A scientist spent 6 months alone in a dark cave to study the effects of extreme isolation

Reuters/Baz Ratner What happens if you spend six months alone in a dark cave? On Valentine’s Day in 1972, geologist-turned-researcher Michel Siffre was about to find out. He kissed his wife goodbye and descended a hundred feet to the aptly named Midnight Cave in Texas. He did not emerge for six months. Those months of isolation and sensory deprivation had a profound effect on his mental and physical health. Ten years earlier, Siffre had been the sole participant in a pioneering study in which ...