The Hive Mind Project is exploring what happens in the brains of people when they are sharing a powerful experience. Does a group or crowd of people who are “in one mind” transform into a single cognitive system like bees in a hive, as the phrase suggests? And do separate brains become entrained with each other, blurring the normal distinction between individuals and creating a communal intent?
We are using EEG brain monitoring to test this idea, starting with people in the audience of a major dramatic event, the latest production from Theatre de Complicite, The Encounter.
Hive Mind project leader Rita Carter explains here how it came about.