of ‘actions’ ie how we might hold an object, or how the object was made. Could\u00a0the embodiment of these objects be stronger if I considered them from the point of view of how they might be handled? This makes me think of ways in which the underside of the hand could be used in the illusion, rather than the back of the hand as is traditionally\u00a0used. An upside down or inside out version of the Rubber hand Illusion? My experiment continues\u00a0to evolve…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Further to my last post detailing experiments relating to the embodiment of invisible and even third hands, here are some notes on my first ‘Clay hand Illusion’ experiments… The \u2018Rubber hand illusion\u2019 shows it is possible to convince participants that a rubber hand is their own by placing it in front of them while stroking…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[32],"tags":[6,44,149,60,20,75,287,132],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/360"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=360"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/360\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1022,"href":"https:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/360\/revisions\/1022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}