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UW Researchers Demonstrate First Direct Communication Between Human Brains
An anonymous reader writes "Opening a fascinating set of ethical and legal issues, researchers at UW Seattle have demonstrated the first device to allow direct communication between two humans' brains. Effectively, they allowed a subject to play a video game with another subject's fingers. For now, the communication is uni-directional, though they intend to extend it to bi-directional. EEG sensors are attached to a subject's motor cortex to detect 'motor imagery' — imagined hand movement, in this case. That activity is translated and sent over a computer network where it triggers a Transcranial Magnetic Stimulator (TMS) located over Subject 2's motor cortex. Effectively, Subject 1 imagines moving their hand, and Subject 2's hand moved."
...bring on the Kaiju, ultimate dutch rudder, we need a young priest and an old priest... ...did I miss any obvious ones?
to the "Stop Hitting Yourself" game.
there was a rat under a chef's hat, right?
And using a telephone isn't contacting someone directly? Even as far as pedantry goes, that's pretty pedantic.
of inet pr0n!
Subject 1 imagines moving their hand, and Subject 2's hand moved.
I think I saw this premise in an adult movie once
Laughter is the Spackle of the Soul.
Next time I murder a dude I am total using this as my defense. "But your honor its science, you can't argue with science otherwise you would have to toss all the blood evidence" Yeah, they don't let me talk in court anymore...
If someone tries to kill you, you try and kill them right back
Have you considered the very real posibility that brain may not have proper mandatory authorization and intput verification and anyone with local access can say stop your heart?
Moderating "-1, Disagree" is simple censorship. Have the guts to post your opinion. -- Spazmania (174582)
Sally: Mom, Bobby is moving my hand, tell him to stop.
Bobby: I'm not moving it.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
A six pack, a bottle of Tequila and some mescaline works just as well. No wires.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
Person ignorant of the science and engineering uses his ignorance to declare it isn't impressive.
Learn to think.
Hint: It's as impressive as hell.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
I thought it was you, just trying out a new body!
Can they record and save the impulse patterns? I can see it now - just pop on my brain-stimulating hat, hit play, and I can finally Dougie!
Everything is better with chainsaws.
Okay, let's just speculate about all the ways this could be misused:
*-- Vending machines that make you reach into your pocket and pull out money whenever you pass by them.
*-- Rich handicapped people buying time on poor people's bodies.
*-- Rich people buying time on poor people's bodies, in order to do criminal things.
*-- Police officers with a 'lay down with your hands behind your back' raygun.
I'm sure I missed a few, any suggestions?
Genocide Man -- Life is funny. Death is funnier. Mass murder can be hilarious.
Would this help people with locked-in syndrome? Would they be able to use someone else's hand to act? to communicate?
Which one of the two people would have to have Parkinson's to make the resulting hand movements irregular?
Etc., Etc.
-- hendrik
You know those magnets that can shut down a portion of your brain if you put the plate right against your skull?
This explains those people walking down the street wearing headphones.
Have gnu, will travel.
Yes but once the computer can record the signals and replay them without the controlling human this could get interesting
Your'e all thinking it, I just said it for you
An example that is flawed for sure, what about a situation where someone needs emergency surgery and this could be performed by proxy by a willing bystander? There are definitely potential uses for a mature version of this technology, most of them are quite scary though. I do not like the idea of this being done to me. In reality though I think for all the 'save the day' scenarios in which this could be useful it would have to be a ubiquitous technology, now that's pretty damn unlikely even if it does mature so that would leave specialised applications. Any takers?
In a cybernetic fit of rage she pissed off to another age...
All those who believe in telekinesis, raise my hand.
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