sci-fi author, beatmaker

Tag: Minecraft

Overstimulation and Desensitization — How Civilization Affects Your Brain

Your brain on civilization.

One way to think about our own brain, personality, and physiology is to consider our sensitivity levels to various neurotransmitters and hormones.  Being desensitized or oversensitized to various aspects of our own chemical control systems will drive our behavior and emotions.  This happens whether we’re aware of it or not, so we might as well try to understand what’s going on in our brains and endocrine systems.

Most people who live with artificial light, electronic devices, internet connections, abundant food, processed foods, and other conveniences of modern life will eventually experience some degree of being “out-of-whack” in terms of neurotransmitter and hormone sensitivity.

Minecraft — It's in Your Head

Minecraft spawn view from reddit's Deltasquad03

Lately I’ve been playing Minecraft, the underground video game hit developed by Markus Persson, a bearded Swede who goes by the alias “Notch.”  Persson developed the game in about a week before releasing it to the public, and Minecraft is currently in the midst of a popularity explosion unprecedented in the history of independently developed video games.  A day in September saw sales of 25,000 within a single 24 hour period, and total sales have exceeded 300,000.  I predict mainstream awareness (say, a New York Times feature) within 30 days.

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