almquist@brahms.udel.edu (Squish) (03/31/91)
Looking through my collection of old papers/articles/etc I've come across an
article written by G. Harry Stine titled "The Bionic Brain" from OMNI, 1979.
Perhaps one of the first glimpses of a better tomorrow? In this article he
talked about:
CY - a "cybernetic interface device" that allowed him not only to connect to
the Library of Congress and New York Public Library but was also an
intelligence amplifier. Cy was capable of many feats - responding to his
thoughts to retrieve information, take notes (replacing a secretary), help
organize his thoughts into coherent paragraphs, etc. The article goes on to
describe a typical day with Cy - very interesting.
Crystals VS. Colloids - a brief look at the two vastily differing types of
systems that are trying to be connected (ie. silicon VS. brain). An
interesting quote, "Even with a direct link to the human nervous system, a
computer must send its information a billion times slower than it is able to,
then wait the equivalents of six years for a reply! If a computer could feel
emotions, it would probably be exceedingly bored." (-:
Meshing the minds - continues looking at this brain-computer interface.
Reading the brain - Talks about DARPA funding in 1978 that has lead to
"significant progress" in the area called biocybernetics - as reported to
congress. Where is this "significant progress"? The article talks about how
DARPA researchers have managed to extract useful information from the brain's
electrical activity from electrodes on the scalp and/or the brain itself. The
article states that they were able to use a computer to distinguish thinking,
or cognitive, processes from motor responses (ie. signals to the muscles).
Using this information that have been able to assess spare brain capacity from
moment to moment. The researchers have also claimed that computers can
identify EEG waves associated with decision making and action. In addition to
the EEG waves, electrical activity always produces a magnetic field around it.
Using superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) they are able to
detect these faint magnetic fields. Using a SQUID position a centimeter from
the scalp, magnetoencephalogram (MEG) far more sensitive and precise than
an EEG can be detected. At this time Dr. Lloyd Kaufman at the New York
University was in charge of this project.
The Flanagan affiar - On July 24, 1962 G. Patrick Flanagan of Bellaire, Texas
created what he called a neurophone - a very simple device: nothing more than
a 35-kilohertz oscillator amplitude modulated by a hi-fi amplifier. The
article talks further about the setup - it is not that complex. Anyways, when
one of the pads was put on your spine and the other on the sole of your feet
you could hear perfect hi-fi in your head the moment contact was made. Dr.
Wayne Batteau, then at Tufts University, proved that the neurophone was
directly activating the human nervous system and that the information was not
being picked up and transmitted to the brain via the auditory nerves. Hearing
was able to be restored in nerve-deaf patients! This device apparently could
send audio information along any nerve path to the brain which recognized the
signal as auditory data and send/route it to the appropriate area of the
cortex. Since the article was written, no one has every done much with this
simple technology. Now perhaps there is a need to revive it so that a human/
computer interface could be constructed? Drop your earphones! Maybe using
this, auditory information could be sent the same way? Drop your eyephones!
Now we just gotta figure out how to drop the gloves! (-:
To run the world - A summing up of the articles.
All of these experiments/findings/thoughts occured <=1979. Where has all this
research gone? Is it perfected and classified somewhere in some government
warehouse or is it just forgotten. There is an UNIMAGINABLE amount of research
out there that has gone untapped or forgotten. Or has it? Does anyone know
of these experiments/findings? Is anyone currently working on these ideas?
Is this stuff news to you? Its stupid and pointless to recreate the wheel.
Please contribute to this newsgroup - please let me know that research is still
alive and projects haven't been forgotten or throw out due to their perhaps
relatively little marketability. We can't always do things with dollar signs
in or eyes. Any feedback/information would be greatly helpful. I hope this
posting has perhaps given some of you new ideas and inspired you to seek out
past research that may be useful. If anyone knows of old research that may
or may not be helpful please let us know. If you liked this article/review,
I've got A LOT more articles/papers/etc that I could keep posting to this
newsgroup - input desired. Thanks!
- Mike Almquist (almquist@brahms.udel.edu)
"Moses parted the waves and took his people to a better/newer/exciting world."
O-: 0-: o-: (-: {-: <-: :-> :-} :-) :-o :-0 :-O