The Long Road

06/26/2004 Archived Entry: "Speculation: part 1."

Read this first.

At it's current stage this technology seems limited to something like pressing cursor keys on the keyboard or moving a mouse around, but further developed, this could go very far.

The article is in the Video Games category, and indeed its applications in gaming are fairly obvious. Being able to direct characters on screen by merely thinking about their actions should be a great improvement over controlling with some kind of input device. This opens up gaming to no longer being about feats of manual dexterity but actual strategy. How often have I lost a game because I couldn't click as fast as the other guy?

In a broader scope, this can essentially change the way we relate to technology altogether. If a person can move a cursor around by thinking about it, it seems like a simple extension to go from that to moving a wheelchair, and then a car. The basics are similar - an object on a 2 dimensional plane. Of course, there would have to be a way to simulate tactile feedback, as there is no way to drive safely and effectively without it.

If we can then be more precise and isolate language or even how we interact with a keyboard we could type at the speed of thought. Imagine computing using only your mind, instead of clicking on a inactive window to bring it to the foreground you only have to focus on it, or look at it. Copying and pasting text without manually highlighting anything.

But that's all about interacting with a computer in front of you, what if you had a computer with you at all times. In your brain. Instead of having to look at your IM client and thinking of words to type out you simply think of something you want to say and who you want to say it to and your connection to a computer instantly relays your words into the other person's mind? Telepathy. As users become more acquainted with transmitting thoughts using language, it would not take long before primal ideas and blunt emotions which can not be properly described using language can be expressed to one another. It would not take too many generations before we found that communicating with the purity of thought was superior to using language. And wouldn't it be cool if instead of visiting someone's blog, one could simply browse the other person's exposed consciousness?

Of course, this requires that the communication from brain to hardware be two-way. Information needs to arrive into the brain somehow, leading us to Matrix-like downloads of data. We relate to information through our 5 senses, what if instead of reading a book with our eyes all we had to do was "download" it and "read" it with our minds? Or better yet, have the contents of the book directly inscribed into our brain's storage facilities.

Best of all though, is having the precision and power of a processor with which you can directly interact at all times. You can have a calculator constantly at your disposal. The benefit of a picture perfect memory stored on hard drive, along with textbooks worth of information. Education would take a completely different turn as everyone would be able to access information more quickly than surfing the web at all times.

Replies: 8 comments

But then we'd be like cyborgs...

Posted by Dave @ 06/27/2004 02:03 AM EST

Resistance is futile!

Posted by Anonymous @ 06/27/2004 11:10 AM EST

Neat article.

Heh, you'll be able to lose games to the other guy because you couldn't *think* as quickly as him. ;)

I'm really looking forward to leaving the mouse and keyboard to spare my hands, but that's probably a far way into the future -- and what kind of weird surgery does it involve?

Also, life would still suck -- they've only managed to isolate the movement -- meaning you'd have to *imagine* your hand pressing down the 'e' key to have an 'e'.. seems like typing wouldn't be all that much faster until they could somehow extract where words are in our brain and put sensors there. Unlikely to happen soon.

The leap between telepathy and what doctors can do now is huge :) but it seems like it could be a lot of fun. 'course, you'd have all kinds of idiots on the brainwaves, complaining about how the guy in front just cut him off, or asking for an answer on a test (well, I suppose you'd have to unhook yourself to take a test).

The funny thing is, we're already walking around with a computer in our heads.. :) Just not powerful in the same way as the computers we interact with. I've been wondering why our brains can't just do sheer computation like addition on its own, without the serial part of our brain having to think about it.

Fascinating topic, very exciting, although currently all I want is a computer I can talk to so I can order up my fav tunes without moving.

Posted by Arshwana @ 06/28/2004 09:44 AM EST

if you wouldn't have to physically read a book, and could just download it and "read" it in your mind ... would you still have to learn how to read in the conventional sense? or would this be a skill that would become obsolete?

it kinda scares me ... i don't wanna be a computer!

Posted by melpie @ 06/28/2004 09:51 AM EST

melpie, the way that cognitive scientists view humans is AS computers. You ARE a computer. So, erh.. :) Just think of it as adding components and outsourcing. ;)

Posted by Arshwana @ 06/30/2004 09:35 PM EST

but i don't want to be a computer! *pouts*

i can't even count in binary!

Posted by melpie @ 07/05/2004 02:00 PM EST

There are 10 types of people in the world, those who can count in binary... and those who can't...

Haha, I thought it was funny...

Love,
DJ Kimothy

Posted by djkimothy @ 07/06/2004 12:13 PM EST

monkeys!

Posted by Rayne @ 07/17/2004 01:08 AM EST