Penfield mood organ

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The Penfield mood organ is a fictional device in Philip K. Dick's 1968 science fiction novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? that is used to modify emotional states, controlled by the user entering a number on its keyboard. [1] [2] The device is described in the novel as using "Penfield artificial brain stimulation". A "Penfield wave transmitter" is also described in the book, as a weapon for inducing cataplexy. [3]

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The name of the device is a reference to the neurosurgeon Wilder Penfield. [4] [3] Dick also references other similar devices in his novel We Can Build You , including the Hammerstein Mood Organ and Waldteufel Euphoria, explicitly referencing the work of Wilder Penfield.

Modern developments toward emotion-modifying devices have been compared to the Penfield mood organ. [5] [6]

See also

References

  1. Beckett, Chris (2015-05-21). "The Penfield Mood Organ in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?". Tor.com. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  2. School, Stanford Law (November 2012). "BioSci-Fi: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick, 1968". Stanford Law School. Retrieved 2022-10-17.
  3. 1 2 "Penfield Wave Transmitter by Philip K. Dick from Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?". www.technovelgy.com. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  4. Resnick, Brian (2018-01-26). "Wilder Penfield redrew the map of the brain — by opening the heads of living patients". Vox. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  5. "Researchers identify brain region that generates optimism bias". Wired UK. ISSN   1357-0978 . Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  6. Wille, Matt (25 January 2021). "Why make better controllers when we can game with our brains instead?". Input. Retrieved 2022-10-13.