10daysofscience

Alex Serpo

Alex believes the mind is a machine capable of remarkable things. He greatly enjoys the teachings of history’s most famous masochist, Siddhartha Gautama.

Swinging and grinning, the man’s skin stretches obscenely as he swings back and forward. Watching, I wonder who is the more bizarre. Is he macabre in seeking extreme sensory experiences, or am I macabre in being such a willing voyeur of them?

There is nothing unusual about pain. We all experience it – to varying degrees – during most given weeks. Many people with chronic pain experience it in every waking hour. Yet in our society pain holds a strong taboo. It is something to be avoided at all costs and we believe that it can only be damaging to one’s psyche. Even more powerful than pain seems to be the fear of pain, which seems to drive people to a higher state of hysteria than the pain the fear is inspired by.

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By Tyler Broyles

[WARNING: if you're not prepared for images of hooks through skin, please don't click]

Hooks, tattoos, blood, electrocutions, muscle control and phantom limbs? Oh – and did I mention pain?

These are the reasons we are in a long looping queue for entry to the Powerhouse Museum. Pain is fascinating and a night where the science behind the agony is de-mystified is too good to miss.

A Powerhouse rep is working her way down the queue, getting people to sign release forms. Wait, release forms? I’m sure it’s a legal thing  — but it’s also a good way to raise anticipation levels!

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