What's going on in my brain? (and can you smile please)

  • Antony Gee

"As a brain wave technologist, I often ask post-operative patients to smile to make sure their facial nerves are intact. It always struck me as odd to be asking this question right after brain surgery, so a colleague suggested I ask patients to show me their teeth. Armed with this new phrase, I said to my next patient, "Mr. Smith, show me your teeth." He shook his head. "The nurse has them."" A rather strange request to ask people to smile after brain surgery: In a dystopian future, who are the people who deal with the folks who don't smile? Is it the everyday folk who are operating the realignment equipment or the political elite? The soundscape was constructed using a sound recording of an MRI scanner, and EEG brainwaves recorded during an epileptic seizure, converted to sound. Also adorned with various synthesisers and sound effects.