Bandwagon
Sunday, February 12, 2006
A wise man once said . . .
A wise man once said the following things . . . and that wise man was me:
People need to chill the fuck out. Especially politicians.
When ever I see those Girls Gone Wild commercials, I can't help but wish Spring Break was actually like that. Then again, I wish anything was actually like that.
When I think of John Williams, there's no doubt I think of "whiskey-toned gruffness" . . . because you know he's so chummy with that Jack Daniels guy.
¶ 4:28 AM 0 Comments
People need to chill the fuck out. Especially politicians.
When ever I see those Girls Gone Wild commercials, I can't help but wish Spring Break was actually like that. Then again, I wish anything was actually like that.
When I think of John Williams, there's no doubt I think of "whiskey-toned gruffness" . . . because you know he's so chummy with that Jack Daniels guy.
¶ 4:28 AM 0 Comments
If only I could have left Keanu out of it
Began Writing:
Sunday, February 12, 2006
12:36 AM
So, when am I going to be able to plug my computer into my head?
I’m serious. I want simple brain-to-computer communication YESTERDAY.
The “old school” brain-to-fingers-to-keys/mouse-to-cursor-to-hard-drive method just isn’t cutting it anymore. That got outdated sometime between when video killed the radio star and the death of the original Napster.
I feel like this is the perfect topic for my first blog entry. Some may consider this query a joke, and in truth, it is partially intended as one. But, in another truth, I really want to know how research has progressed in this field. How close are we to eliminating the keyboard and mouse and implementing an interface just south of telekinesis?
Is this really that much to ask? We’ve got notepad sized electronics that hold 100 times more music than a jukebox ever could, handhelds that can browse the web from anywhere wirelessly (yes, that’s right, we’re fucking WIRELESS!), and phones and cameras that have the features of a 1960s James Bond toy.
Of course, when you look at what makes any of these devices more or less attractive, it always comes down to the interface. The fact that Apple was able to condense the navigation for its iPod to four buttons and a scroll wheel is arguably the predominant key to its success. Most other devices are bogged down by, among other things, the inefficiency of the interface. No one really likes entering text into their Blackberry through that tiny little keypad, but there is no other option.
The cure to this ailment is Johnny Mnemonic. Surprising how retro the 1995 Keanu Reeves character seems already, but as far as I’ve heard (why doesn’t CNN report on this?), that dream interface isn’t much closer to being realized that it was when the film debuted. The ultimate connection between man and machine isn’t getting much press (so who knows if it’s getting any research).
Certain parts of the Mnemonic computer were sensational for a sci-fi film (which, you should gather, is the worst form of sensationalism, since that is pretty much what sci-fi films do), but the core components of the concept are pretty slick. A plug, comparable in size to the one for your headphones, is implanted behind your ear. Through this plug, a computer is wired directly into your central nervous system, enabling you to give said computer direct commands just by thinking the command in your head. Its like The Matrix (more Keanu, I’m sensing a theme) without the big scary probe going into your brain and making you do that weird eyes-in-the back-of-your-head-while-you-swallow-your-own-tounge thing.
In truth, the Mnemonic interface was not quite that seamless (I took some liberties and connected some dots). Mnemonic only uses his behind the ear jack to load data into his head. He uses a separate combination of the Nintendo Power Glove and Virtual Reality glasses to communicate with his computer. So actually, the Matrix model is much more along the lines of what I’m getting at.
Nonetheless, when the idea was first conceived in the 1984 book Neuromancer (which inspired Mnemonic), it was probably hard for many to grasp the idea of a computer directly linked into the brain. Today, I can guess I’m not the only one hoping and wishing and praying it was already here.
Imagine the possibilities. When you arrive at work, you sit down and you reach for the fiber optic wire coming out of the back of your computer. After slipping it in behind your ear, you instantly begin dictating a memo to your bosses about how the new brain to computer interface has greatly increased your efficiency at work. Of course, you don’t actually say anything; as you THINK the words, they start rolling out across the screen in front of you. When you go to meet a friend for lunch and can’t find the restaurant, you decide to call your friend and get directions. You go to reach for your cell phone, only to realize that it’s already dialing the number, because you left your brain plugged into the phone when you left the office. That’s telekinesis Kyle! (a Tenacious D quote for those who, for their own misfortune, don’t know the reference) Where can I sign up?
And thus, I come back to how this topic makes perfect sense for my first blog entry. As you will notice in the time stamps, writing this took considerably more time than I would have desired. I, in fact, basically wrote most of this entry in my head about five hours ago while I was at a Starbucks in the West Village. But, of course, putting the whole thing down on the keyboard took about ten times as long. And then you add in my walk to the train, my ride on the train, my walk through our lovely blizzard to my apartment, the obligatory welcome-home-conversation with my roommate, all before I can sit down and actually get access to the keyboard.
None of this is good for a guy like me, who has little patience and little focus. The mere fact that I finished this entry is a small miracle in itself, considering what I had to go through to do so. For these reasons, I see the Mnemonic computer as the solution to all the problems in my life.
Mnemonic was predicting wide-spread direct brain-to-computer communication by 2021. One would guess the necessary technology would have become available five years prior at the minimum. For my sake, I hope we are way ahead of the curve.
¶ 2:30 AM 0 Comments
Sunday, February 12, 2006
12:36 AM
So, when am I going to be able to plug my computer into my head?
I’m serious. I want simple brain-to-computer communication YESTERDAY.
The “old school” brain-to-fingers-to-keys/mouse-to-cursor-to-hard-drive method just isn’t cutting it anymore. That got outdated sometime between when video killed the radio star and the death of the original Napster.
I feel like this is the perfect topic for my first blog entry. Some may consider this query a joke, and in truth, it is partially intended as one. But, in another truth, I really want to know how research has progressed in this field. How close are we to eliminating the keyboard and mouse and implementing an interface just south of telekinesis?
Is this really that much to ask? We’ve got notepad sized electronics that hold 100 times more music than a jukebox ever could, handhelds that can browse the web from anywhere wirelessly (yes, that’s right, we’re fucking WIRELESS!), and phones and cameras that have the features of a 1960s James Bond toy.
Of course, when you look at what makes any of these devices more or less attractive, it always comes down to the interface. The fact that Apple was able to condense the navigation for its iPod to four buttons and a scroll wheel is arguably the predominant key to its success. Most other devices are bogged down by, among other things, the inefficiency of the interface. No one really likes entering text into their Blackberry through that tiny little keypad, but there is no other option.
The cure to this ailment is Johnny Mnemonic. Surprising how retro the 1995 Keanu Reeves character seems already, but as far as I’ve heard (why doesn’t CNN report on this?), that dream interface isn’t much closer to being realized that it was when the film debuted. The ultimate connection between man and machine isn’t getting much press (so who knows if it’s getting any research).
Certain parts of the Mnemonic computer were sensational for a sci-fi film (which, you should gather, is the worst form of sensationalism, since that is pretty much what sci-fi films do), but the core components of the concept are pretty slick. A plug, comparable in size to the one for your headphones, is implanted behind your ear. Through this plug, a computer is wired directly into your central nervous system, enabling you to give said computer direct commands just by thinking the command in your head. Its like The Matrix (more Keanu, I’m sensing a theme) without the big scary probe going into your brain and making you do that weird eyes-in-the back-of-your-head-while-you-swallow-your-own-tounge thing.
In truth, the Mnemonic interface was not quite that seamless (I took some liberties and connected some dots). Mnemonic only uses his behind the ear jack to load data into his head. He uses a separate combination of the Nintendo Power Glove and Virtual Reality glasses to communicate with his computer. So actually, the Matrix model is much more along the lines of what I’m getting at.
Nonetheless, when the idea was first conceived in the 1984 book Neuromancer (which inspired Mnemonic), it was probably hard for many to grasp the idea of a computer directly linked into the brain. Today, I can guess I’m not the only one hoping and wishing and praying it was already here.
Imagine the possibilities. When you arrive at work, you sit down and you reach for the fiber optic wire coming out of the back of your computer. After slipping it in behind your ear, you instantly begin dictating a memo to your bosses about how the new brain to computer interface has greatly increased your efficiency at work. Of course, you don’t actually say anything; as you THINK the words, they start rolling out across the screen in front of you. When you go to meet a friend for lunch and can’t find the restaurant, you decide to call your friend and get directions. You go to reach for your cell phone, only to realize that it’s already dialing the number, because you left your brain plugged into the phone when you left the office. That’s telekinesis Kyle! (a Tenacious D quote for those who, for their own misfortune, don’t know the reference) Where can I sign up?
And thus, I come back to how this topic makes perfect sense for my first blog entry. As you will notice in the time stamps, writing this took considerably more time than I would have desired. I, in fact, basically wrote most of this entry in my head about five hours ago while I was at a Starbucks in the West Village. But, of course, putting the whole thing down on the keyboard took about ten times as long. And then you add in my walk to the train, my ride on the train, my walk through our lovely blizzard to my apartment, the obligatory welcome-home-conversation with my roommate, all before I can sit down and actually get access to the keyboard.
None of this is good for a guy like me, who has little patience and little focus. The mere fact that I finished this entry is a small miracle in itself, considering what I had to go through to do so. For these reasons, I see the Mnemonic computer as the solution to all the problems in my life.
Mnemonic was predicting wide-spread direct brain-to-computer communication by 2021. One would guess the necessary technology would have become available five years prior at the minimum. For my sake, I hope we are way ahead of the curve.
¶ 2:30 AM 0 Comments
