The esoteric heritage in …..

Believe it or not, of all people most expect me to have tattoos (most veterans do), but I don’t have any.
 
Believe it or not, of all people most expect me to have tattoos (most veterans do), but I don’t have any.
In my misspent youth I was basically a biker.... and I never got a tattoo either, However a lot of guys I knew had them and one use to wake up with them and not remember where he got them
 
Popliteal fossa 😉

I have this odd thing where, at times, even minor taps or strokes on my back and back of my arms are very unpleasant. Being backslapped is awful!
A nurse told me the back tattoo would hurt less because of a lower number of nerves? Anyway, that was unadulterated horse pucky, it took me to places of discomfort and endurance I had never been before. I had a very deep meditative experience during one long session that really felt like an achievement, but ultimately I have been unable to repeat it.
 
I have a relatively small tattoo. Bicept and shoulder. tattooing on bicept was painful but not unbearable, pain meds helped. But part on shoulder where muscle was thin and was over bone was bad evenwith meds. totaled only 20 hours in 4 sittings. I am a wimp.
I never take meds or drink before tattoo. I’m there for the whole thing. It’s the healing itch part that’s by far the worst for me. The stingles. (hey that’s a good band name).
 
I have a relatively small tattoo. Bicept and shoulder. tattooing on bicept was painful but not unbearable, pain meds helped. But part on shoulder where muscle was thin and was over bone was bad evenwith meds. totaled only 20 hours in 4 sittings. I am a wimp.
Not a wimp, that **** hurts, all of them.
 
A nurse told me the back tattoo would hurt less because of a lower number of nerves? Anyway, that was unadulterated horse pucky, it took me to places of discomfort and endurance I had never been before. I had a very deep meditative experience during one long session that really felt like an achievement, but ultimately I have been unable to repeat it.
There are fewer nerves per unit area on the back but that isn’t the only factor in pain perception. In fact, you cannot tell if you’re being touched lightly by two or one pointy thing (two point discrimination) if they’re less than 5-7cm apart! But each nerve is plugged into multiple sensory neurones in the brain’s sensory cortex (which is located near the vertex of the head). So one back neurone activates several brain cells and this is perceived as being a larger stimulation.

I’m sure you’re asking why we have this arrangement. It’s a throwback to our quadrupedal common ancestor. The back of the body was important in gathering touch sensory information as it crept through the undergrowth: branches and twigs rubbing against it’s back, parasites, predators etc falling onto their back to eat them…it was the most exposed part of their body so a rich sensory innervation was advantageous.

Blame that little bas*ard for your painful tattooing experience!
 
I am not offended by tattoo's.
You should be as it is forbidden-

Leviticus 19:28 ‘You shall not make any cuts in your body for the dead (?) nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves: I am the Lord.’ 😑
 
There are fewer nerves per unit area on the back but that isn’t the only factor in pain perception. In fact, you cannot tell if you’re being touched lightly by two or one pointy thing (two point discrimination) if they’re less than 5-7cm apart! But each nerve is plugged into multiple sensory neurones in the brain’s sensory cortex (which is located near the vertex of the head). So one back neurone activates several brain cells and this is perceived as being a larger stimulation.

I’m sure you’re asking why we have this arrangement. It’s a throwback to our quadrupedal common ancestor. The back of the body was important in gathering touch sensory information as it crept through the undergrowth: branches and twigs rubbing against it’s back, parasites, predators etc falling onto their back to eat them…it was the most exposed part of their body so a rich sensory innervation was advantageous.

Blame that little bas*ard for your painful tattooing experience!
Wow ! Thank you! That is incredibly informative. In fact the tattoo machine used for outlining my back has 15 needles to get those big bold lines. Single needle is for fine line detail. Shading or packing in color can be more painful because of having to go over and over the same spot to achieve saturation.
 
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