How to construct liquid-crystal spectacles to control vision of real-world objects and environments.

A major challenge in studying naturalistic vision lies in controlling stimulus and scene viewing time. This is especially the case for studies using real-world objects as stimuli (rather than computerized images) because real objects cannot be "onset" and "offset" in the same way that images can be. Since the late 1980s, one solution to this problem has been to have the observer wear electro-optic spectacles with computer-controlled liquid-crystal lenses that switch between transparent ("open") and translucent ("closed") states. Unfortunately, the commercially available glasses (PLATO Visual Occlusion Spectacles) command a high price tag, the hardware is fragile, and the glasses cannot be customized. This led us to explore how to manufacture liquid-crystal occlusion glasses in our own laboratory. Here, we share the products of our work by providing step-by-step instructions for researchers to design, build, operate, and test liquid-crystal glasses for use in experimental contexts. The glasses can be assembled with minimal technical knowledge using readily available components, and they can be customized for different populations and applications. The glasses are robust, and they can be produced at a fraction of the cost of commercial alternatives. Tests of reliability and temporal accuracy show that the performance of our laboratory prototype was comparable to that of the PLATO glasses. We discuss the results of our work with respect to implications for promoting rigor and reproducibility, potential use cases, comparisons with other liquid-crystal shutter glasses, and how users can find information regarding future updates and developments.

SOPHROSYNE

O texto é um elogio ao excesso que desvenda nossas fantasias e permite nosso aprimoramento moral e espiritual através do processo criativo. A repetição teatral é entendida referênciascomo um ritual para a depuração de nossos instintos, pensamentos e sentimentos. Mas o próprio artista, mesmo consciente e treinado para elaborar seus excessos, não está imune às tentações do consumo e às ideologias dominantes que embaralham os valores humanos e deixam tontos os indivíduos. A atriz se confessa estressada, exaurida por seu próprio "ego", tendo que recorrer à "sophrosyne", para reencontrar sob a poeira da rotina a sua própria medida.

This article is a praise to the excess that unveils our fantasies and allows our moral and spiritual improvement through the creative process. The theatrical repetition is understood as a ritual for purification of our instincts, thoughts and feelings. However, even conscious and accustomed to formulate its excesses, the artist itself is not safe from the attractions of expenditures and dominant ideologies that muddle our human values and make us giddy. The actress admits to be stressed, exhausted by her own "ego", and finds herself obliged to appeal to "sophrosyne", to recover her just measurement beneath the dust of the routine.

SOPHROSYNE

O texto é um elogio ao excesso que desvenda nossas fantasias e permite nosso aprimoramento moral e espiritual através do processo criativo. A repetição teatral é entendida referênciascomo um ritual para a depuração de nossos instintos, pensamentos e sentimentos. Mas o próprio artista, mesmo consciente e treinado para elaborar seus excessos, não está imune às tentações do consumo e às ideologias dominantes que embaralham os valores humanos e deixam tontos os indivíduos. A atriz se confessa estressada, exaurida por seu próprio "ego", tendo que recorrer à "sophrosyne", para reencontrar sob a poeira da rotina a sua própria medida.(AU)

This article is a praise to the excess that unveils our fantasies and allows our moral and spiritual improvement through the creative process. The theatrical repetition is understood as a ritual for purification of our instincts, thoughts and feelings. However, even conscious and accustomed to formulate its excesses, the artist itself is not safe from the attractions of expenditures and dominant ideologies that muddle our human values and make us giddy. The actress admits to be stressed, exhausted by her own "ego", and finds herself obliged to appeal to "sophrosyne", to recover her just measurement beneath the dust of the routine.(AU)