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merge ideas together.
author Robert McIntyre <rlm@mit.edu>
date Mon, 10 Mar 2014 13:01:48 -0400
parents e0f8793b7aaf 8bd81d22ae93
children 34dca21f8a05
rev   line source
rlm@43 1 #+title: Big List O' Ideas
rlm@43 2 #+author: Robert McIntyre
rlm@43 3 #+email: rlm@mit.edu
rlm@43 4 #+description: list of ideas from the last ~ 7 years
rlm@47 5 #+keywords: aurellem ideas half-baked random
rlm@43 6 #+SETUPFILE: ../../aurellem/org/setup.org
rlm@43 7 #+INCLUDE: ../../aurellem/org/level-0.org
rlm@43 8 #+babel: :mkdirp yes :noweb yes :exports both
rlm@43 9
rlm@86 10
rlm@86 11
rlm@42 12 * Ideas
rlm@42 13
rlm@43 14 This is a list of all the ideas I've had that I felt like writing down
rlm@43 15 for the past ~ 7 years. Some of them could be practical inventions and
rlm@47 16 are "just" waiting the that 95% perspiration to bring them to
rlm@47 17 fruition, some are ideas for science fiction, and some are simple
rlm@48 18 observations. Some are really only for my own personal notes and are
rlm@48 19 not meant to be comprehensible. They are arranged roughly in reverse
rlm@48 20 chronological order, with the most recent ideas at the top of the
rlm@48 21 list. The ones at the bottom of the list are heavily influenced by my
rlm@48 22 time at MIT.
rlm@43 23
rlm@43 24 If you find some of these interesting and would like to collaborate on
rlm@43 25 them with me or discuss them in more detail, I'd love to hear from
rlm@43 26 you. You can email me at ideas@aurellem.org.
rlm@43 27
rlm@52 28 If you want to use one of these ideas as your own and run with it,
rlm@52 29 please feel free. I'd love to hear about it if you do.
rlm@52 30
rlm@62 31 #+begin_quote
rlm@62 32 There's no end to what a man can accomplish if he doesn't care about
rlm@62 33 getting credit.
rlm@62 34 #+end_quote
rlm@62 35
rlm@89 36 <<<<<<< local
rlm@87 37 - suicide parasite :: sometimes, people kill themselves for no good
rlm@87 38 reason. We often explain this with things like "hidden
rlm@87 39 depression" or we say that they had something like chronic jaw or
rlm@87 40 back pain. I think that smells of rationalization. I don't buy
rlm@87 41 it. I propose that in many suicide cases there is a disease that
rlm@88 42 causes the suicidal behavior. We already know that certain
rlm@87 43 parasites have mind-bending properties in other animals, even
rlm@87 44 mammals like mice. It's not much of a stretch to imagine a
rlm@88 45 parasite that causes suicides in humans. Some problems:
rlm@87 46 - What does the suicide parasite get out of it? :: This might be
rlm@87 47 answered by the whole thing being a glitch caused by
rlm@87 48 cross-species contamination. Toxoplasma works this way.
rlm@88 49 - What predictions does a disease model make :: suicide should
rlm@88 50 be more common among people who share a contagion
rlm@88 51 vector. There should be suicides that don't make any
rlm@87 52 sense : people who weren't really depressed, who had no
rlm@87 53 reason to kill themselves. People who have killed themselves
rlm@87 54 should have a higher incidence of some unknown parasite in
rlm@87 55 their brains.
rlm@86 56
rlm@89 57 - domestic insects :: People should eat more bugs because they're much
rlm@89 58 more efficient, so why not do some major domestication research
rlm@89 59 to make very appealing bugs?
rlm@87 60
rlm@87 61 - birth-clones :: What if each person was intentionally split at birth
rlm@87 62 into a normal embryo and a few "backup" cells which
rlm@87 63 is then frozen. The backup cells are created just
rlm@87 64 the same way as natural identical twins. The backups
rlm@88 65 can be used to regenerate organs. etc. Also, it
rlm@87 66 would be a good sci fi concept, because you could
rlm@87 67 have a culture where people reward people who were
rlm@87 68 especially awesome are "reborn" from their
rlm@88 69 backups. Imagine having a young Bach every
rlm@87 70 generation, etc.
rlm@86 71
rlm@84 72 - pronuncation guide :: a simple webpage where you type in a word and
rlm@84 73 it returns a simpe, English sentence describing exactly how to
rlm@84 74 pronounce the word. For people who don't want to learn IPA.
rlm@86 75
rlm@87 76 - cortex-search :: use the repertoire of actions learned to limit the
rlm@87 77 search space of possible actions.
rlm@87 78
rlm@83 79 - learning to teleport :: scifi idea, this is a story about a person
rlm@83 80 who is struggling with his/her society's ideas about
rlm@83 81 teleportation. It's considered a fundamental part of being a
rlm@83 82 member of that society (after all, the difference between animals
rlm@83 83 and humans is that humans are creatures of pure information while
rlm@83 84 animals are burdened with base matter, "that's how you travel the
rlm@83 85 stars, etc") Humans are born normally, grow up, and then
rlm@83 86 eventually transcend via destructive upload. Analogies to jumping
rlm@83 87 off a diving board into a pool (which I simply /could not do/ for
rlm@83 88 a long time), etc.
rlm@83 89
rlm@87 90 - no-float-ice :: cup that has cross beams at the bottom where ice
rlm@87 91 forms. Then when you drink liquid from the glass,
rlm@87 92 the ice stays at the bottom and doesn't hit your
rlm@87 93 lips. For bars and fancy things.
rlm@87 94
rlm@82 95 - bitcoins for immigrants :: A common case with Mexican immigrants
rlm@82 96 (illegal or not) is that they want to send money they've earned
rlm@82 97 in the US back to their families in Mexico. They currently do this
rlm@82 98 through things like Money Gram or Western Union, and they get
rlm@82 99 fleeced in the process with fees. Bitcoin could greatly reduce
rlm@82 100 the cost of sending money from America to Mexico, but I don't
rlm@82 101 believe that it's currently used for that among Mexican
rlm@82 102 immigrants currently due to lack of knowledge. I bet you could
rlm@82 103 set up physical locations like those obnoxious Western Union huts
rlm@82 104 in places like Texas, Arizona, etc, and greatly undercut
rlm@82 105 them. Or, perhaps some educational seminars about bitcoin might
rlm@82 106 be in order. There's some money to be made there because there is
rlm@82 107 great demand, and it's a good thing to boot!
rlm@82 108
rlm@81 109 - reverse eye-tracking :: A painting that is actually a digital screen
rlm@82 110 with a camera. It records people's eye tracks permanently. It's
rlm@81 111 "artistic" because paintings are normally these things that you
rlm@81 112 look at without changing, but this one is changed the second you
rlm@81 113 look at it, recording where /you/ looked forever for others to
rlm@81 114 see. Make it be a painting of a woman and see the trolling as the
rlm@81 115 breasts and groin area light up with interest from all the males
rlm@81 116 passing by.
rlm@81 117
rlm@80 118 - smart toilets :: Instead of using indirect measures like infrared
rlm@80 119 detectors of the presence of a person, use computer
rlm@80 120 vision to directly measure whether the toilet needs
rlm@80 121 to be flushed. I think a lot of things will end up
rlm@80 122 going this way as we get better computer vision.
rlm@80 123
rlm@77 124 - validate chemopreservation :: chemopreservation is difficult to
rlm@77 125 validate because it destroys the functionality of a brain, and
rlm@77 126 brain simulation will take a long time to mature as a
rlm@77 127 technology. However, one very powerful way to validate
rlm@77 128 chemopreservation would be to have a person/animal learn
rlm@77 129 something with high complexity such as a number or the solution
rlm@80 130 to a maze, or a flashbulb memory. Then you preserve their brain
rlm@80 131 chemically, slice it up, and read /that specific memory/ from the
rlm@77 132 detailed brain scan. Much more difficult, but much more doable.
rlm@77 133
rlm@75 134 - candy screw :: edible candy screw with candy nuts that you can screw
rlm@75 135 as well.
rlm@76 136
rlm@74 137 - better bibliography :: when writing a thesis or paper, have the
rlm@80 138 bibliography not just be an opaque list of resources, but have it
rlm@74 139 be a list of /summaries/ and /qualities/ that each paper has in
rlm@80 140 the context of the paper being written. When examining a
rlm@80 141 bibliography, I want to know if reading the papers in the
rlm@74 142 bibliography are worth my time, and I also am probably also
rlm@74 143 interested in exactly the things that are being discussed in the
rlm@74 144 paper I'm reading. The bibliography is the perfect place to
rlm@74 145 provide information about the referenced papers from the
rlm@80 146 author's perspective. I will use this biographic form in my own
rlm@74 147 thesis.
rlm@74 148
rlm@73 149 - digital inter-library loan :: libraries at universities already do
rlm@80 150 inter-library loans for books, so why not do the same for access
rlm@73 151 to stupid paywalled digital papers? All the universities could
rlm@73 152 allow access to articles for registered students to all the files
rlm@73 153 available through any participating university. This could be
rlm@73 154 achieved by sending requests through proxies at participating
rlm@73 155 universities. Each university would decide who at the university
rlm@73 156 can access the proxy network. Access to the proxy network could
rlm@73 157 be made easy using something like http://libx.org/.
rlm@73 158
rlm@72 159 - chess visual :: to show the vast size of the game trees considered
rlm@72 160 by computers, show two people playing chess in a
rlm@72 161 void. They are floating in space, and there is a
rlm@72 162 simple chess board between them. Then, as they play,
rlm@72 163 the game tree's they are considering are drawn
rlm@72 164 behind him. The root of the tree starts centered in
rlm@72 165 their heads or whatever they use to think, and the
rlm@72 166 tree grows out from behind, never crossing the
rlm@72 167 dividing plane between the two players. Each
rlm@72 168 player's tree is a different color. As they grow,
rlm@72 169 there are animations for pruning, etc. Eventually,
rlm@72 170 they look like the hemispheres of a brain, wings,
rlm@72 171 etc. A human's tree might occasionally have a long
rlm@72 172 chain, while the computer tree would be more
rlm@72 173 uniform. You could compare deep blue and a modern
rlm@72 174 laptop. Use actual data when fighting two computers!
rlm@72 175
rlm@71 176 - time verification :: some standard way to verify that some piece of
rlm@71 177 data was recorded at a specific time. Might involve a time
rlm@73 178 server, a key for each time period, something like that.
rlm@71 179
rlm@70 180 - tamper proof gold bars :: [[http://www.tungsten-alloy.com/gold-plated-tungsten-alloy-bar.html][this site]] offers gold plated tungsten bars
rlm@70 181 as "novelty" items. One reason to prefer coins is because they
rlm@70 182 are much harder to counterfeit because there is less surface area
rlm@70 183 to mass ratio. However, gold bars are still a great design
rlm@70 184 because they can hold a lot of value in a small space. A gold bar
rlm@70 185 could be given the same protections (and more) that gold coins
rlm@70 186 have to offer by changing it into a "gold book", which would have
rlm@70 187 hundreds of "pages" of gold bound together. This could be
rlm@70 188 implemented with multiple steel rods going through the book which
rlm@70 189 can be removed, or some more classier mechanism for holding the
rlm@70 190 pages. The point is that the bar can be EASILY subdivided (and
rlm@70 191 people would perform this test before buying), thus guaranteeing
rlm@70 192 it's authenticity.
rlm@70 193
rlm@68 194 - aurellem shirt :: I should make an aurellem star symbol tee-shirt.
rlm@68 195
rlm@86 196 - touch vision :: inspired by GelSight, I want to reexamine cortex and
rlm@86 197 see if I could implement touch as a very low range
rlm@86 198 form of vision.
rlm@86 199
rlm@67 200 - high school science :: this is a lesson in scientific ethics. The
rlm@67 201 goal is to calculate /g/, the local gravitational
rlm@67 202 acceleration. The students are told that the textbook says it's
rlm@67 203 /exactly/ 9.81 before they start the experiment. See how they
rlm@67 204 doctor their results to get closer to the textbook value. It's
rlm@67 205 neat because for any given school, /g/ is probably *not* exactly
rlm@67 206 equal to 9.81, because that is just an average!
rlm@67 207
rlm@67 208 - opencourseware subtitles :: there are ladies who type up lectures
rlm@67 209 while they are being given. These recordings should be kept and
rlm@67 210 given to OCW for subtitles. If the timestamps of keys are
rlm@67 211 recorded, then it is easy to make subtitles.
rlm@67 212
rlm@66 213 - screen locking timing :: you use your computer camera to see if you
rlm@66 214 are sitting in front of the computer. If you are, then the screen
rlm@66 215 will never lock. If you are, then the screen will lock with a
rlm@67 216 30-40 second timeout. It's an extension of using inactivity to
rlm@66 217 initiate the countdown, just with more information.
rlm@66 218
rlm@66 219 - mirror toilet :: a toilet with a square basin made or mirror instead
rlm@67 220 or porcelain. That way, you can see how good of a
rlm@66 221 wipe job you have done / watch how your excretion
rlm@66 222 system works.
rlm@66 223
rlm@80 224 - test dummies :: why don't we clone anencephalic humans and use then to
rlm@62 225 test /in vivo/ human organ systems and drugs? It
rlm@62 226 would be ethical as long as there are women who are
rlm@62 227 willing to host the clones, and it would be a
rlm@67 228 tremendous resource for studying the human body. I
rlm@62 229 see nothing wrong with it morally, since no one is
rlm@67 230 suffering, and it stands to save many lives throughout
rlm@62 231 more advanced technology.
rlm@62 232
rlm@62 233 - X-ray telepresence :: given that a doctor is operating on a patient
rlm@62 234 via telepresence, one cool things you can do is shine X-rays into
rlm@62 235 the patient to view the insides during real time. If the system
rlm@80 236 was coupled with a Bayesian model of the layout of the structure,
rlm@67 237 and the x-rays were only fired whenever the uncertainty of the
rlm@62 238 model reached a certain threshold, then the radiation damage
rlm@62 239 and surgery risk could be minimized.
rlm@62 240
rlm@62 241 - superfluid vascular system :: I wonder what would happen if you
rlm@62 242 replaced the blood in a human with a superfluid. What would the
rlm@62 243 physical dynamics be? Would the superfluid flow through the
rlm@62 244 vasculature, or would it ignore it and travel through the cells,
rlm@62 245 or something else entirely. Since superfluids need to be cold to
rlm@62 246 retain their superfluidity, how would the dynamics change during
rlm@62 247 perfusion of a superfluid, where the fluid gains and looses
rlm@62 248 superfluidity as it goes deeper into the body and is cooled by
rlm@67 249 superfluid from upstream. In summary there are two things to
rlm@62 250 simulate 1.) replace all blood in human with superfluid
rlm@62 251 instantly. 2.) perfuse superfluid into human.
rlm@51 252
rlm@59 253 - projective guessing :: I think that we read and see things by
rlm@67 254 making a really good guess about what we're expecting to see,
rlm@59 255 and then searching for our guess in what we see. If it really
rlm@59 256 doesn't match, then we start to make more guesses / analyze the
rlm@59 257 image from first principles, but most stuff is projective
rlm@59 258 guessing.
rlm@59 259
rlm@67 260 - Intestinal flora maintenance :: why not inoculate babies at birth
rlm@59 261 with "ideal" gut flora instead of whatever bullshit they
rlm@59 262 naturally get, thus giving them optimal digestive/nutrient
rlm@67 263 extraction capabilities. Might also be able to make their farts
rlm@59 264 not stink for life, too.
rlm@59 265
rlm@56 266 - server culture : mirrors :: make a distributed system where people
rlm@56 267 can mirror the websites of people they like -- essentially cover
rlm@56 268 the server costs of favored websites. This could make popular
rlm@56 269 websites run at no cost. The system would require that the
rlm@56 270 mirrored content be the same as the official source. Sort of like
rlm@67 271 bit-torrent for websites.
rlm@56 272
rlm@56 273 - map programming :: one problem with functional programming is that
rlm@56 274 in order to remain functional, you have to pass up arguments up
rlm@67 275 into each calling function to get the full range of behavior
rlm@56 276 from the lower level functions. Normally people come to a
rlm@67 277 compromise involving abstraction and sparing use of dynamic
rlm@67 278 variables to configure runtime behavior. What would be the
rlm@56 279 advantages of making a programming language where every function
rlm@67 280 receives one argument, a map, which contains all the symbol
rlm@56 281 bindings it would ever need? This map is passed on to all
rlm@56 282 subordinate functions. This way, you could replace functions on
rlm@56 283 the fly, and arrange for there to be sensible defaults,
rlm@56 284 etc. Might cause more harm than good but is an interesting idea.
rlm@56 285
rlm@55 286 - rest nest :: a small EEG device you would attach to your head when
rlm@55 287 you go to sleep at night. ML algorithms would determine
rlm@55 288 your particular sleep cycles. This would mostly be an
rlm@55 289 alarm clock that you could give a time range, say
rlm@55 290 7:00AM - 7:15AM, and it would wake you up during an
rlm@55 291 ideal time corresponding to then end of one of your 90
rlm@55 292 min sleep cycles. You would feel much more rested upon
rlm@55 293 waking up, and would wake up faster. There might be
rlm@55 294 some other uses for the EEG data as well.
rlm@55 295
rlm@50 296 - image compression :: use a library like gimp or opencv to process an
rlm@50 297 image to make it have less entropy, then store the reverse of
rlm@50 298 those operations along with the compressed simpler image as a
rlm@80 299 super-compressed image file (possibly accepting some
rlm@80 300 losses). Trades file size for decompression time, and allows one
rlm@50 301 to cheat by using information in gimp/opencv to compress the
rlm@50 302 image.
rlm@50 303
rlm@47 304 - fixed cryopreservation :: why not use a fixative to buy enough time
rlm@42 305 to ramp up cryoprotectants to an acceptable level at room
rlm@42 306 temperature? Then, the whole system can be rapidly cooled and
rlm@42 307 vitrified. This method "severs the biological link" in that the
rlm@47 308 fixatives are highly toxic, but current vitrification procedures
rlm@42 309 do this anyway since there can be a lot of freezing damage.
rlm@38 310
rlm@67 311 - dilated security camera :: a security camera that would capture
rlm@58 312 full video footage of everything at 60fps but then decide to keep
rlm@58 313 only every 1 frame every 5 seconds unless there's something
rlm@58 314 "interesting" happening.
rlm@58 315
rlm@40 316 - bitcoin wallet :: Part of "server culture", this would be something
rlm@40 317 like "coin.your-domain.com" which would serve as
rlm@40 318 your personal trusted access to your own bitcoins
rlm@40 319 from anywhere.
rlm@40 320
rlm@40 321 - libpay :: this would be a free library which would enable
rlm@40 322 micro-donations to software projects and other projects,
rlm@47 323 so that you could donate a penny to "emacs" and it would
rlm@47 324 be automatically split up to every person who has ever
rlm@40 325 contributed to emacs in proportion to the amount of
rlm@40 326 community esteem, code quantity, bugs fixed, whatever the
rlm@47 327 community decides. This might make it possible for
rlm@40 328 programmers to live entirely off of free programming.
rlm@40 329
rlm@45 330 - distributed graphics :: Browser based graphics-card accelerated
rlm@45 331 distributed computing API.
rlm@41 332
rlm@40 333 - pronouns :: use capital letters A-Z instead of pronouns. They solve
rlm@40 334 pronoun referents and gender neutrality, are short to
rlm@40 335 say, and you can encode useful information into the
rlm@40 336 choice of letter. For example, instead of "Meetings
rlm@40 337 shall be presided over by the president, unless she is
rlm@42 338 absent." USE "Meetings shall be presided over by the
rlm@40 339 president, unless P is absent." We already use this a
rlm@40 340 little, since I and U are reserved for the subject and
rlm@40 341 object respectively.
rlm@40 342
rlm@40 343 - phone DSP :: software app that inserts an audio DSP between the
rlm@40 344 input to a phone and the output. The DSP is delicious
rlm@40 345 and configurable, and can allow men to make their
rlm@40 346 voices deeper, etc. The app would allow you to hear
rlm@40 347 your own voice as others hear it. Most people hate how
rlm@40 348 their own voice sounds. The app would also allow one to
rlm@47 349 immediately change the parameters of the DSP using good
rlm@40 350 presets.
rlm@40 351
rlm@47 352 - predestined body learning :: a good example of predestined learning
rlm@40 353 might be the mirror neurons.
rlm@40 354
rlm@47 355 - restaurant receipt :: use a carbon copy receipt instead of two stupid
rlm@40 356 copies.
rlm@40 357
rlm@41 358 - anti google glass :: glasses with mounted lasers and computer vision
rlm@41 359 that targets the cameras in google glass and destroy them.
rlm@41 360
rlm@40 361 - wearable towel :: towel with clasp, velcro, whatever, that allows
rlm@40 362 one to wear the towel more securely than just
rlm@40 363 wrapping it tightly and hoping for the best.
rlm@40 364
rlm@47 365 - crossdressing :: Easiest way to disguise oneself as a woman is to
rlm@44 366 wear a burka.
rlm@41 367
rlm@40 368 - book-mode :: intelligent color highlighting for books and
rlm@40 369 articles. It would disambiguate pronouns and involved
rlm@40 370 references. For example, if "Rachael" as red, and "the
rlm@40 371 blonde haired girl" refers to "Rachael", then "the
rlm@40 372 blonde haired girl" would he colored red. Also, you
rlm@47 373 could disambiguate multi part run-on sentences by
rlm@40 374 highlighting each subcomponent. Maybe would also have
rlm@47 375 applications to scientific reading.
rlm@40 376
rlm@40 377 - Handheld light Rain measurement :: this would be a clear, teflon
rlm@47 378 coated plastic disk with a camera underneath the disk. You would
rlm@40 379 be able to hold the device out and it would measure the rate of
rlm@40 380 accumulation of water droplets from fine mists and light rain by
rlm@40 381 using computer vision to measure the diameters of the drops.
rlm@40 382
rlm@40 383 - Big Brother Farming :: This would be a vision system that would
rlm@40 384 individually monitor each plant and turn on water, etc to ensure
rlm@40 385 maximum/uniform growth for each plant.
rlm@40 386
rlm@40 387 - Discrete Faucet :: A faucet with discrete ticks instead of
rlm@47 388 continuous.
rlm@40 389
rlm@40 390 - Laser Circle :: take a glass microfiliment and shine a laser at one
rlm@40 391 end at an oblique angle. It will make a perfect,
rlm@40 392 large circle on the wall, converting a laser beam
rlm@47 393 into a laser cone, preserving most of the energy of
rlm@40 394 the laser.
rlm@40 395
rlm@40 396 - Invisible Glass :: Take a container of liquid and embed a
rlm@40 397 glass sculpture made out of glass that has exactly the same index
rlm@40 398 of refraction and color of the liquid. Then the sculpture will be
rlm@40 399 totally invisible in the container, and will only be revealed
rlm@40 400 when the liquid is drained. The container might be a fancy
rlm@40 401 wine/spirit bottle or an hourglass.
rlm@40 402
rlm@47 403 - Caterpillar people :: A race of caterpillar like creatures gains
rlm@40 404 intelligence after eons of predation by birds, etc. These
rlm@47 405 caterpillar creatures still undergo metamorphosis into a large
rlm@40 406 butterfly-like creature. The metamorphosis process turns the
rlm@40 407 caterpillar's brain into mush and reforms it into a minimal,
rlm@40 408 dumb, truly insect-like mind, completely destroying the person
rlm@47 409 the caterpillar was. The society develops all sorts of customs and
rlm@40 410 religious interpretations of the metamorphosis. It is viewed as
rlm@40 411 good and natural by some since it is part of their life cycle and
rlm@47 412 necessary to propagate the species, as only the butterflies can
rlm@40 413 mate. Some think that the butterflies are still the same person
rlm@47 414 because they have the same soul, even they no longer posses the
rlm@47 415 memories or personality of the original caterpillar. Some see the
rlm@40 416 butterfly form as the "true form" of the species, since the
rlm@40 417 butterflies can fly, mate, and are beautiful. Many make a big
rlm@47 418 deal out of the fact that 1-2% of the caterpillar's mind is
rlm@40 419 actually preserved in the butterfly. Some see it as a terrible
rlm@47 420 tragedy and argue that the caterpillars should try to stop the
rlm@40 421 metamorphosis by technology. Practically, some very important
rlm@40 422 members of society undergo hormone therapy and/or surgery to
rlm@40 423 prevent metamorphosis so that they can live longer as themselves.
rlm@40 424
rlm@40 425 This is a continuation of Marvin Minsky's ideas about pain being
rlm@40 426 something that preserves our bodies while destroying our minds,
rlm@40 427 something that is a remnant from our too harsh animal days that
rlm@40 428 hasn't caught up to the fact that we have very complex brains
rlm@40 429 now. It's a worst-case scenario about a maladaptive genetic
rlm@40 430 legacy. Also, it's inspired by "There She Is!!!", which makes a
rlm@40 431 compelling point about homosexuality by introducing a second
rlm@40 432 gender characteristic (bunny/cat, male/female), which makes
rlm@40 433 homophobia look very silly. Here, our own biological legacy of
rlm@47 434 pain and death is made to look like the tragedy it is through the
rlm@47 435 lens of the the caterpillar people.
rlm@40 436
rlm@46 437 - relationships as a business :: [[http://thedailywtf.com/Articles/Up-or-Out-Solving-the-IT-Turnover-Crisis.aspx][Turnover-Crisis]] is an excellent talk
rlm@46 438 about the "culture of quitting," which is about better business
rlm@46 439 by letting people go instead of keeping them around past their
rlm@47 440 "apex". Focuses on information transfer. Cool idea of an alumni
rlm@46 441 network, which for relationships would be a group of satisfied
rlm@46 442 ex-lovers, who would recommend new people your way, and who might
rlm@46 443 consider coming to you again, refreshed from their time away with
rlm@46 444 new stories/experiences. I should look for examples of this and
rlm@46 445 how they worked out.
rlm@43 446
rlm@47 447 - coffee with tea :: /rlm-tea/ contains 2% sugar, 10% cream, and 20%
rlm@43 448 dylan coffee. /dylan coffee/ contains 5% sugar,
rlm@43 449 20% cream, and 10% rlm-tea. Start your mornings
rlm@43 450 with recursion!
rlm@43 451
rlm@43 452 - psychic crystal :: in a science fiction story, this would be an
rlm@43 453 object that is very easy to move physically but is extremely
rlm@43 454 difficult to move with telekinesis.
rlm@43 455
rlm@40 456 - http://betsofbitco.in/ :: what a great place for an AI/person to
rlm@40 457 prove themselves as a good predictor. I wish this could be
rlm@40 458 automated.
rlm@40 459
rlm@44 460 - true reflection :: don't forget about that mirror in the student
rlm@44 461 center!, it's two mirrors at right angles, like staring at a
rlm@44 462 corner of a room. The light reflects so that it shows you what
rlm@44 463 you actually look like, instead of your mirror image.
rlm@33 464
rlm@33 465 - remote control wasp :: use computer to drive wings with remote
rlm@32 466 power/logic.
rlm@32 467
rlm@47 468 - encrypted email phone book :: public (distributed?) database of
rlm@44 469 email->private-key pairs, to enable automatic encryption.
rlm@32 470
rlm@44 471 - universal eye color :: every equivalent creature will see each
rlm@44 472 others' eyes as black -- it's universal. Even if the creatures
rlm@44 473 see in radio waves, and their eyes are 2m long pieces of jagged
rlm@44 474 metal, when those creatures look at each other, they will see
rlm@44 475 black, the absence of light and color (since it's being absorbed
rlm@44 476 by the sensor array).
rlm@32 477
rlm@33 478 - intelligent microwave :: it learns where the hot nodes of its fields
rlm@83 479 are, and uses them to evenly heat any food item. It has an infrared
rlm@32 480 camera or something to keep track of how hot the food is. That way,
rlm@32 481 you don't get bowls where the edges are boiling, while the center is
rlm@32 482 still frozen. Requires a little bit of intelligence/vision, since
rlm@32 483 the exact pattern of heating totally depends on the exact shape of
rlm@47 484 the food. Wouldn't need a carousel, and wouldn't need a timer,
rlm@47 485 just a desired temperature. Could also detect ice, and automatically
rlm@32 486 defrost the parts which are frozen. Might be able to work much
rlm@47 487 faster since it can avoid overheating; might have problems with
rlm@32 488 heating the insides of thick things, might need a weight sensor too.
rlm@32 489
rlm@39 490 + Would be much cleaner than other microwaves, since food would
rlm@39 491 "sputter" and splash liquid much less.
rlm@32 492
rlm@39 493 + Throw in some SIFT+R processing to match previously cooked foods
rlm@39 494 and learn the exact heating profiles for things that have been
rlm@54 495 cooked before -- it can get faster the more it's used.
rlm@32 496
rlm@47 497 - compression :: brain-aware image compression algorithm
rlm@32 498
rlm@44 499 - Credit card proxy :: would be a company which works like paypal
rlm@44 500 except for real world transactions
rlm@32 501
rlm@33 502 - Flesh pillow :: a pillow like the arm or torso of a human, complete
rlm@33 503 with simulated temperature, bones, and heartbeat.
rlm@33 504
rlm@47 505 - super screw :: a screw which has only one or two threads and instead
rlm@47 506 uses compression to fit into a hole (the whole shank
rlm@33 507 of the screw is split into multiple pieces to
rlm@33 508 accomplish this; the tip is a point, then the middle
rlm@33 509 bulges out and gets compressed when screwed in.
rlm@33 510
rlm@47 511 - light filter :: (like light tweezers) to mechanically separate
rlm@33 512 fluids with different index of refraction
rlm@33 513
rlm@33 514 - chalk eraser project :: maybe make a directional eraser, for easy
rlm@33 515 release of chalk dust, like fur, and how it likes to rest in a
rlm@33 516 certain direction.
rlm@33 517
rlm@44 518 - silver socks :: socks laced with silver for the antimicrobial
rlm@44 519 properties.
rlm@32 520
rlm@53 521 - UROP :: magnet gear/metal teeth tape
rlm@53 522
rlm@82 523 - Rod of Moses :: device to distill urine through evaporation and
rlm@53 524 easily dispose of urea crystals for use in desert --
rlm@53 525 produce drinkable water.
rlm@32 526
rlm@47 527 - UROP :: Make the LED in line with the flow for the micro injector, so
rlm@44 528 that it may transmit maximum flow. Motor that changes
rlm@44 529 distance of internal magnet from windings depending on
rlm@44 530 desired speed so as to obtain maximum power efficiency.
rlm@32 531
rlm@47 532 - lottery scraper :: web scraper which monitors various lotteries,
rlm@44 533 looking for "special" gimmick changes in the rules (like 4x
rlm@44 534 winnings on Wednesdays) and computes expected value...
rlm@34 535
rlm@34 536 - Memristiors novel design :: make an evolutionary algorithm to make
rlm@34 537 old stuff using all four basic circuit elements.
rlm@34 538
rlm@44 539 - Conductive concrete :: concrete that has embedded metal fibers so
rlm@44 540 that it can conduct electricity.
rlm@34 541
rlm@44 542 - little bitty melting pot :: might be useful for some types of
rlm@44 543 manufacturing/3D printing -- how small can an induction melter be
rlm@44 544 made, for example.
rlm@34 545
rlm@44 546 - power strip/timer programmable combination :: meh
rlm@34 547
rlm@47 548 - algorithms :: which learn what their inputs are and in what order,
rlm@44 549 and can adapt to changing circumstances -- they
rlm@44 550 remember previous arguments and adapt so as to respond
rlm@44 551 to different connections.
rlm@34 552
rlm@47 553 - true pure tones :: hear a true pure tone by direct stimulation of the
rlm@44 554 nerves of the ear
rlm@43 555
rlm@43 556 - mechanical analogue to the electrical op-amp :: would be an object
rlm@43 557 with two levers -- you pull on one lever and the other moves the
rlm@43 558 same way, no matter what's in the way or what it is driving. This
rlm@47 559 analogy could be useful to teach op amps to people.
rlm@34 560
rlm@47 561 - paper folding device :: make it convenient to fold lots of papers in
rlm@34 562 various ways.
rlm@34 563
rlm@34 564 - concrete epoxy :: epoxy with sand/ some other solid material.
rlm@34 565
rlm@47 566 - light capacitor :: suspend some ball of material with a high index
rlm@43 567 of refraction and shine light into it so it gets stuck -- would
rlm@43 568 the light stay trapped forever? Could you build up unlimited
rlm@43 569 quantities of light inside the sphere (which could then be
rlm@43 570 released slowly by frustrated internal reflection?
rlm@34 571
rlm@40 572 - movie screening :: Movies always are too long at first. One way to
rlm@34 573 shorten them ``scientifically" is to record blink rate during the
rlm@34 574 move and then remove / shorten the frames of the parts in which
rlm@34 575 there are a lot of blinking (average this over multiple people)
rlm@34 576 better yet, put it online and do it across thousands of people. I
rlm@34 577 got this from youtube in which there is an episode of kill bill
rlm@47 578 which is composed entirely of the parts in which people had their
rlm@34 579 eyes closed. slogan: want to make a movie people can't take their
rlm@34 580 eyes off of? Just take those parts out!
rlm@34 581
rlm@47 582 - optimize an article :: capture reading of a scientific article via
rlm@44 583 screen capture while people read it, then use it to make the
rlm@44 584 article better. like the movie-pruning idea.
rlm@35 585
rlm@44 586 - super reading program :: teaches people the ideal mental mask to
rlm@44 587 apply during reading so as to read very fast.
rlm@35 588
rlm@44 589 - explosive thermite epoxy putty :: one part would contain the rust,
rlm@47 590 one part the aluminum.
rlm@34 591
rlm@44 592 - reading comprehension :: use the above screen capture routine to
rlm@44 593 make a quiz program that constructs questions about the content
rlm@44 594 you seemed to gloss over while reading. could be easy if the pdf
rlm@44 595 came with embedded questions. Dylan: automatically generate
rlm@44 596 word-cloud about the parts you found most interesting; help
rlm@44 597 others who read the same stuff by drawing attention to the
rlm@44 598 interesting parts.
rlm@34 599
rlm@44 600 - hard sword :: make a samurai sword, but use osmiridum instead of
rlm@44 601 martensite for the cutting part; it should be a better
rlm@44 602 sword.
rlm@32 603
rlm@44 604 - close range wireless :: use the induction technology used to
rlm@44 605 recharge electric toothbrushes with no metal links to send data
rlm@44 606 without any metal at all!
rlm@32 607
rlm@44 608 - reading :: is a form of synsethesia
rlm@32 609
rlm@44 610 - DNA printer :: A machine which translates the text eg, "ACTGAC" into
rlm@44 611 actual DNA
rlm@32 612
rlm@44 613 - black generator :: ferro-fluid magnetic field suspended micro
rlm@44 614 generator to make electricity
rlm@32 615
rlm@44 616 - alcohol battery :: alcohol/fluid flow powered battery
rlm@32 617
rlm@44 618 - folding razor blade sword ::
rlm@32 619
rlm@44 620 - perfect pitch :: learn perfect pitch using another sense in
rlm@44 621 combination (sight or touch)
rlm@32 622
rlm@44 623 - kaleidoscope projector ::
rlm@32 624
rlm@44 625 - razor blade de-sharpener :: for guilt free disposal
rlm@32 626
rlm@44 627 - bricks :: filled with luminescent plant material
rlm@32 628
rlm@47 629 - bio metallic structure :: metal grids with seeds inside, which grow
rlm@44 630 together and form a durable biological matrix. The metal
rlm@44 631 substrate delivers water. (maybe use plastic instead of metal?)
rlm@44 632 Dylan: enrich plants with inorganic compounds; electrical
rlm@44 633 interfaces in cellular plant matter => remote-controlled
rlm@44 634 photosynthetic/bioluminescent structures.
rlm@32 635
rlm@44 636 - conducting extracellular matrix :: to allow better control of
rlm@44 637 organic systems and an enhanced nervous system.
rlm@32 638
rlm@44 639 - cross-modal memory hashing :: a way to retrieve memories more
rlm@44 640 robustly.
rlm@32 641
rlm@47 642 - flossing thimble-guards :: (these actually exist)
rlm@32 643
rlm@44 644 - rules + lattice learning :: integrate lattice learning with rules by
rlm@44 645 generating hypothetical examples
rlm@32 646
rlm@47 647 - wooden refrigerator :: to give food a better taste Dylan: like
rlm@44 648 barrels for wine, or planks for salmon. Maybe just have "flavor
rlm@44 649 planks" for your pre-existing fridge. Need to mitigate effect of
rlm@44 650 temperature on volatility?
rlm@32 651
rlm@35 652 - radioactive transmutation molecule by molecule :: create precious
rlm@35 653 metals or something else economically advantageous.
rlm@32 654
rlm@47 655 - crowd preservation :: inoculate food with tons of harmless
rlm@44 656 bacteria so that there's no room for bad bacteria as a method of
rlm@44 657 preservation
rlm@32 658
rlm@47 659 - old school preservation :: Pasteur - style holding jar with siphon
rlm@47 660 as a way to store liquids at room temperature indefinitely w/o
rlm@47 661 refrigeration.
rlm@32 662
rlm@47 663 - restaurant policy :: Throw rude people out of restaurant as a matter
rlm@44 664 of course -- make ambiance much better.
rlm@32 665
rlm@47 666 - clean windows :: make something that mixes soap with fire hydrant
rlm@44 667 water (and reduces the pressure a bit) and use it
rlm@44 668 to clean windows of buildings.
rlm@32 669
rlm@44 670 - ocarina :: make an ocarina out of pure silver
rlm@32 671
rlm@35 672 - fire pen :: pen which burns words on to the page, thus never needing
rlm@47 673 any ink. Is there a way to make it runnable from the
rlm@35 674 human's energy?
rlm@32 675
rlm@44 676 - website to design your own soda :: and label, and have it mailed to
rlm@44 677 you / sell it from your own online store.
rlm@35 678
rlm@44 679 - solar panels :: that float on the ocean
rlm@43 680
rlm@35 681 - handcuffs with more than two cuffs (3?) :: great for daisy chaining
rlm@43 682 people, binding them to environment, etc.
rlm@35 683
rlm@35 684 - vector based SOUND files :: like the pictures but with SOUND. codify
rlm@35 685 sound in a language with enough symbols so that it can describe
rlm@35 686 everything and encode it in that. would be like going from speech
rlm@43 687 to text or smtg. Could also store sound as an image of the
rlm@35 688 wavefront encoded as a vector image.
rlm@32 689
rlm@44 690 - Mouse :: with a horizontal scroll wheel in addition to the vertical
rlm@44 691 scroll wheel
rlm@32 692
rlm@47 693 - logic maintenance system for big institutions :: to make sure the
rlm@44 694 things they are thinking about doing are not retarded
rlm@32 695
rlm@47 696 - http://www.regulations.gov/ :: cool site
rlm@32 697
rlm@44 698 - genetically engineered glowing fruit :: sell seeds?
rlm@32 699
rlm@36 700 - memory slide :: IF memories are encoded using particular sensory
rlm@36 701 impressions, what happens if the sensory organ
rlm@36 702 itself changes? those memories would become
rlm@47 703 inaccessible. maybe this is why we can't remember
rlm@36 704 much from our childhoods. also, could this happen
rlm@47 705 throughout life as well? Could S remember stuff from
rlm@36 706 his childhood?
rlm@32 707
rlm@47 708 - make a completely indestructible phone :: no moving parts or display
rlm@36 709 you should be able to slam it around all you want, and it will
rlm@36 710 just work. brutally simple. aerogel around the battery, minimal
rlm@36 711 interface - never gets too hot, and can be dropped into water. no
rlm@36 712 holes -- uses field effects for everything from the buttons to
rlm@36 713 inductive charging and data transfer.
rlm@32 714
rlm@44 715 - midi to ocarina "tabs" program :: (online website? buy ocarinas from
rlm@44 716 it too)
rlm@32 717
rlm@44 718 - 3d printing with sound pulses (or just patterns) :: like the 8.03
rlm@44 719 lecture
rlm@32 720
rlm@40 721 - lighter flint on spring :: make hot, throw it at something, and it
rlm@40 722 makes sparkles!
rlm@32 723
rlm@44 724 - nuclear energy :: Rebranding New+Clear Energy with informational
rlm@44 725 campaign and public debate forum to enforce its
rlm@44 726 transparent and open nature. France needn't be the
rlm@44 727 world leader in nuclear energy. (Dylan)
rlm@32 728
rlm@44 729 - bubbles :: Engineer a material which has both ductility and high
rlm@44 730 surface tension to make the "third"
rlm@44 731 minimal-surface-energy solution to a bubble suspended
rlm@44 732 between two equal-diameter rings. (Solutions are
rlm@44 733 cylindrical catenary curve, two separated half-bubbles,
rlm@44 734 and a double-cone)
rlm@38 735
rlm@38 736 - Textbook whose content can be varied continuously :: alter level of
rlm@38 737 difficulty, rigor, diction, emphasize crossover with certain
rlm@38 738 other discipline, etc. Content generated dynamically from
rlm@38 739 knowledge base, along with questions that are moreover altered to
rlm@38 740 guide knowledge acquisition. Motivation: One book of
rlm@40 741 knowledge. /One./
rlm@40 742
rlm@40 743 ** From Jacob's idea list
rlm@40 744
rlm@47 745 - Roommate-canceling headphones: uses roommate's laptop mic to seed
rlm@43 746 noise cancellation alg in your headphones (would this
rlm@40 747 work?). -Update on sound canceling headphones that take feed from
rlm@40 748 tv: how about ones that cancel people talking on the phone by
rlm@40 749 receiving the phone signals and playing inverse sound
rlm@40 750 waves. #signalprocessing ~jcole@mit.edu
rlm@40 751
rlm@40 752 - ClackerAlert -- tells if you slam the keys too hard using sound data
rlm@40 753 (and speed/jerkiness data)!.Prevents RSI ~jcole@mit.e
rlm@40 754
rlm@40 755 - Panic Pin :: separate pin that you can tell someone if forced to
rlm@41 756 identify your PIN (idea from idea about credit cards)