Peak/perfect state for what?
I don't think that there is one state that is appropriate for all goals and all contexts.
What in one culture is considered a peak achiever may be considered a pathological mess in another.
By implication, your argument seems to state that those who are not interested in iMusic are a) neophobes, b) underachievers, and c) closed minded.
Of course, you're wrong.
Participating in these forums should be evidence enough of an individual's interest in self-improvement and various means by which one may attain self-improvement.
As for the whole theta, delta, beta, and brain synchrony thing, as far as I have seen these are very clumsy terms and our current methods of brainwave entrainment to create peak states are rather primitive.
It isn't just that he brain is creating delta waves, or gamma waves, or what have you. You have an entire, mysterious organ whose functioning we haven't even begun to comprehend on a deep level.
One of the recent findings was that some peak states involve asynchronous activity in the brain. Studies have shown by using magnetic radiation to shut down certain parts of the brain that savant-like activity can emerge. So, it's not having all the brain synchronized or in a certain brainwave pattern, but also having certain parts shutting down while others have increased activity.
Honestly, the brain and it's activity is more complex than just "beta," "alpha," etc. These are just blanket terms, overgeneralizations. They don't really say much. Because I was curious, I read a good amount about EEGs, and one particular author said that the terms for brainwaves are misleading, that the *actual* activity of the brain is so complex, that they had to overgeneralize about it just so that they could talk about what is going on. This shows you how much we don't know and upon how much ignorance these entrainment products are based.
People have been improving their performance for years without this technology, and I am skeptical as to what benefits the technology does create for an individual. How many double-blind studies have been done with iMusic CDs?
Looks to me like it's just another company grabbing loosely related scientific evidence, globbing it together, and saying that their product is supported by scientific studies.
Also, it's worthy of noting that using entrainment devices is NOT the same as using biofeedback. There is a BIG difference between the two, namely the feedback part. Biofeedback creates an awareness of activity in yourself and creates a loop in which more information about the self is available. It's like acquiring a new sense. This in and of itself can be self improving.
Entrainment technologies do not provide that information channel, and thus their effects can not really be comparable to biofeedback. Using the results of biofeedback to support claims about entrainment CDs is misleading. But, hey, who cares when you're out to sell overpriced products to willing consumers?
[This message has been edited by babayada (edited November 12, 2004).]
