Would you agree to live in a cave for 40 days, surrounded by perfect strangers and without access to a phone, clock or natural light, just for science?
In an extreme experiment, ‘world first’ is to see 15 people do so, to examine the impact of long-term loneliness on the human body with no trace of time.
The French volunteers, who are not compensated for participating, are between 27-50 and include a biologist, a jeweler and a maths teacher.
Sealed in the Lombrives cave in Ariège, the team has four tons of supplies for survival – along with water from the cave and a pedal-driven dynamo for electricity.
Mission leader Christian Clot, who is one of the participants, was inspired to set up the test after seeing how the COVID-19 pandemic brought loneliness into our lives.
However, the researcher has received some criticism in the French media for accepting the title ‘researcher’ as long as he has no formal scientific training.
The ‘Deep Time’ trial began at 20:00 local time on Sunday, March 14 – and, if all goes well, it will end on April 22.
The results of the project could be relevant to future space missions, submarine crews, mining crews and other situations if people were closed for long periods.
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Would you agree to live in a cave for 40 days – surrounded by complete strangers and without access to a phone, clock or natural light – just for science? In an extreme experiment, ‘world first’ is to see 15 people do so, to examine the impact of long-term loneliness on the human body with no trace of time. Pictured: Test team members and reporters descend into the entrance to the Lombrives cave in Ariège on 14 March 2021
The French volunteers (pictured), who are not compensated for taking part, are aged between 27-50 and include a biologist, jeweler and maths teacher.
‘Losing time is the biggest upheaval, and this is the side of Deep Time’ s mission to better understand it, ‘the team said on their website.
‘At certain times, our perception of time has changed – it seems to pass slowly or very quickly, unconnected to the reality of every passing second.’
‘What happens next? How do you find the sense of time? What are the connections between mental and biological time, between the brain and genetic cells? ‘
‘What is the relationship between perceived time and normal time, our clock? How does our brain perceive time? ‘
To answer these questions, the project leaders have stated that the fifteen participants will be surveyed by a team of twelve surface scientists using data collected by a collection of researchers. consciousness.
One of the partners – 29-year-old Arnaud Burel – told Oddity Central that he had agreed to take part in the unconventional experiment to ‘get a taste of this timeless, life-impossible life out with our computers and mobile phones which always remind us of our roles and responsibilities. ‘
However, the biologist said, he agreed that it would not be easy to spend nearly six weeks in a cave with 14 strangers and that he felt that communication would be essential to ensure that their time together went on. smoothly.
In the Lombrives – the largest cave in Europe by size – the team is converted to a constant temperature of 54 ° F (12 ° C) and a humidity of 95 per cent.
In the cave, ‘three separate dwellings have been installed – one for sleeping, one for living and one for exploring the topography of the place, especially the plants and animals,’ said Mr. Clot to Le Parisian.
The trial was funded with a total of € 1.2 million (£ 1 million) from public and private funding sources.
Sealed in the Lombrives Cave in Ariège (pictured), the team has four tons of supplies for survival – along with water from the cave and a pedal-driven dynamo for electricity
Mission leader Christian Clot (pictured), who is one of the participants, was inspired to set up the trial after seeing how the COVID-19 pandemic introduced loneliness into our life
‘This test is the first world,’ neuroscientist Etienne Koechlin of the École Normale Supérieure in Paris reported on the Belgian news site 7sur7.
Hitherto, all such missions have focused on the study of the anatomical rhythms of the body, but never on the effect of this kind of temporal depression on the mental and emotional functions of a son. the man, ‘he said.
More information about the test can be found on the Deep Time website.
The ‘Deep Time’ trial began at 20:00 local time on Sunday, March 14 – and, if all goes well, it will end on April 22. Pictured is the entrance to Lombrives Cave
In Lombrives Cave – the largest in Europe by size – the team is converted to a constant temperature of 54 ° F (12 ° C) and a humidity of 95 per cent.