Experiencing the Moment

The recordings took place on the 15th of March in 2021. To add a post-realism touch to the recordings and make the moment meaningful, Sage was instructed to think about the science of the human mind, the new building being constructed, and the research possibilities it would promote. She obliged and later produced a stream of consciousness account of the experience.

“Okay, I’m in the MEG, and I should relax…It’s actually crazy that, basically, in a matter of a few minutes, I can be sitting in this big machine, and the people in the next room can literally see the activity in my brain. I mean, that’s close to magic. And the activity they’re looking at is responsible for these thoughts, for everything. Brain waves, just like those, are going to be responsible for all thought in the LaMB. All big ideas about plants and animals, about how they interact and coexist, about how the brain works, or how we interact socially, all of our emotions, or thoughts about emotions, every successful experiment, and every failed experiment, every moment of insight or frustration … It all starts with some neurons firing together in a clever sequence. I really can’t tell if I’m hungry or sleepy right now. I think sleepy. That’s good, I should stay relaxed. It’s so humbling to think about all of the ideas that will be had in the LaMB building. I mean the ideas that we are having now will, at some point, feel archaic and obsolete in that building. The building itself will be the constant; the people will change, but the building will continue to host so much discovery. In 50 years, as people walk through the LaMB doors and start their work deepening their understanding of the mysteries of life and mind, they will do so on the basis of our ignorance. The mistakes and misunderstandings we are making today will help ground breakthroughs in the future. LaMB is really a cute name for a building. I wonder if we’ll have a mascot. An actual lamb that walks the grounds, I should suggest that to someone.”