Michel Siffre (born 3 January 1939) is a French underground explorer, adventurer and

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts scientific research to advance knowledge in an area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engaged in the philosoph ...

. He was born in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...

, where he spent his childhood. He received a postgraduate degree at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

six months after completing his baccalauréat. He founded the French Institute of

Speleology Speleology is the scientific study of caves and other karst features, as well as their make-up, structure, physical properties, history, life forms, and the processes by which they form ( speleogenesis) and change over time (speleomorphology) ...

() in 1962 (not to be confused with the French Federation of Speleology). Inspired by the

space race The Space Race was a 20th-century competition between two Cold War rivals, the United States and the Soviet Union, to achieve superior spaceflight capability. It had its origins in the ballistic missile-based nuclear arms race between the t ...

, he explored how humans experience time by spending two months cloistered in the abyss of Scarasson ( Punta Marguareis) without time cues on a

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

, from July 1962. He then organized several similar underground experiments for other speleologists. In 1972, Siffre went back underground for a six-month stay in a

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. He found that without time cues, several people including himself adjusted to a 48-hour rather than a 24-hour cycle. The notes of his experiments were used by NASA. Several astronauts reported experiences similar to those experienced in underground experiments such as loss of short-term memory to being isolated from external time references.

Publications

* ''Hors du temps. L'expérience du 16 juillet 1962 au fond du gouffre de Scarasson par celui qui l'a vécue'', Julliard, 1963 * ''Des merveilles sous la terre'', Hachette, cop. 1976 * ''Stalactites, stalagmites'', cop. 1984 * ''L'or des gouffres: découvertes dans les jungles mayas'', Flammarion, 1979 * ''Dans les abîmes de la terre'', Flammarion, 1975 * ''La France des grottes et cavernes'', Privat, 1999 * ''A la recherche de l'art des cavernes du pays Maya'', A. Lefeuvre, 1979 * ''Découvertes dans les grottes mayas'', Arthaud, 1993 * ''Beyond Time,'' Translated by

Herma Briffault Herma Briffault, born Herma Hoyt (1898-1981) was an American ghostwriter and translator of French and Spanish literature.Peter KihssHerma Brifault, 83; Prolific Translator and Ghost Writer ''The New York Times'', August 18, 1981. Life Herma Hoyt w ...

, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1964

Publications

Notes and references

See also

Bibliography