Woaaa.... scientists can see what you think.....

Woaaa!

That sucks. I dont like it. Boo.

Normally Im all about scientific discovery...but reading someones mind is the biggest violation ever. This technology could be majorly abused.

Don't you watch Heroes.  Reading minds is always good.

Give the technology to me and I will see that it isn't abused.

You wouldnt want to record your dreams? That would be greatt! (as long as no one else gets to see them ><)

Or... all kinds of things! The technology to see what people are thinking is really exciting! (As long as it isnt abused)

well dont get too worried or excited just yet. they have only really found a limited way of decoding what people are looking at, not what we are thinking. right now scientist have a way to see exactly what note (or frequency) you are listening. there are specific points (if you will) in our brain that are activated when we hear certain notes. that's why its so easy for us to hear & remember a melody of a song, no matter what scale the song starts on or rhythm.

Hey that's neat! I don't think I think about anything weird that anyone else thinks about. It could be used to solve crimes maybe. Though I suppose if you DON'T think about it, they can't see it... but there might be ways to influence thoughts that are there to come forth if needed.

Anything involving the brain is always so interesting. :) 

Man... imagine being able to record and watch our dreams when we wake up? :O I mean, I'm sure it'll be a mess of images pulled together, as most dreams are, but it would still be cool. Sometimes we have dreams we wish we didn't wake up from... now we can watch them later. ;) :D

some good books out there on the brain are 'this is your brain on music' & 'the private life of the brain'. altho the music one is much more interesting & an easier read, especially if you are a music fan.

if anybody ever tried to abuse me by invading my thoughts with this technology, i would just starting singing It's a Small World After All in my head

see how they like them apples!

Original Post by azirra:

...but reading someones mind is the biggest violation ever.

 Agreed.  But there are ways to protect yourself.

And Nomo, while a good idea, it's entirely possible that the repeated strains of It's a Small World may not be taken as intelligent resistance and could be used as evidence of insanity.  (not they needed any more in the first place....)

In absence of a really good hat, this might be a more effective image to dwell on to enable your escape.

Original Post by dnrothx:

Don't you watch Heroes.  Reading minds is always good.

Agreed : )

Don't worry just yet. Like what octo-luv said, the jump from what you are looking at to what you are thinking about/imagining is huge. They are doing this reconstruction from V1, which is the very first place in the cortex that sight is represented, and is in reality pretty close to just being a screen at the back of your head where the things you are seeing are projected. So they can tell what you are looking at by doing some very complicated math on images taken from this region... whereas they could save themselves a lot of time and just look at the computer screen in front of you!

There's a figure in the paper where they try to do the same thing in the next two visual processing areas, V2 and V3, and the image is very degraded in V2 and unintelligible in V3.

This is a really really freaking cool study, and don't worry about your rights being taken away. It's not trying to do that.

Original Post by santonacci:

Original Post by azirra:

...but reading someones mind is the biggest violation ever.

 Agreed.  But there are ways to protect yourself.

And Nomo, while a good idea, it's entirely possible that the repeated strains of It's a Small World may not be taken as intelligent resistance and could be used as evidence of insanity.  (not they needed any more in the first place....)

In absence of a really good hat, this might be a more effective image to dwell on to enable your escape.

i intended it as punishment for them, but i see your point

what will that picture do for me?

Original Post by nomoreexcuses:

what will that picture do for me?

 Well, assuming you've built up a resistance and manage to not hypnotize yourself, you can do mind control of your captors the old fashioned way.

Original Post by corduroyfirekills3:

Don't worry just yet. Like what octo-luv said, the jump from what you are looking at to what you are thinking about/imagining is huge. They are doing this reconstruction from V1, which is the very first place in the cortex that sight is represented, and is in reality pretty close to just being a screen at the back of your head where the things you are seeing are projected. So they can tell what you are looking at by doing some very complicated math on images taken from this region... whereas they could save themselves a lot of time and just look at the computer screen in front of you!

There's a figure in the paper where they try to do the same thing in the next two visual processing areas, V2 and V3, and the image is very degraded in V2 and unintelligible in V3.

This is a really really freaking cool study, and don't worry about your rights being taken away. It's not trying to do that.

 yes a very huge jump. i guess the possibility of mind reading is just more provocative & thrilling. scientist can't even agree on what consciousness is.

Original Post by santonacci:

Original Post by nomoreexcuses:

what will that picture do for me?

 Well, assuming you've built up a resistance and manage to not hypnotize yourself, you can do mind control of your captors the old fashioned way.

::giggles::  awesome plan!

santo, in the event of societal upheaval and the forming of rival warring groups, i want to be on your side

I should start building up a resistance now i guess, because i can hypnotize myself just by looking at a snowglobe with automatically swirling glitter.  or at other swirling thing

That's so cool!

Could be that someday the technology advances enough to recover memories that you no longer remember yourself. I'd like to give that a shot. =)

Original Post by nomoreexcuses:

I should start building up a resistance now i guess, because i can hypnotize myself just by looking at a snowglobe with automatically swirling glitter.  or at other swirling thing

Stay away from fractal art until after you've gotten some practice.   

In all seriousness, the implications for the study of brain activity and how it responds to external stimuli, the ability to read complex emotional states could have a far reaching impact on an issue near to my heart and experience - autism.

I've gotten good at reading external cues, but at the same time still not really knowing what's truly going on in my little boy's head - even if he were verbal, the concept of what "scared" means may be too abstract.  How awesome would it be to know how he really feels, and to use that kind of mapping to come with better therapies.

i can that in that instance, the benefits derived from invading the privacy of someone's mind might justify it, since the individual concerned wouldn't really be able to consent or refuse consent? and could reasonably be expected to feel grateful (not sure?) for the improvements in care that would likely result from your greater understanding

but i can think of LOTS of instances in which the slippery slope could deprive people of their most precious, most basic human right - to the privacy inside their own mind (parents who want to know what their teens have been doing for instance)

I was thinking more along the lines of discovering how the brain processes language and interacts with oral motor functions.

agree - that discovery would potentially have tremendous benefit

It's pretty cool, moral objections and the probability of abuse aside.