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Brain Controlled Computing a Reality
pchernyakov writes "Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems told attendees at the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation annual conference that a 25-year-old quadriplegic with wires run from 100 tiny sensors implanted in his brain and out to a computer can use his thoughts to control a computer well enough to operate a TV, open e-mail and play Pong with 70% accuracy."
Will this make the headaches better or worse?
When did the future switch from being a promise to a threat? -C. Palahniuk
Do I have to be disabled to get this?
I've long held that if someone were to come to me with the offer to wire up a fibre interface to my brain I would be one of the first in line to get wetware / hybrid / augmented computing / whatever installed in my head.
-nB
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It is interesting, however because even though your reference was most likely meant to be humerous. I would submit that something like this would be somewhat akin to the birth of flight or even similar in many ways to SpaceShipOne in the pioneering first steps toward commercial spaceflight.
Quite possibly even an eventual route to the elusive "fountain of youth" once machines can be manufactured to mimic human bodies. Because if you think of it- a human body is nothing more than a fantasticaly complex machine.
....move along....nothing to see here....
this is what makes the brain so powerful. it builds itself as needs be. The neurons that form pathways to move yrou hands, can just as easily learn to manage other body parts. I remember my sister who is a research scientist showing pictures of nuerons before and after trials. where they would paralyze a rat in a certain area then the rat woudl learn to walk with it's limited capacity. then looking on the nueeron pathways that formed in responce to learning the new task was incredible.
It's got to be way easier to extend the life span of just one organ when you don't have to worry about keeping the rest of your body alive, right?
Well, for any other organ, yes.
For the brain?
Sadly, although humans usually die of some other critical organ (ie, heart) failing, our brains still steadily deteriorate as we age.
By about age 150, we'd all have the mental capacity of broccoli. Now, you might think, "sure, 150 beats beats 80", but consider the bigger problem - Immortal 150+ year old broccoli-controlled mech suits running around your local farmers' market. Do we really want that, for a gain of a few extra years?
I think not.