Dr Dickson Lai of The Dickson Lab opens up to Naressa Khan about the miracles of tracing and reversing psychological blockages using our own voice
AMERICAN economist Eric Beinhocker once said: “The hallmark of science is not its ability to forecast the future, but its ability to explain things.”
The quote rang especially true the day I met Dr Dickson Lai, founder of The Dickson Lab. Chief among his work is EmoWave, a voice technology that gauges and maps out a person’s level of emotional intelligence and behavioural patterns.
Dr Lai believes that he can change the world, one voice at a time. Literally. He says, “Emotional intelligence is what drives a person. Whenever we are aware of our emotions, we can create more possibilities. The answers are stored in our voice.”
In the case of life situations perceivably awry or unbefitting for the observer, negative emotions can emerge in a split second and cause undesirable outcomes. “Accidents and crimes can happen because of the split-second change of emotions. Therefore, emotions are the fundamentals of the being of a person,” Lai said.
In school, we were always told that our thoughts govern our behaviours. “Yet, our emotions will always override our thoughts,” he mused.
At The Dickson Lab, the trace of our deepest emotional recesses appears when we speak into a signature EmoWave microphone that records what Lai refers to as “triggers”. The triggers are then translated into readable conclusions by a specially designed analytics software. In short, your innermost, hidden issues can be brought to light in just five minutes, thanks to the five-year-long research and development backboning EmoWave’s technology.
“Contrary to people’s initial belief, the microphone does not record what a patient says but, rather, the high and low points of a sound wave. And a human voice contains layers of sound waves. Each has countless emotional triggers,” Lai explained. “Imagine how much data about ourselves is stored inside, waiting to be understood.”
THE STARTING POINT
A former management consultant who travelled the world assisting corporations with data analytics, Lai has always had the affinity for translating binary information into perceivable semantic meanings.
It was not until his 9-year-old son was diagnosed with ADHD seven years ago that his world changed and his love for data took an unexpected course.
Lai recalls, “My ex-wife sent him to a childcare centre for the mentally disabled. Back then, I had to travel a lot for my work. So whenever I was around, I would pick him up, and my heart would break. I’d always ask myself, is my son’s condition this extreme?”
The awareness and care surrounding the condition were not up to the level existing today, much to Lai’s dismay. But the lack of resources did not deter him. In fact, it encouraged him to find his own means of understanding psychological issues.
Thus the birth of The Dickson Lab — today based in Subang Jaya — which later gave way to the EmoWave program. One need only read his book Surfing the Brainwave, published after his receipt of a PhD in Philosophy from The University of Entreprenology, to grasp the magnitude of his progress.
By the time the book came about, Lai was already well-versed with neurofeedback, a type of biological information retrieved from real-time exhibitions of brain activity and used to culture conscious self-regulation.
On EmoWave’s concrete effectiveness, he says, “The entire program is a combination of neuroscience, biology and behavioural science. Whatever it detects and reads is literally coming from your organic material. From there, we can identify all the information you carry, conscious or unconscious, before giving your entire emotional intelligence blueprint for you to reflect on.”
Depending on your own reception towards your inner discovery, a prescription of EmoPill — an audio file containing a tuned version of your voice waves — can be given to help harmonise inner resonance. Think of it as sound therapy, if not a cool way to self-talk.
Hinting at the Jungian psychology of the shadow self, wherein one’s darker aspects are disowned and unacknowledged, Lai says, “The best precaution, I’d say, is to be open and willing to acknowledge the journey that you experience. Your body never really forgets your experiences. You have to acknowledge them, or they will become blockages.”
CONSTANT PROGRESS
Although it is truly homegrown, the EmoWave program has been well received in Thailand, Cambodia, and South Africa. At the same time, China and the Philippines are emerging in the horizon.
On Malaysia’s slower pace, Lai says, “Malaysia is a comfortable country. We have all this luxury and food around, compared with the other countries. Yet we tend to chase after career fulfillment and monetary satisfaction even more. I would say that the awareness here is very high, but true change is a matter of really taking action and doing something.”
That said, Lai has high hopes for the Malaysian psychology industry. He believes that it’s a matter of time before key players and the general public alike realise the importance of adapting to the present tech age in bettering the entire paradigm.
Asked how EmoWave can accelerate, if not revolutionise, the psychiatric landscape in the country, Lai contends, “With it, you not only get accurate insight into a patient’s makeup but you can also cut short the first part of a therapy session, where an exchange of questions and answers usually take place. When this happens, you save a lot of time and minimise potential biases.”
The three main factors that influence and shape our behaviours are our environment, our education, and diet. With that in mind, Lai believes that Malaysians can improve their overall mental health by being more privy to their surroundings, and educate themselves on the wiring of the human brain, also eat better.
And the best remedy yet? “Go into nature, get connected with the earth. Understand how the ecosystem works, because that will put a lot of light on the interconnection between your mind and your body.”
At the moment, Lai’s main focus is on building a team of practitioners with the hope of stimulating emotional intelligence in more Malaysians. “My goal now is to let others see the value in it ...and in their own voices.”