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Research Lets You Type Words By Thought Alone

Posted by StoneLion on from the put-on-your-thinking-cap dept.

An anonymous reader writes "How about typing on a computer just by thinking about it? The downside is you have to wear a skull cap with electrodes that capture your brain waves like an EEG machine. According to this EE Times story, a team of researchers from Belgium and the Netherlands has presented Mind Speller, a thought-to-text device intended to help people with movement disabilities. The system does rely on a lot of processing on a remote computer, but it is a wireless system. And these thought-to-computer systems have wider applicability than medical support. One of the research groups involved in this development has already looked at wireless electroencephalography (EEG) to enable measures of emotion to be fed back into computer games."

114 comments

  1. Interesting. by clone53421 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The last article that was posted was only about typing individual letters, and of course people were quick to say how useless that was: slow and impractical.

    And of course the researchers thought so too, which was fine because the technology isn’t done yet.

    --
    Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
    1. Re:Interesting. by WrongSizeGlass · · Score: 1

      The downside is you have to wear a skull cap with electrodes that capture your brain waves like an EEG machine.

      I'm guessing it's progress, but I'd end up with documents that were full of "man, this is the 2nd stupidest hat I've ever had to wear at work" repeated over and over again.

    2. Re:Interesting. by clone53421 · · Score: 1

      Only the 2nd stupidest?

      Anyway, I’m sure it will continue to improve, and they’ll obviously have to figure out some way to filter out the thoughts that randomly pass through people’s minds as they’re using this. Although a passing thought may not even trigger this because it would be such a different brain pattern than that shown during the focused concentration of “typing”.

      --
      Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
    3. Re:Interesting. by Volante3192 · · Score: 1

      Man, that lady's got a huge ass.

      Those could be anyone's thoughts!

    4. Re:Interesting. by FuckingNickName · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Thought reading devices are the second most hyped technology I've ever read about.

      (As quantum computing is the second most hyped area of computer science.

      (Do thoughts exist before or after your consciousness has observed them?)
      )

    5. Re:Interesting. by captaindomon · · Score: 4, Insightful

      People won't think it is slow and impractical if they have suffered total paralysis for some reason, and this is their first chance to communicate with the outside world and loved ones. Sure, I'm not going to use it for replacing my keyboard any time soon, but this technology in the right setting will seem so incredibly miraculous it will change people's lives.

      --
      Just because I can hook a shark from a boat, I do no offer to wrestle it in the water.
    6. Re:Interesting. by Jurily · · Score: 1

      the technology isn't done yet

      Thoughts wander. The hands not only input data, they filter it. Unless this thing has something analogous, it's useless and will remain so, no matter how much you can input at a time.

    7. Re:Interesting. by commodore64_love · · Score: 1

      Thought based typing is nice.....

      but I'm looking forward to the Outer Limits' thought-based sex machine. (See season 2.) All you do is THINK the action and it's transmitted over hundreds of miles to your partner in a similar machine who feels the result.

      --
      "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
    8. Re:Interesting. by twidarkling · · Score: 1

      Specifically it detects and interprets what are known as P300 event-related potentials in the EEG-signals of a person that is selecting characters from a display presenting alternate rows and columns of characters.

      It sounds like they haven't made any progress in speed what-so-fucking-ever, they've simply made it more comfortable to wear, and changed the interface very slightly.

      If they want to speed it up, why not use the predictive texting stuff? It's usually fairly accurate, and if it doesn't bring up the word they want, they keep doing the letter-by-letter.

      --
      Canada: The US's more awesome sibling.
    9. Re:Interesting. by ircmaxell · · Score: 2, Insightful

      That could get VERY dangerous... Just imagine if you thought something along the lines of "I'd love to just ram it in her ass". Just remember, it's all fun and games until someone gets a prolapsed rectum...

      --
      If a man isn't willing to take some risk for his opinions, either his opinions are no good or he's no good
    10. Re:Interesting. by joeyblades · · Score: 3, Informative

      Not to worry, it doesn't actually process thought. It just capitalizes on your brain's ability to create certain repeatable patterns. Then you train the device to recognize those patterns. It's a far cry from reading thoughts. In fact, it's much closer to typing... just without using your fingers

    11. Re:Interesting. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      (Do thoughts exist before or after your consciousness has observed them?)

      No

    12. Re:Interesting. by FlyingBishop · · Score: 1

      Seems like even the letter version could be useful if you train it.

      I would expect this sort of technology could be trained by typing, and gradually learn enough that you don't need to move your hands, you just think similarly to how you do when you type.

    13. Re:Interesting. by smidget2k4 · · Score: 1

      This was my initial reaction to it also. Currently, people with total paralysis or "locked in syndrome" may be lucky enough to blink to communicate. In fact, that is how the absolutely wonderful book, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby was written.

      He suffered from locked in syndrome after a car crash and wrote the book by blinking character by character to a nurse. Technology like this could really help people like that, and researchers who want to communicate with people otherwise unable to communicate.

    14. Re:Interesting. by twistedsymphony · · Score: 1

      Only the 2nd stupidest?

      You're right... it's probably more like the 7th stupidest.

      --
      Collector's Edition
    15. Re:Interesting. by TheLink · · Score: 1

      > they'll obviously have to figure out some way to filter out the thoughts that randomly pass through people's minds

      Trivial to solve: they could use escape sequences.

      --
    16. Re:Interesting. by radtea · · Score: 1

      of course people were quick to say how useless that was: slow and impractical.

      Actually some of us said the hype was stupid.

      By thought ALONE, eh?

      So, like, no cables, computers, software, hardware...? All I have to do is think, and my typing appears somewhere, without any intervening, like, STUFF?

      Because that's what "alone" would seem to mean. No one would think it reasonable or honest to say, "Automobile allows people to travel huge distances at high speeds by ARMS ALONE!" even though that's what cruise control does. We'd all recognize that as misleading and stupid.

      So why do we keep seeing the same kinds of claim on /. about these arm/hand/finger replacement technologies?

      --
      Blasphemy is a human right. Blasphemophobia kills.
    17. Re:Interesting. by clone53421 · · Score: 1

      *me rolls eyes*

      No one would think it reasonable or honest to say, "Automobile allows people to travel huge distances at high speeds by ARMS ALONE!"

      No, but perfectly reasonable to say “power steering allows people to drive their car with only the slightest movement of their arms”.

      “Drive their car” implies obvious stuff like the car and a steering wheel by which to drive it. Similarly “type words” implies obvious stuff like a device to display the words (computer) and hardware to interact with you (hat and the box it’s attached to) so that you can type.

      --
      Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
    18. Re:Interesting. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It takes Stephen Hawking something like 17 minutes to put together a sentence (or is it paragraph?) using his "tab" selection system. One shouldn't underestimate the uses of something like this.

    19. Re:Interesting. by CorporateSuit · · Score: 2, Funny

      According to most Web2.0 internet users, ANYTHING that requires thought for input would be considered "useless, slow, and impractial" :)

      --
      I am the richest astronaut ever to win the superbowl.
    20. Re:Interesting. by snspdaarf · · Score: 1

      Cheeseburger and fries, comin' up!

      --
      Why, without your clothes, you're naked, Miss Dudley!
    21. Re:Interesting. by Mashdar · · Score: 1

      I would have a very hard time thinking about every letter I type. I type words, not letters :) Try it right now. Thinking about the letters will get you to forget what your word/sentence/whole thought was.

    22. Re:Interesting. by Qzukk · · Score: 1

      I'm guessing it's progress, but I'd end up with documents that were full of "man, this is the 2nd stupidest hat I've ever had to wear at work" repeated over and over again.

      I suspect that would be an improvement for many reports. Now, if halfway through you got "but at least it's not as stupid as the boss's tie", then you're going to have a problem.

      --
      If I have been able to see further than others, it is because I bought a pair of binoculars.
    23. Re:Interesting. by AmigaMMC · · Score: 1

      Bu think of the possibilities... humanity beyond slashdot might finally have an incentive to form coherent thoughts

    24. Re:Interesting. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The last article that was posted was only about typing individual letters, and of course people were quick to say how useless that was: slow and impractical.

      And of course the researchers thought so too, which was fine because the technology isn’t done yet.

      Long way to go, even if you can "type" in any language. One of our goals will be to create a thought reader that is not language dependent. For instance, this would allow deaf-mutes (from birth) to communicate --have you ever thought what their minds tell them our voices sound like? What do you think they hear themselves sound like in their head?

      There are two other goals beyond this. One is to not have to drill my head to place implants when I want to talk to my pheripheals with no middleman. The ultimate goal is to connect _two_ skullcaps to gain telepathy and thought sharing. That last one will need a whole lot more understanding of how our neurons work. Well, get working now so our grandchildren can start enjoying this tech 100 years from now.

    25. Re:Interesting. by clone53421 · · Score: 1

      For instance, this would allow deaf-mutes (from birth) to communicate --have you ever thought what their minds tell them our voices sound like? What do you think they hear themselves sound like in their head?

      That would be true thought-reading, which this does not do. It just learns what your brain activity looks like when you’re concentrating on a particular thing.

      Deaf-mutes can’t hear, so I imagine they have about as much a concept of sound as blind people have of colour. They don’t hear anything. They don’t know what we sound like, and they don’t know what they sound like either... although I seem to remember hearing something about deaf-mutes learning what the vibrations of sound feel like by placing a hand over the adam’s apple of someone who is talking.

      --
      Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
    26. Re:Interesting. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I agree. Heck, just thinking about punctuation (in sequence with the rest of the words) can trip you up, which is the reason I found that dictation just didn't work for me.

      Similarly, when typing, I run into major problems when I have to think about the individual letters that I'm typing -- I go much faster when I am typing words that I have typed many times before, because I don't have to think "w-o-r-d" -- my fingers just type the entire word as though it were a subroutine.

      (That said, if either were forced to become my main means of communication, I'm sure I'd get used to it.)

    27. Re:Interesting. by Hurricane78 · · Score: 1

      Interesting side node: It will in the process change your view of the world, by creating bigger associations between whatever is stored in the areas where you create those patterns (or in other words: what you think about), thereby changing your character and who you are.

      Yes, this happens with every input in our head. But the problem is that it’s not an input in this case, but a random learning. As opposed to real inputs, where your learning always has a point and a use. (Yes even the stupid lolcat and 4chan.)

      --
      Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.
    28. Re:Interesting. by Anarki2004 · · Score: 1

      I thought the method used by Jason Becker was quite an amazing low-tech solution. They had a board with letters in a grid on it and he would use his eyes to look at different areas of the grid in order to convey a message. The people around him are able to understand him simply by watching his eye movements now (without the assistance of the board to translate). If that wasn't enough, he also writes some astonishing music. This guy is pretty much my hero.

      --
      The teachers will crack any minute, purple monkey dishwasher.
    29. Re:Interesting. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So right now we're at the 'hunt and peck' stage. I'm kind of disturbed to think what 'touch typing' might mean for a device like this.

    30. Re:Interesting. by EdhelDil · · Score: 1

      It could even be very efficient, if coupled with something like "Dasher" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dasher). By choosing just a few 'patterns' you could very easily direct the Dasher program to type for you (using for example just something for "start" "up" "down" "reverse" "finished". And maybe "slower" "faster".)

  2. Horrible horrible idea... by Em+Emalb · · Score: 1, Funny

    On the surface, this sounds shit fuck fantastic, but reality is, I gotta take a crap our brains don't focus my leg itches like that. Well, at least titties mine doesn't.

    --
    Sent from your iPad.
    1. Re:Horrible horrible idea... by sunderland56 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yeah, every time my boss drops by, my browser immediately goes to getoutofmyofficeyoumoron.com.

    2. Re:Horrible horrible idea... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      sex sex Mine titties sex hot receptionist boobies pick up milk sex sex doesn't short skirt boobies either.

    3. Re:Horrible horrible idea... by Em+Emalb · · Score: 1

      I wanted to comment on the wrongness of the moderation this post received, but instead all my brain is thinking is that whoever the douche is that moderated this a troll mod needs their points taken away and needs to get laid something fierce.

      --
      Sent from your iPad.
  3. It makes me cry to read this post by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    BadAnalogyGuy, we used to love you. Oh how the mighty have fallen...

    1. Re:It makes me cry to read this post by ShadowRangerRIT · · Score: 1

      You did? My experience here has been that for every gem, he posts ten posts ranging from subtly off-topic to subtle trolling.

      --
      $_ = "wftedskaebjgdpjgidbsmnjgcdwatb"; tr/a-z/oh, turtleneck Phrase Jar!/; print
    2. Re:It makes me cry to read this post by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Subtle trolling I can handle. In fact, I almost relish it. It is, as often as it is not, a mild combination of funny, insightful, and interesting... and certainly underrated, in my book at least. That is why I read at -1: raw and uncut.

      This, on the other hand, is just plain bad. No redeeming quality to it whatsoever.

    3. Re:It makes me cry to read this post by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      I'm not sure BAG is one person. I haven't done any scientific investigation, but just from what I've read there are at least 3 or 4 different posting styles ranging from true analogies (though bad) through biting sarcasm all the way to actually insightful posts. There is also the type of post above which seems to intend humor but isn't quite as good as the others. He seems to be going through a karma whoring phase now (possibly due to excessive downmods).

      His posts are also night-owl for the most part but sometimes venture well into the day time here in the U.S. I wouldn't be surprised if the BAG "team" was primarily located in the UK or even Australia with other part-timers located elsewhere.

      It's an interesting topic. What does "he" get out of playing this character? How many people are involved in putting on this show for us (presumably for us, that is)?

    4. Re:It makes me cry to read this post by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow, this post /really/ ventures into the realm of conspiracy theory. You do realize that it's not the least bit unlikely for those different posting styles to be affected by a person's moods, right? Some days, he might be a bit on the playful side, while on others he might be a bit brusque. And for the posting hours, maybe he checks the site every now and then before or after work. I know I do that sometimes. To use those as your main supports for your "BAG is really more than one person" theory shows a complete and total inability to conceive of totally rational explanations for something. Occam's razor and all that shit...

  4. Pause might be a problem by ShadowRangerRIT · · Score: 1

    Using this in computer games seems nifty, but I can see some definite issues that it would introduce. Lets say you use emotional feedback to adjust difficulty; you want them challenged but not frustrated. Problem is, if they pause the game, get a snack, and come back, you can't make them resume the same emotional state they had when they paused. When they come back refreshed, the game will assume it isn't challenging them anymore and unleash hell.

    I'm not saying this can't be worked around (wait a couple minutes after a pause before allowing difficulty to adjust), but the fact that human emotional state can't be controlled as precisely as a game controller means that using it in a game means rethinking a lot of existing paradigms.

    --
    $_ = "wftedskaebjgdpjgidbsmnjgcdwatb"; tr/a-z/oh, turtleneck Phrase Jar!/; print
  5. Cool tech by Anarki2004 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I really think this is an amazing bit of technology, I'm just afraid of what it could potentially be turned into. This is not something I would want law enforcement to start practicing. OTOH, it seems to have the potential to help a great deal of people too, so guess you have to take the good with the bad.

    --
    The teachers will crack any minute, purple monkey dishwasher.
  6. Multilingual by Wowsers · · Score: 3, Insightful

    You better not be multilingual, you get stuck on a word in one language, and your thoughts on "oh damn, what's that word, sounds like whatever" gets put into your document as you're trying to remember the damn word you wanted.

    --
    Take Nobody's Word For It.
    1. Re:Multilingual by purpledinoz · · Score: 0, Redundant

      What about when that really hot girl walks by?

      printf("Hello Wor Oh my god, look at that ass. I would really love to... shit, it's being typed out. Delete delete delete

    2. Re:Multilingual by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Multilingual people dont think in language

    3. Re:Multilingual by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My wife occasionally throws out a French or Italian word when she can't think of the English one or when the alternate is a better fit for the concept she wants. I'd say that fits the GP's premise.

  7. I not so sure about this... by Locke2005 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Wouldn't this work a lot like the canine speech synthesizers in "Up", except instead of suddenly going "Squirrel!", it goes "Tits!" all the time?

    --
    I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    1. Re:I not so sure about this... by Rogerborg · · Score: 3, Funny

      Only if the subject is stationary. In a walkby, you'd get a Doppler effect:

      tits tits tits tits tits tits TITS! TITS! ASS! ASS! ass ass ass ass ass ass

      --
      If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
    2. Re:I not so sure about this... by UnknowingFool · · Score: 0

      What if #$^%@! I have *&#^$@ Tourette's Syndrome #&*$@! you #*&^@ insensitive clod?

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    3. Re:I not so sure about this... by Dancindan84 · · Score: 1

      If the subject is stationary talking to me at my desk it would be more along the lines of, "Look at her face. Look at her face. Look at her face. Tits. Tits. Crap... Look at her face. Look at her face. Crap she's looking at my screen" /me is slapped

      --
      "Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much." - Oscar Wilde
    4. Re:I not so sure about this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's not how biofeedback devices work. These types of devices work not by reading our brain, but instead by our brains learning how to broadcast what the devices can read. Our brains are the ones adjusting to the device, not the other way around. So after the initial training period where our brains learn how to generate the correct nervous impulses, it becomes a matter of us thinking what we want to "type."

      There will still be the possibility of distracted typing, as any touch typist can tell you (it's a bizarre feeling when you type an entire sentence that's entirely different from what you intended to type and yet is still complete with no errors in spelling or grammar), but it's not likely to receive every thought we have since our brains still have to have the intention to "type" the words.

    5. Re:I not so sure about this... by c79106428 · · Score: 1

      new era hats

      new era hats

      new era caps

      one industries hats

      Rockstar Energy Hats

      rockstar energy hats

      monster energy hats

      Red Bull Caps

      The Hundreds Hats

      nfl hats

      Supreme Hats

      DC Comics Hats

  8. Yeah, well.. by Pojut · · Score: 1

    ...what I want is to be able to transmit images from my brain onto a computer monitor. I have a TON of (what I think as) really cool and creative images in my head, but completely lack the artistic ability to even begin to sketch/draw/paint them.

    I doubt I'm the only one in this hellishly frustrating situation -_-;;

    --
    Living With a Nerd
    1. Re:Yeah, well.. by RemoWilliams84 · · Score: 1

      Sometimes with images, but usually with music. I'll get a guitar riff or something in my head that I know sounds awesome, but even though I can play guitar a little, I can't get that sound through the guitar. A way of recording the audio in my head would be awesome.

      --
      "I don't have to think. I only have to do it. The results are always perfect, but that's old news." - Meat Puppets
    2. Re:Yeah, well.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I feel the same way and I think that it would be cool for music too. Also thinking... man I wonder how this girl looks naked and magically get it on your pc screen :P

    3. Re:Yeah, well.. by mcgrew · · Score: 1

      The pictures in your head are what matter; the rest can be learned. These days you don't even need eye-hand coordination, since we have programs like Photoshop. Take some classes at your local university or community college, I'm sure they have an art department.

      Coming up with an idea is the hard part, exersizing it is easy (which is why I don't have more journals than I do -- I have to wait for the muse to hit).

      --
      Free Martian Whores!
    4. Re:Yeah, well.. by Pojut · · Score: 1

      Eh, I've gotten over it. I much prefer making music anyway...it's difficult to find the specific kind of music I want to listen to, so I figured making it would be the best solution. I played French Horn, Clarinet, and Piano when I was younger, plus I still have full retention of how to read music and the actual structure of music creation, so it didn't take much time or investment to get up and running.

      It's served me well enough...I would love to write the scary short stories in my head, and I would love to draw the weird images in my head, but learning how to do either would detract from the time I spend making music. My interests are already too far-ranging, adding any form of creation other than music and the mild amount of writing I do would leave me with zero free time, I think.

      --
      Living With a Nerd
  9. woops! by newdsfornerds · · Score: 1

    While logged in a root I thought, "rm -rf /" Damn.

    --
    Damping absorbs vibrations. Dampening is caused by moisture.
  10. Research? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So, if I do research, I can type with my thoughts alone?

    What if I'm not a researcher? I still have to use a keyboard?

  11. type by PENIS thought eh? by blai · · Score: 1

    That'd explain those college SEX essays where paragraphPORNs have random words inside a sentence.

    --
    In soviet Russia, God creates you!
  12. Mmmmmm... by Walterk · · Score: 1

    Booooobiiiieeees!!

    --

    "If anyone needs me, I'm in the angry dome."
  13. I've sex been testing this system by JamesP · · Score: 1

    girls and it works babes quite well beer

    --
    how long until /. fixes commenting on Chrome?
  14. God help those with ADHD. by 0100010001010011 · · Score: 5, Funny

    I really don't think that shit minimize slashdot, boss No i was just working on that TPS Report you wante ok, gone this technology has too much use beyond drop the pencil drop the pencil the physically impairedPERIOD bend at the hips bend at the hips I'm sure that Hawking would love to be able to http://www.engadget.com/ Sweet! new Android phone I wonder if I should switch. http://verizon.com damn nothing is affordable http://att.com Damn it. WTF. Why do we get raped on these prices ALT-TAB Vector Canape. where was I. Oh yeah trying to record data on that Crap forgot about that slashdot post I was making. I think that if they could speed it up so that it could keep up with the hrm that smells good. I wonder what is for lunch normal mind it would be great. The soft wear damn it, no ware ware would have to keep track it's wait, I thank that's only for it is. Um its homophones and other things that were similar.

    1. Re:God help those with ADHD. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The one day I don't have mod points.

      Bravo, sir. Bra - hey look at those awesome 36D tits!

  15. I've been using this for a while. by Fauxbo · · Score: 1

    Boobs I've been Boobs using this Boobs for a while Boobs and it does Boobs pretty well Boobs. But it Boobs sometimes takes longer Boobs to go back and Boobs edit my writing.

    So I don't bother.

    Boobs.

    1. Re:I've been using this for a while. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow you are both funny and original. Its as if I haven't seen this gag already 50 times in this thread.

    2. Re:I've been using this for a while. by petrus4 · · Score: 1

      Yes, but I also feel that this was the most polished implementation, for some reason. If I had mod points, this one would get Funny, and the rest would get Redundant.

  16. My Latest Project by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    B......O....T .....N..... E..... T.....

    l..a..u..n..c..h..e..d
    a..g..a..i..n..s..t..

    B..i..l..l.. G..a. t..e..s..'

    N..u..c..l..e..a..r.. R..e..a..c..t..o..r..

    Yous At M.I.T.,
    K. Trout

  17. wonderful by Trailer+Trash · · Score: 1

    It'll be far easier than typing with one hand.

    --
    Do you have ESP?
  18. It may let you type by will alone... by Rhacman · · Score: 2, Funny

    but will it set your mind in motion?

    --
    Account -> Discussions -> Disable Sigs
    1. Re:It may let you type by will alone... by Tekfactory · · Score: 2, Funny

      Nope,

      Still Will Alone that you set your thoughts in motion, still the Blood of Sapho, Diet Coke or Mountain Dew that the thoughts aquire speed.

  19. wait... by Moheeheeko · · Score: 0

    ..would it make ACI art of the women i think about?

  20. Every thing I type hurts by Maxo-Texas · · Score: 1

    so this would be wonderful.

    Bursitis in right thumb, carpal tunnel both hands. nerve damage from chemo.

    I can type- but it's like level "2" (of 10) pain, every keystroke.

    I looked into the NIA and have used voice software.

    --
    She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
    1. Re:Every thing I type hurts by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      If you use this and write too much, instead of RSI, you'll get a headache.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
  21. Awesome! by tthomas48 · · Score: 1

    I can't wait for them to get it hooked up to my iPod so I can write while I jog. I don't care about silly hats if I can transcribe my thoughts. I realize I'll need to edit the output, but that's a small price to pay.

  22. Writing business letters by SnarfQuest · · Score: 1

    Dear Sirs [porn]

    I would like to enquire about your [porn] new line of [porn] fasteners for [porn] light duty fabric [porn][porn][porn]. I would like to [porn] get [porn] samples and estimated costs [porn] ffor these fasteners [porn]. Please call me [porn][porn] at your earliest opportunity [porn]. ...

    --
    Who would win this election: Andrew Weiner vs Andrew Weiner's weiner.
  23. One thing this story has made me realise... by petrus4 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ...is just how little I apparently think about sex, relative to the general population. There is a period of roughly once every 24 hours where the subject comes up, for the most part, and that is it. If I go outside, and happen to run into some women, it might be more than that, but on days when I stay in, it genuinely doesn't.

    I guess I'm just really abnormal.

    1. Re:One thing this story has made me realise... by jpmorgan · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Or perhaps you're perfectly normal and the whole 'men can't not think about sex all the time' is misandrist bullshit.

    2. Re:One thing this story has made me realise... by AnonGCB · · Score: 1

      +1, though probably closer to every 6 hours. Still, not nearly as often as these comments would indicate.

      --
      http://CryoLANparty.com/ A lan I'm staff on!
    3. Re:One thing this story has made me realise... by mcgrew · · Score: 1

      Indeed; someone should mod you up. Those obvious jokes (except the first one) should be modded "redundant".

      --
      Free Martian Whores!
    4. Re:One thing this story has made me realise... by sowth · · Score: 1

      Indeed. While men have high hormone levels as teenagers, women have the same high hormone levels in their 30s. Men don't have more obsession with sex compared to women overall, they just have their "peak" earlier.

      I suppose you could get your "revenge" in your 30s by treating them the way they did to you in your teenage years, but it is all stupid.

    5. Re:One thing this story has made me realise... by Hurricane78 · · Score: 1

      Well, the thing is: There is not much stimulation when you’re alone in your basement.
      If you ever get a GF, or go outside... or even both at the same time (*gasp*)... that will change. ^^

      --
      Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.
  24. Still just typing by SiliconEntity · · Score: 1

    Amusing comments but the reality is that this is still the same old P300. You concentrate on a letter, they flash different letters on the screen for about 30 seconds, and it makes a guess at what letter you were thinking of. Then if it's right you go on to the next letter. Super super slow. Eye blink signals are probably just as fast. And if you can't use your eyes you probably can't use P300. I think there have been some studies trying to extract P300 signals from audio cues but they have not been too successful.

  25. Wrong title by Yvanhoe · · Score: 4, Informative

    You can not write words by thought alone. This device allows to (painstakingly at a very slow speed) type letters. This is a great stuff but this is not the device you are looking for. This is mostly for disabled people.

    --
    The Wise adapts himself to the world. The Fool adapts the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the Fool.
    1. Re:Wrong title by mcgrew · · Score: 1

      You can not write words by thought alone. This device allows to (painstakingly at a very slow speed) type letters.

      So does using a keyboard if you've never used one before.

      --
      Free Martian Whores!
    2. Re:Wrong title by rdnetto · · Score: 1

      If they could they could scale the tech down a bit, maybe build it into a hat, combine it with some kind of HUD (either in the form of glasses or contacts), you'd have a true wearable computer.
      The low typing speed is a small price to pay for something that cool/useful.

      --
      Most human behaviour can be explained in terms of identity.
  26. Gives a whole new meaning to.... by jda104 · · Score: 1

    'Gives a whole new meaning to "Freudian slip."

    1. Re:Gives a whole new meaning to.... by lwsimon · · Score: 1

      What's wrong with the old definition?

      "When you say one thing, but mean your mother"?

      --
      Learn about Photography Basics.
  27. "Tits!" would be fine... by denzacar · · Score: 3, Funny

    Watch out for that guy whose text is riddled with "DIE!", "DIE MOTHERFUCKER!", "I HATE YOU ALL!" and "ONE DAY YOU WILL ALL BURN!".

    He brings a heavy looking sports-bag in the office one day - find a reason to quickly step outside.

    --
    Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
    1. Re:"Tits!" would be fine... by Foobar+of+Borg · · Score: 1

      He brings a heavy looking sports-bag in the office one day - find a reason to quickly step outside.

      If you get enough people to do that, he could wind up like this guy.

      --
      Similar to the upcoming US election results
    2. Re:"Tits!" would be fine... by Hurricane78 · · Score: 1

      A reason? By the time you came up with it, it’s already too late.
      Oh, and even a single gas bottle can wreck the whole house, while fitting in that sports bag. So unless you step out of the whole building, you will be one of those who aren’t liberated by death, but still alive under the rocks for a slow and painful death.

      Better just make a quick run. You will have enough to think up an excuse when nothing happened and you came back.
      (Protip: Raising you phone to your ear and running outside while saying hello always is a quick solution.)

      --
      Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.
  28. Select all by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It will be so much easier to think "let’s set so double the killer delete select all" than to say it.

  29. Tourette's Syndrome by spammeister · · Score: 1

    This would be an interesting device indeed for those paralyzed with sudden, repetitive, stereotyped thoughts.

    --
    I tried to think of a good sig, and this wasn't it.
  30. I had an eeg before... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    My results from my previous eeg would have been: Nice breasts^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hbutt^H^H^H^Hweather! fflush(stdout);

  31. Shotgun of words by LoudMusic · · Score: 1

    The image I see for me using this would just be a shotgun blast of words spewing onto the screen without any particular form or direction. It takes so much control for me to just type a sentence without other thoughts crossing into the stream of words. Without the physical filter of selectively typing words it would become incoherent babble almost instantaneously.

    Damn that was a workout.

    --
    No sig for you. YOU GET NO SIG!
  32. What psycho mod said troll? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Troll? Really? Mods, either you think it's funny and should mod it that way, or you don't and should leave it alone.

  33. Back to the Future by cakelly · · Score: 1

    Marty McFly: Hey, Doc Brown? Emmet Brown: Don't say a word! Come in. Marty: Hey, Doc. It's Marty! Doc: I don't want to know who you are. Put this on...

  34. Think about what I type? by PPH · · Score: 1

    Damn! The next thing you know, they'll expect me to read TFA before posting.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  35. No emotions into my RPGs thanks by Drethon · · Score: 1

    I want to play someone else with different emotions in those games, not myself...

  36. Clinical use for misdiagnosed "comatose" patients? by bughunter · · Score: 1

    I guess if you're Rom Houben, you'd have a legitimate need for one of these things.

    I mean, someone like Dr Steven Laureys would presumably come in, attach the electrode cap to your head, post the operating instructions on the ceiling over your bed, and leave you alone with it. After a few hours, if you've typed out "OMG Help Me I'm trapped and I can't move -- oh and please scratch my nose!" then you're not comatose.

    --
    I can see the fnords!
  37. Backspace by casals · · Score: 2, Funny

    How does it work? "The brown dog jumped over the lazy fo no wait that's wrong no dammit erase it no don't write erase no no you no erase e ra se back go back backspace erase it oh era no you fucking piece of shit just erase the fucking thing oh gosh how do you start again new control n new document create new fuck work thats it Im taking off this fuck--"

    --
    AT &F1DT0,T0800665544 - Real men, real help desk support.
  38. Let's see, by Bromskloss · · Score: 1

    Should I comment on this story? Nah, it's not so important, what I have to say, anyway.

    --
    Swedish plasma phys. PhD student; MSc EE; knows maths, programming, electronics; finance interest; seeks opportunities
    1. Re:Let's see, by Bromskloss · · Score: 1

      Hey! Someone must have hacked my account and posted with it! >-( Someone in this very room, even, since they heard what I was think...... !!!!!!!!

      --
      Swedish plasma phys. PhD student; MSc EE; knows maths, programming, electronics; finance interest; seeks opportunities
  39. welcome, editor by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I just thought I would be polite and welcome our new editorial overland, StoneLion. Here's hoping he doesn't turn out to be another kdawson. ; )

  40. I want my S.Q.U.I.D. by Skratchez · · Score: 1

    I just know that training my computer to recognize words in my mind would end up with me juxtaposing all of my brain farts into a completely unusable jumble. Or it would train me to clarify my internal monologue (dialogue?) so I made sense to myself. One of those. And a lot of proofreading would be mandatory for everything I "typed" with this.

  41. Great Invention! by AmigaMMC · · Score: 1

    We could finally understand Stephen Hawkins and find out the secrets of the universe.

  42. Dreams? by Psmylie · · Score: 1

    What would be cool is if they made this sensitive enough, and trained someone well enough, that they could use it to communicate while dreaming.
    Of course, all you'd see is line after line of "The blue fish is mellooooow... How's that snarker, Mr. Handle? Where did I leave my other lung..." and the like, but it would still be fascinating.

    --

    psmylie's dictionary: Godzillion (noun) Any number large enough to destroy Tokyo

  43. They'll get the form factor down... by nilbog · · Score: 1

    and the surgery to implant it into the base of your skull is so painless it's no wonder I'm number 1!

    http://www.yzzerdd.com/

    --
    or else!
  44. Sweet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I think this is really FUCK great! Always wanted to PUSSY be able to type with my SEX mind!

  45. If this tech is available now by cavebison · · Score: 1

    why hasn't Stephen Hawking been using it?

    Surely he'd be the best advertising for them?

    Mainly from just using it, of course, not from what he says with it.

  46. Okay, so what does the dead salmon have to say? by VShael · · Score: 1

    Or any of the comatose patients which "facilitators" tell us are really alive and conscious?

  47. Eye tracking can do better by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    As this technology relies on the user focusing on letters you can be faster and more relieable with simple eye tracking.

  48. If _research_ let you type by thought alone... by Anubis+IV · · Score: 1

    ...then I'd have my thesis done by now. At least, that's what I keep telling myself.