Alice in Wonderland: the Movie, the Syndrome

I finally saw Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland last night and actually liked it better than I'd expected I would. I knew it was a good sign when I realized that my ticket print-out read Alice in Wonderland 3; it was then that I knew that the film was trying to be its own stand-alone story and not simply an adaptation of the books.

A perfect case of going to the movies with low expectations and not being disappointed.

This brings me to a discovery I made during my last bout of internet search engine-fueled hypochondria: Alice in Wonderland Syndrome.

Ever wonder what it would feel like to be Alice, sometimes growing as tall as a house, other times shrinking smaller than a dormouse? People affected by Alice in Wonderland Syndrome (AIWS) can suffer these sorts of distortions of their perceptions. They might wake up in the middle of the night to find that they feel like their arms and legs have been stretched out like spaghetti.


Though it is most commonly associated with body perceptions and dysmorphisms, perceptions of objects, and spaces might also be distorted (ie., your room suddenly seems too small or huge). Other modalities can also be affected: sounds might appear to be louder, or time might appear to be passing too quickly or too slowly.



It's been speculated that Lewis Carroll - the author of the popular Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There - actually suffered from this syndrome (he was known to suffer from migraines -- a condition commonly associated with AIWS), and worked his experiences into his stories. Personally, I find this much more interesting and plausible than the LSD theory (or rather, ergot, since LSD hadn't been developed yet).

To read more about AIWS, check out these links:

http://www.aiws.info/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A56993016

And some accounts of experiences of AIWS:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/feb/16/healthandwellbeing.familyandrelationships/print
http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/9f3w1/i_have_alice_in_wonderland_syndrome_aiws_ama/

Super-Saves!

First things first: I love the Big Bang Theory. I've only recently discovered it (though people have been telling me for years now that I would love this show) and am slowly working my way through its first season. Expect many BBT-related postings in the future; this will be the first.

This exchange (from Season One's "The Big Bran Hypothesis") caught my attention:



(If the video doesn't work, check out the clip here on youtube.com)

According to Sheldon, this famous save would never have been possible, since Superman's failure to conserve Lois Lane's momentum when he caught her would essentially kill her (though I don't imagine that his arms of steel would be sharp enough to chop her into three equal pieces; there would likely be something more like extensive crushing injuries involved).

This reminded me of another famed moment in superhero history: the death of Gwen Stacy. The exact same laws of physics apply to this situation--Gwen Stacy is falling from a bridge and, in an effort to save her, Spiderman (who, as a scientist himself, really should have known better) shoots a web that catches her ankle and arrests her fall. Though he did keep her from smashing into the ground, the abrupt way in which he had stopped her fall snapped her neck and killed her.



Physicist and professor Dr. James Kakalios explains it better than I ever could (Seriously, if you're even the slightest bit interested in the science of superheroes, check out his book "Physics of Superheroes". It's an interesting and entertaining read!).

Dr. Kakalios on the Death of Gwen Stacy

Let this be a lesson to all of you superheroes out there: if you want to save someone in free fall, match his or her speed, remember to conserve momentum, then decelerate. :)

Disclaimer:
The Big Bang Theory is owned by CBS; Spider-man is owned by Marvel Comics, and Superman is owned by DC Comics. No copyright infringement intended.