Einstein and Me
I have recently been conducting research into the Proteus Effect. This is sometimes called body ownership illusions. It refers to the phenomenon where the behavior of an individual in a virtual environment is influenced by the characteristics of their avatar. The majority of research on the Proteus Effect confirms that individuals tend to substitute their virtual bodies for their own bodies. This leads them to alter their attitudes, perception of themselves, and behavior to fit their virtual body representations or avatars.
There has even been some research that suggests that one’s physical limitations can be overcome, at least temporarily, by identifying with an avatar of a superhero.
While I found all of this very interesting, what really hit home to me was a research paper by professors at the University of Barcelona. [1] The researchers presented the results of an experiment where they tested the cognitive skills of young men before and after using the body of Albert Einstein as their virtual identity. For comparison purposes, they also tested the cognitive skills of young men before and after using a Normal male body as their virtual identity. They found that the cognitive processing ability of the Einstein group improved to a much greater extent than the Normal body group. It appears that identifying with Einstein can actually make you smarter.
If you have ever been in a Zoom meeting with me, then you will have noticed a very large portrait of Albert Einstein hanging on my office wall in the background. I love physics and have always been a big admirer of Einstein. I always joke that having Einstein looking over my shoulder when I work makes me do a better job. Reading these research papers make me wonder if there may be some truth in that joke.
The one thing I can say for sure is that I look more like Einstein with each passing day. My hair is slowly, but surely, turning all gray like my intellectual role model. Danke schön Albert.
[1]: Banakou, D., Kishore, S., and M. Slater. (June 11 2018) Frontiers | Virtually Being Einstein Results in an Improvement in Cognitive Task Performance and a Decrease in Age Bias (frontiersin.org)
