In this episode, Cathi Bond talks about Thync, a wearable that uses what they describe as "low-energy waveforms" to boost your energy or calm you down on demand, via patches that you place on your head. You can find helpful reviews here and especially here, where the journalist had a positive hands-on experience. Nora Young says this is part of a broader trend towards tech that targets brain states, especially for calm and focus, such as the Muse brain wave sensing headband, or the contemplative technology the Buddhist Geeks podcast talks about. Cathi's tempted to get Thync. Would you? Nora also references Kelly McGonigal's new book, The Upside of Stress.

Meanwhile, how would you like to make your own realistic avatar using selfies? Nora talks about research from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. You use your phone to take pictures of yourself from various angles, and shoot short videos of yourself, in order to create avatars that actually look (more or less) like you (via New Scientist). As we move into more VR spaces and situations, would you want to look like yourself, or an idealized version...or maybe a cartoon?

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