Form constant
Encyclopedia
A form constant is one of several geometric pattern
s which are recurringly observed during hallucination
s and altered states of consciousness.
, Heinrich Klüver
systematically studied the effects of mescaline
(peyote
) on the subjective experiences of its users. In addition to producing hallucinations characterized by bright, "highly saturated
" colors and vivid imagery, Klüver noticed that mescaline produced recurring geometric patterns in different users. He called these patterns 'form constants' and categorized four types: lattices
(including honeycomb
s, checkerboard
s, and triangle
s), cobweb
s, tunnels, and spiral
s.
. Other triggers include psychological stress, threshold consciousness(hypnagogia)
, insulin hypoglycemia, the delirium of fever
, epilepsy
, psychotic episodes
, advanced syphilis
, sensory deprivation
, photostimulation
, electrical stimulation, crystal gazing
, migraine headaches, dizziness
and a variety of drug
-induced intoxications. These shapes may appear on their own or with eyes shut in the form of phosphene
s, especially when exerting pressure against the closed eyelid.
It is believed that the reason why these form constants appear has to do with the way the visual system is organized, and in particular in the mapping between patterns on the retina and the columnar organization of primary visual cortex. Concentric circles in the retina are mapped into parallel lines in visual cortex. Spirals, tunnels, lattices and cobwebs map into lines in different directions. This means that if activation spreads in straight lines within the visual cortex, the experience is equivalent to looking at actual form constants.
Author Michael Moorcock
once observed in print that the shapes he had seen during his migraine headaches resembled exactly the form of fractal
s. The diversity of conditions that provoke such patterns suggests that form constants reflect some fundamental property of visual perception
.
may suggest a deliberate practice of cultivating form constant imagery and using intuition
and/or imagination to derive some meaning from transient visual phenomena.
Psychedelic art
, inspired at least in part by psychedelic substances, frequently includes repetitive abstract forms and patterns such as tessellation
, Moiré pattern
s or patterns similar to those created by paper marbling
, and, in later years, fractal
s. The op art
genre of visual art created art using bold imagery very like that of form constants.
Pattern
A pattern, from the French patron, is a type of theme of recurring events or objects, sometimes referred to as elements of a set of objects.These elements repeat in a predictable manner...
s which are recurringly observed during hallucination
Hallucination
A hallucination, in the broadest sense of the word, is a perception in the absence of a stimulus. In a stricter sense, hallucinations are defined as perceptions in a conscious and awake state in the absence of external stimuli which have qualities of real perception, in that they are vivid,...
s and altered states of consciousness.
History
In 19261926 in science
The year 1926 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Astronomy and space exploration:* March 16 - Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket, at Auburn, Massachusetts.-Paleontology:...
, Heinrich Klüver
Heinrich Klüver
Heinrich Klüver was a German-American psychologist born in Holstein, Germany.After having served in the Imperial Germany Army during World War I, he studied at both the University of Hamburg and the University of Berlin from 1920-23. In the latter year, he arrived in the United States to attend...
systematically studied the effects of mescaline
Mescaline
Mescaline or 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine is a naturally occurring psychedelic alkaloid of the phenethylamine class used mainly as an entheogen....
(peyote
Peyote
Lophophora williamsii , better known by its common name Peyote , is a small, spineless cactus with psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline.It is native to southwestern Texas and Mexico...
) on the subjective experiences of its users. In addition to producing hallucinations characterized by bright, "highly saturated
Saturation (color theory)
In colorimetry and color theory, colorfulness, chroma, and saturation are related but distinct concepts referring to the perceived intensity of a specific color. Colorfulness is the degree of difference between a color and gray. Chroma is the colorfulness relative to the brightness of another color...
" colors and vivid imagery, Klüver noticed that mescaline produced recurring geometric patterns in different users. He called these patterns 'form constants' and categorized four types: lattices
Lattice (group)
In mathematics, especially in geometry and group theory, a lattice in Rn is a discrete subgroup of Rn which spans the real vector space Rn. Every lattice in Rn can be generated from a basis for the vector space by forming all linear combinations with integer coefficients...
(including honeycomb
Hexagonal lattice
The hexagonal lattice or equilateral triangular lattice is one of the five 2D lattice types.Three nearby points form an equilateral triangle. In images four orientations of such a triangle are by far the most common...
s, checkerboard
Checkerboard
A checkerboard or chequerboard is a board of chequered pattern on which English draughts is played. It is an 8×8 board and the 64 squares are of alternating dark and light color, often red and black....
s, and triangle
Triangle
A triangle is one of the basic shapes of geometry: a polygon with three corners or vertices and three sides or edges which are line segments. A triangle with vertices A, B, and C is denoted ....
s), cobweb
Spider web
A spider web, spiderweb, spider's web or cobweb is a device built by a spider out of proteinaceous spider silk extruded from its spinnerets....
s, tunnels, and spiral
Spiral
In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a central point, getting progressively farther away as it revolves around the point.-Spiral or helix:...
s.
Precipitants
Klüver's form constants have appeared in other drug-induced and naturally-occurring hallucinations, suggesting a similar physiological process underlying hallucinations with different triggers. Klüver's form constants also appear in near-death experiences and sensory experiences of those with synesthesiaSynesthesia
Synesthesia , from the ancient Greek , "together," and , "sensation," is a neurologically based condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway...
. Other triggers include psychological stress, threshold consciousness(hypnagogia)
Hypnagogia
Hypnagogia is the transitional state between wakefulness and sleep , originally coined in adjectival form as "hypnagogic" by Alfred Maury....
, insulin hypoglycemia, the delirium of fever
Fever
Fever is a common medical sign characterized by an elevation of temperature above the normal range of due to an increase in the body temperature regulatory set-point. This increase in set-point triggers increased muscle tone and shivering.As a person's temperature increases, there is, in...
, epilepsy
Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases...
, psychotic episodes
Psychosis
Psychosis means abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality"...
, advanced syphilis
Syphilis
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The primary route of transmission is through sexual contact; however, it may also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy or at birth, resulting in congenital syphilis...
, sensory deprivation
Sensory deprivation
Sensory deprivation or perceptual isolation is the deliberate reduction or removal of stimuli from one or more of the senses. Simple devices such as blindfolds or hoods and earmuffs can cut off sight and hearing respectively, while more complex devices can also cut off the sense of smell, touch,...
, photostimulation
Photostimulation
Photostimulation is the use of light to artificially activate biological compounds, cells, or even whole organisms. Photostimulation can be used to noninvasively probe the causal relationships between different biological processes, using only light...
, electrical stimulation, crystal gazing
Crystal gazing
Crystal-gazing is a form of divination or scrying achieved through trance induction by means of gazing at a crystal....
, migraine headaches, dizziness
Dizziness
Dizziness refers to an impairment in spatial perception and stability. The term is somewhat imprecise. It can be used to mean vertigo, presyncope, disequilibrium, or a non-specific feeling such as giddiness or foolishness....
and a variety of drug
Drug
A drug, broadly speaking, is any substance that, when absorbed into the body of a living organism, alters normal bodily function. There is no single, precise definition, as there are different meanings in drug control law, government regulations, medicine, and colloquial usage.In pharmacology, a...
-induced intoxications. These shapes may appear on their own or with eyes shut in the form of phosphene
Phosphene
A phosphene is a phenomenon characterized by the experience of seeing light without light actually entering the eye. The word phosphene comes from the Greek words phos and phainein...
s, especially when exerting pressure against the closed eyelid.
It is believed that the reason why these form constants appear has to do with the way the visual system is organized, and in particular in the mapping between patterns on the retina and the columnar organization of primary visual cortex. Concentric circles in the retina are mapped into parallel lines in visual cortex. Spirals, tunnels, lattices and cobwebs map into lines in different directions. This means that if activation spreads in straight lines within the visual cortex, the experience is equivalent to looking at actual form constants.
Author Michael Moorcock
Michael Moorcock
Michael John Moorcock is an English writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also published a number of literary novels....
once observed in print that the shapes he had seen during his migraine headaches resembled exactly the form of fractal
Fractal
A fractal has been defined as "a rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be split into parts, each of which is a reduced-size copy of the whole," a property called self-similarity...
s. The diversity of conditions that provoke such patterns suggests that form constants reflect some fundamental property of visual perception
Visual perception
Visual perception is the ability to interpret information and surroundings from the effects of visible light reaching the eye. The resulting perception is also known as eyesight, sight, or vision...
.
Cultural significance
The practice of the ancient art of divinationDivination
Divination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic standardized process or ritual...
may suggest a deliberate practice of cultivating form constant imagery and using intuition
Intuition (knowledge)
Intuition is the ability to acquire knowledge without inference or the use of reason. "The word 'intuition' comes from the Latin word 'intueri', which is often roughly translated as meaning 'to look inside'’ or 'to contemplate'." Intuition provides us with beliefs that we cannot necessarily justify...
and/or imagination to derive some meaning from transient visual phenomena.
Psychedelic art
Psychedelic art
Psychedelic art is any kind of visual artwork inspired by psychedelic experiences induced by drugs such as LSD, mescaline, and psilocybin. The word "psychedelic" "mind manifesting". By that definition all artistic efforts to depict the inner world of the psyche may be considered "psychedelic"...
, inspired at least in part by psychedelic substances, frequently includes repetitive abstract forms and patterns such as tessellation
Tessellation
A tessellation or tiling of the plane is a pattern of plane figures that fills the plane with no overlaps and no gaps. One may also speak of tessellations of parts of the plane or of other surfaces. Generalizations to higher dimensions are also possible. Tessellations frequently appeared in the art...
, Moiré pattern
Moiré pattern
In physics, a moiré pattern is an interference pattern created, for example, when two grids are overlaid at an angle, or when they have slightly different mesh sizes.- Etymology :...
s or patterns similar to those created by paper marbling
Paper marbling
Paper marbling is a method of aqueous surface design, which can produce patterns similar to smooth marble or other stone. The patterns are the result of color floated on either plain water or a viscous solution known as size, and then carefully transferred to an absorbent surface, such as paper or...
, and, in later years, fractal
Fractal
A fractal has been defined as "a rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be split into parts, each of which is a reduced-size copy of the whole," a property called self-similarity...
s. The op art
Op art
Op art, also known as optical art, is a style of visual art that makes use of optical illusions."Optical art is a method of painting concerning the interaction between illusion and picture plane, between understanding and seeing." Op art works are abstract, with many of the better known pieces made...
genre of visual art created art using bold imagery very like that of form constants.
See also
- Entoptic phenomenonEntoptic phenomenonEntoptic phenomena are visual effects whose source is within the eye itself. In Helmholtz's words:...
- HypnagogiaHypnagogiaHypnagogia is the transitional state between wakefulness and sleep , originally coined in adjectival form as "hypnagogic" by Alfred Maury....
- KaleidoscopeKaleidoscopeA kaleidoscope is a circle of mirrors containing loose, colored objects such as beads or pebbles and bits of glass. As the viewer looks into one end, light entering the other end creates a colorful pattern, due to the reflection off the mirrors...
- Paisley (design)Paisley (design)Paisley or Paisley pattern is a droplet-shaped vegetable motif of Indian, Pakistani and Persian origin. The pattern is sometimes called "Persian pickles" by American traditionalists, especially quiltmakers,The Persian Pickle Club, Sandra Dallas. St. Martin's Press,...
- Pattern recognitionPattern recognitionIn machine learning, pattern recognition is the assignment of some sort of output value to a given input value , according to some specific algorithm. An example of pattern recognition is classification, which attempts to assign each input value to one of a given set of classes...
- PsychophysicsPsychophysicsPsychophysics quantitatively investigates the relationship between physical stimuli and the sensations and perceptions they effect. Psychophysics has been described as "the scientific study of the relation between stimulus and sensation" or, more completely, as "the analysis of perceptual...
- QualiaQualiaQualia , singular "quale" , from a Latin word meaning for "what sort" or "what kind," is a term used in philosophy to refer to subjective conscious experiences as 'raw feels'. Examples of qualia are the pain of a headache, the taste of wine, the experience of taking a recreational drug, or the...
- Visual cortexVisual cortexThe visual cortex of the brain is the part of the cerebral cortex responsible for processing visual information. It is located in the occipital lobe, in the back of the brain....
- Visual SnowVisual snowVisual snow is a transitory or persisting visual symptom where people see snow or television-like static in parts or the whole of their visual fields, especially against dark backgrounds...
- Visual systemVisual systemThe visual system is the part of the central nervous system which enables organisms to process visual detail, as well as enabling several non-image forming photoresponse functions. It interprets information from visible light to build a representation of the surrounding world...