Technological Breakthroughs: Controlling Our World With A Thought
How would you like to be able to control your computer with your mind? That might be a scary prospect since few of us demonstrate we can control even the normal thoughts already associated with our brains. However, this is an exciting prospect for patients who have lost the functionality of their limbs.
A team of scientists recently succeeded in making it possible for a 25 year-old research patient to carry out simple functions such as moving a mouse, opening email and moving a robotic arm, according to a recent Reuters report. All of these functions were carried out simply be thinking about them.
Will this be such an incredible breakthrough that one day we'll all go for such an implant so that we can control our world just by thinking about it? Ever see Spiderman II? It didn't work out so well for Dr. Octopus.
It's scary enough when you think about someone being able to hack into your laptop to steal your files or release a virus. What about that happening in your own brain? That may seem far-fetched (and it very well may be), but not long ago (like yesterday!), the ability to move a computer cursor by thinking about it seemed pretty far-fetched, too.
Something to think about. Do you have an opinion? Should such considerations be taken into account or did I just read too many comic books as a kid?
Full article.
A team of scientists recently succeeded in making it possible for a 25 year-old research patient to carry out simple functions such as moving a mouse, opening email and moving a robotic arm, according to a recent Reuters report. All of these functions were carried out simply be thinking about them.
The scientists implanted a tiny silicon chip with 100 electrodes into an area of the brain responsible for movement. The activity of the cells was recorded and sent to a computer which translated the commands and enabled the patient to move and control the external device.This, of course, has far reaching and exciting implications for those who are currently without such abilities. The question I have is how far this will go? Don't get me wrong, I am all for developing and using such technology for these purposes, but where will it stop? I think it is exciting to read that, because of such breakthroughs, next generation prosthetics might be able to function in a way that closely resembles a real arm, for instance. I think the freedoms this can bring are wonderful. I just wonder how this new technology will be used in other applications?
'This part of the brain, the motor cortex, which usually sends its signals down the spinal cord and out to the limbs to control movement, can still be used by this participant to control an external device, even after years had gone by since his spinal cord injury,' added [Dr Leigh] Hochberg, a co-author of the study published in the journal Nature.
Will this be such an incredible breakthrough that one day we'll all go for such an implant so that we can control our world just by thinking about it? Ever see Spiderman II? It didn't work out so well for Dr. Octopus.
It's scary enough when you think about someone being able to hack into your laptop to steal your files or release a virus. What about that happening in your own brain? That may seem far-fetched (and it very well may be), but not long ago (like yesterday!), the ability to move a computer cursor by thinking about it seemed pretty far-fetched, too.
Something to think about. Do you have an opinion? Should such considerations be taken into account or did I just read too many comic books as a kid?
Full article.
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posted by DAVID C. PRICE at 7/13/2006 07:30:00 AM
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