annotate org/ideas.org @ 40:11b6f711bc99

moar ideas.
author Robert McIntyre <rlm@mit.edu>
date Thu, 27 Jun 2013 14:46:25 -0400
parents 4f03d858ab4e
children 1676052a2257
rev   line source
rlm@38 1 * Good Ideas
rlm@38 2
rlm@40 3 - bitcoin wallet :: Part of "server culture", this would be something
rlm@40 4 like "coin.your-domain.com" which would serve as
rlm@40 5 your personal trusted access to your own bitcoins
rlm@40 6 from anywhere.
rlm@40 7
rlm@40 8 - libpay :: this would be a free library which would enable
rlm@40 9 micro-donations to software projects and other projects,
rlm@40 10 so that you could donate a panny to "emacs" and it would
rlm@40 11 be automitacally split up to every person who has ever
rlm@40 12 contributed to emacs in proportion to the amount of
rlm@40 13 community esteem, code quantity, bugs fixed, whatever the
rlm@40 14 community decides. This might make it posibe for
rlm@40 15 programmers to live entirely off of free programming.
rlm@40 16
rlm@40 17 - pronouns :: use capital letters A-Z instead of pronouns. They solve
rlm@40 18 pronoun referents and gender neutrality, are short to
rlm@40 19 say, and you can encode useful information into the
rlm@40 20 choice of letter. For example, instead of "Meetings
rlm@40 21 shall be presided over by the president, unless she is
rlm@40 22 absent." USE Meetings shall be presided over by the
rlm@40 23 president, unless P is absent." We already use this a
rlm@40 24 little, since I and U are reserved for the subject and
rlm@40 25 object respectively.
rlm@40 26
rlm@40 27 - phone DSP :: software app that inserts an audio DSP between the
rlm@40 28 input to a phone and the output. The DSP is delicious
rlm@40 29 and configurable, and can allow men to make their
rlm@40 30 voices deeper, etc. The app would allow you to hear
rlm@40 31 your own voice as others hear it. Most people hate how
rlm@40 32 their own voice sounds. The app would also allow one to
rlm@40 33 immediately change the paramaters of the DSP using good
rlm@40 34 presets.
rlm@40 35
rlm@40 36 - predestined body learning :: a good example of pre destined learning
rlm@40 37 might be the mirror neurons.
rlm@40 38
rlm@40 39 - resturant reciept :: use a carbon copy reciept instead of two stupid
rlm@40 40 copies.
rlm@40 41
rlm@40 42 - wearable towel :: towel with clasp, velcro, whatever, that allows
rlm@40 43 one to wear the towel more securely than just
rlm@40 44 wrapping it tightly and hoping for the best.
rlm@40 45
rlm@40 46 - book-mode :: intelligent color highlighting for books and
rlm@40 47 articles. It would disambiguate pronouns and involved
rlm@40 48 references. For example, if "Rachael" as red, and "the
rlm@40 49 blonde haired girl" refers to "Rachael", then "the
rlm@40 50 blonde haired girl" would he colored red. Also, you
rlm@40 51 could disambiguate multi part runon sentences by
rlm@40 52 highlighting each subcomponent. Maybe would also have
rlm@40 53 appliations to scientific reading.
rlm@40 54
rlm@40 55 - Handheld light Rain measurement :: this would be a clear, teflon
rlm@40 56 coated plasic disk with a camera underneath the disk. You would
rlm@40 57 be able to hold the device out and it would measure the rate of
rlm@40 58 accumulation of water droplets from fine mists and light rain by
rlm@40 59 using computer vision to measure the diameters of the drops.
rlm@40 60
rlm@40 61 - Big Brother Farming :: This would be a vision system that would
rlm@40 62 individually monitor each plant and turn on water, etc to ensure
rlm@40 63 maximum/uniform growth for each plant.
rlm@40 64
rlm@40 65 - Discrete Faucet :: A faucet with discrete ticks instead of
rlm@40 66 continous.
rlm@40 67
rlm@40 68 - Laser Circle :: take a glass microfiliment and shine a laser at one
rlm@40 69 end at an oblique angle. It will make a perfect,
rlm@40 70 large circle on the wall, converting a laser beam
rlm@40 71 into a laser cone, perserving most of the energy of
rlm@40 72 the laser.
rlm@40 73
rlm@40 74 - Invisible Glass :: Take a container of liquid and embed a
rlm@40 75 glass sculpture made out of glass that has exactly the same index
rlm@40 76 of refraction and color of the liquid. Then the sculpture will be
rlm@40 77 totally invisible in the container, and will only be revealed
rlm@40 78 when the liquid is drained. The container might be a fancy
rlm@40 79 wine/spirit bottle or an hourglass.
rlm@40 80
rlm@40 81 - Caterpillar people :: A race of catepillar like creatures gains
rlm@40 82 intelligence after eons of predation by birds, etc. These
rlm@40 83 catepillar creatures still undergo metamorphosis into a large
rlm@40 84 butterfly-like creature. The metamorphosis process turns the
rlm@40 85 caterpillar's brain into mush and reforms it into a minimal,
rlm@40 86 dumb, truly insect-like mind, completely destroying the person
rlm@40 87 the catepillar was. The society develops all sorts of customs and
rlm@40 88 religious interpretations of the metamorphosis. It is viewed as
rlm@40 89 good and natural by some since it is part of their life cycle and
rlm@40 90 necessary to propogate the species, as only the butterflies can
rlm@40 91 mate. Some think that the butterflies are still the same person
rlm@40 92 because they have the same soul, even they no longer posess the
rlm@40 93 memories or personality of the original catepillar. Some see the
rlm@40 94 butterfly form as the "true form" of the species, since the
rlm@40 95 butterflies can fly, mate, and are beautiful. Many make a big
rlm@40 96 deal out of the fact that 1-2% of the catepillar's mind is
rlm@40 97 actually preserved in the butterfly. Some see it as a terrible
rlm@40 98 tradgedy and argue that the catepillars should try to stop the
rlm@40 99 metamorphosis by technology. Practically, some very important
rlm@40 100 members of society undergo hormone therapy and/or surgery to
rlm@40 101 prevent metamorphosis so that they can live longer as themselves.
rlm@40 102
rlm@40 103 This is a continuation of Marvin Minsky's ideas about pain being
rlm@40 104 something that preserves our bodies while destroying our minds,
rlm@40 105 something that is a remnant from our too harsh animal days that
rlm@40 106 hasn't caught up to the fact that we have very complex brains
rlm@40 107 now. It's a worst-case scenario about a maladaptive genetic
rlm@40 108 legacy. Also, it's inspired by "There She Is!!!", which makes a
rlm@40 109 compelling point about homosexuality by introducing a second
rlm@40 110 gender characteristic (bunny/cat, male/female), which makes
rlm@40 111 homophobia look very silly. Here, our own biological legacy of
rlm@40 112 pain and death is made to look like the tradegy it is through the
rlm@40 113 lense of the the caterpillar people.
rlm@40 114
rlm@40 115 - http://betsofbitco.in/ :: what a great place for an AI/person to
rlm@40 116 prove themselves as a good predictor. I wish this could be
rlm@40 117 automated.
rlm@40 118
rlm@33 119 - don't forget about that mirror in the student center!, it's two
rlm@33 120 mirrors at right angles, like staring at a corner of a room. The
rlm@33 121 light reflects so that it shows you what you actually look like,
rlm@33 122 instead of your mirror image.
rlm@33 123
rlm@33 124 - remote control wasp :: use computer to drive wings with remote
rlm@32 125 power/logic.
rlm@32 126
rlm@33 127 - public (distributed?) database of email->private-key pairs, to
rlm@33 128 enable automatic encryption.
rlm@32 129
rlm@39 130 - every equivalent creature will see each others' eyes as black --
rlm@40 131 it's universal. Even if the creatures see in radio waves, and their
rlm@39 132 eyes are 2m long pieces of jagged metal, when those creatures look
rlm@39 133 at each other, they will see black, the absence of light and color
rlm@32 134 (since it's being absorbed by the sensor array).
rlm@32 135
rlm@33 136 - intelligent microwave :: it learns where the hot nodes of its fields
rlm@32 137 are, and uses them to evenly heat any food item. It has an infared
rlm@32 138 camera or something to keep track of how hot the food is. That way,
rlm@32 139 you don't get bowls where the edges are boiling, while the center is
rlm@32 140 still frozen. Requires a little bit of intelligence/vision, since
rlm@32 141 the exact pattern of heating totally depends on the exact shape of
rlm@32 142 the food. Wouldn't need a carasouel, and wouldn't need a timer,
rlm@32 143 just a desired temperature. Could also detect ice, and automotically
rlm@32 144 defrost the parts which are frozen. Might be able to work much
rlm@32 145 faster since it can aviod overheating; might have problems with
rlm@32 146 heating the insides of thick things, might need a weight sensor too.
rlm@32 147
rlm@39 148 + Would be much cleaner than other microwaves, since food would
rlm@39 149 "sputter" and splash liquid much less.
rlm@32 150
rlm@39 151 + Throw in some SIFT+R processing to match previously cooked foods
rlm@39 152 and learn the exact heating profiles for things that have been
rlm@39 153 cooked before -- it can get faster the more its used.
rlm@32 154
rlm@33 155 - brain-aware image compression algorithm
rlm@32 156
rlm@33 157 - Credit card proxy - would be a company which works like paypal
rlm@33 158 except for real world transactions
rlm@32 159
rlm@33 160 - Flesh pillow :: a pillow like the arm or torso of a human, complete
rlm@33 161 with simulated temperature, bones, and heartbeat.
rlm@33 162
rlm@33 163 - super screw :: a screw which has only one or two threads and intead
rlm@33 164 uses compresion to fit into a hole (the whole shank
rlm@33 165 of the screw is split into multiple pieces to
rlm@33 166 accomplish this; the tip is a point, then the middle
rlm@33 167 bulges out and gets compressed when screwed in.
rlm@33 168
rlm@33 169 - light filter :: (like light tweezers) to mechanically seperate
rlm@33 170 fluids with different index of refraction
rlm@33 171
rlm@33 172 - chalk eraser project :: maybe make a directional eraser, for easy
rlm@33 173 release of chalk dust, like fur, and how it likes to rest in a
rlm@33 174 certain direction.
rlm@33 175
rlm@34 176 - silver socks
rlm@32 177
rlm@34 178 - UROP: magnet gear/metal teeth tape device to distill urine through
rlm@34 179 evaporation and easily dispose of urea crystals for use in desert --
rlm@34 180 produce drinkable water.
rlm@32 181
rlm@34 182 - UROP: Make the LED in line with the flow for the microinjector, so
rlm@34 183 that it may transmit maximum flow. Motor that changes distance of
rlm@34 184 internal magnet from windings depending on desired speed so as to
rlm@34 185 obtain maximum power efficiency.
rlm@32 186
rlm@34 187 - web scraper which monitors various lottries, looking for "special"
rlm@34 188 gimmick changes in the rules (like 4x winnings on Wednesdays) and
rlm@34 189 computes expected value...
rlm@34 190
rlm@34 191 - Memristiors novel design :: make an evolutionary algorithm to make
rlm@34 192 old stuff using all four basic circuit elements.
rlm@34 193
rlm@34 194 - Conductive concrete
rlm@34 195
rlm@34 196 - little bitty melting pot
rlm@34 197
rlm@34 198 - power strip/timer programmable combination
rlm@34 199
rlm@34 200 - algorthms which learn what their inputs are and in what order, and
rlm@34 201 can adapt to changing circumstances -- they remember previous
rlm@34 202 arguments and adapt so as to respond to different connections.
rlm@34 203
rlm@34 204 - hear a true pure tone by direct stimultion of the nerves of the ear
rlm@34 205 mechanical analogue to the electrical op-amp
rlm@34 206
rlm@34 207 - paper folding device :: make it convienent to fold lots of papers in
rlm@34 208 various ways.
rlm@34 209
rlm@34 210 - concrete epoxy :: epoxy with sand/ some other solid material.
rlm@34 211
rlm@34 212 - suspend some ball of material with a high index of refraction and
rlm@34 213 shine light into it so it gets stuck -- would the light stay trapped
rlm@34 214 forever? Could you build up unlimited quantities of light inside the
rlm@34 215 sphere (which could then be released slowly by frustrated internal
rlm@34 216 reflection?
rlm@34 217
rlm@40 218 - movie screening :: Movies always are too long at first. One way to
rlm@34 219 shorten them ``scientifically" is to record blink rate during the
rlm@34 220 move and then remove / shorten the frames of the parts in which
rlm@34 221 there are a lot of blinking (average this over multiple people)
rlm@34 222 better yet, put it online and do it across thousands of people. I
rlm@34 223 got this from youtube in which there is an episode of kill bill
rlm@34 224 whih is composed entirely of the parts in whihc opeople had their
rlm@34 225 eyes closed. slogan: want to make a movie people can't take their
rlm@34 226 eyes off of? Just take those parts out!
rlm@34 227
rlm@35 228 - capture reading of a scientific atricle via screen capture while
rlm@35 229 people read it, then use it to make the article better. like the
rlm@35 230 movie-pruning idea.
rlm@35 231
rlm@35 232 - super reading program that teaches people the ideal mental mask to
rlm@35 233 apply during reading so as to read very fast.
rlm@35 234
rlm@34 235 - explosive thermite epoxy putty (one part would contain the rust, one
rlm@34 236 part the alumimum)
rlm@34 237
rlm@35 238 - use the above screen capture routine to make a quiz program tha
rlm@35 239 constructs questions about the content you seemed to gloss over
rlm@35 240 while reading. could be easy if the pdf came with embedded
rlm@35 241 questions. Dylan: automatically generate word-cloud about the parts
rlm@35 242 you found most interesting; help others who read the same stuff by
rlm@35 243 drawing attention to the interesting parts.
rlm@34 244
rlm@35 245 - make a samurai sword, but use osmiridum instead of martensite for
rlm@35 246 the cutting part; it should be a better sword.
rlm@32 247
rlm@35 248 - use the induction technology used to recharge electric toothbrushes
rlm@35 249 with no metal links to send data -- without any metal at all!
rlm@32 250
rlm@35 251 - reading is a form of synsethesia
rlm@32 252
rlm@35 253 - A machine which translates the text eg, "ACTGAC" into actual DNA
rlm@32 254
rlm@35 255 - ferro-fluid magnetic field suspended micro generator to make
rlm@35 256 electricity
rlm@32 257
rlm@35 258 - alcohol/fluid flow powered battery
rlm@32 259
rlm@35 260 - folding razor blade sword
rlm@32 261
rlm@35 262 - learn perfect pitch using another sense in combination (sight or
rlm@35 263 touch)
rlm@32 264
rlm@35 265 - kaleidoscope projector
rlm@32 266
rlm@35 267 - razor blade de-sharpener (for guilt free disposal)
rlm@32 268
rlm@35 269 - bricks filled with luminescent plant material
rlm@32 270
rlm@35 271 - metal grids with seeds inside, which grow together and form a
rlm@35 272 durable biological matrix. The metal substrate delivers
rlm@35 273 water. (maybe use plastic instead of metal?) Dylan: enrich plants
rlm@35 274 with inorganic compounds; electrical interfaces in cellular plant
rlm@35 275 matter => remote-controlled photosynthetic/bioluminescent
rlm@35 276 structures.
rlm@32 277
rlm@35 278 - conducting extracellular matrix
rlm@32 279
rlm@35 280 - cross-modal memory hashing
rlm@32 281
rlm@35 282 - flossing thimble-gaurds
rlm@32 283
rlm@35 284 - integrate lattice learning with rules by generating hypothetical
rlm@35 285 examples
rlm@32 286
rlm@35 287 - wooden refridgerator to give food a better taste Dylan: like barrels
rlm@35 288 for wine, or planks for salmon. Maybe just have "flavor planks" for
rlm@35 289 your pre-existing fridge. Need to mitigate effect of temperature on
rlm@35 290 volatility?
rlm@32 291
rlm@35 292 - radioactive transmutation molecule by molecule :: create precious
rlm@35 293 metals or something else economically advantageous.
rlm@32 294
rlm@35 295 - innolculate food with tons of harmless bacteria so that there's no
rlm@35 296 room for bad bacteria as a method of preservation
rlm@32 297
rlm@35 298 - pasteur - style holding jar with siphon as a way to store liquids ar
rlm@35 299 room temperature indefinately w/o refridgeration.(7/26/2009)
rlm@32 300
rlm@35 301 - Throw rude people out of resturant as a matter of course -- make
rlm@35 302 ambiance much better.
rlm@32 303
rlm@35 304 - make something that mixes soap with firehydrant water (and reduces
rlm@35 305 the pressure a bit) and use it to clean windows of buildings.
rlm@32 306
rlm@35 307 - make an ocarina out of pure silver
rlm@32 308
rlm@35 309 - fire pen :: pen which burns words on to the page, thus never needing
rlm@35 310 any ink. Is ther a way to make it runnable from the
rlm@35 311 human's energy?
rlm@32 312
rlm@35 313 - website to design your own soda, and label, and have it mailed to
rlm@35 314 you / sell it from your own online store.
rlm@35 315
rlm@35 316 - solar panels that float on the ocean
rlm@35 317 - handcuffs with more than two cuffs (3?) :: great for daisy chaining
rlm@35 318 prisoniers, binding them to environment, etc.
rlm@35 319
rlm@35 320 - vector based SOUND files :: like the pictures but with SOUND. codify
rlm@35 321 sound in a language with enough symbols so that it can describe
rlm@35 322 everything and encode it in that. would be like going from speech
rlm@35 323 to text or smtg. This would store sound as an image of the
rlm@35 324 wavefront encoded as a vector image.
rlm@32 325
rlm@36 326 - Mouse with a horizontal scroll wheel in addition to the vertical
rlm@36 327 scroll wheel
rlm@32 328
rlm@36 329 - logic maintance system for big institutions to make sure the things
rlm@36 330 they are thinking about doing are not retarded
rlm@32 331
rlm@36 332 - http://www.regulations.gov/
rlm@32 333
rlm@36 334 - genetically engineered glowing fruit -- sell seeds?
rlm@32 335
rlm@36 336 - memory slide :: IF memories are encoded using particular sensory
rlm@36 337 impressions, what happens if the sensory organ
rlm@36 338 itself changes? those memories would become
rlm@36 339 unaccessable. maybe this is why we can't remember
rlm@36 340 much from our childhoods. also, could this happen
rlm@36 341 throught life as well? Could S remember stuff from
rlm@36 342 his childhood?
rlm@32 343
rlm@36 344 - make a completely indestructable phone :: no moving parts or display
rlm@36 345 you should be able to slam it around all you want, and it will
rlm@36 346 just work. brutally simple. aerogel around the battery, minimal
rlm@36 347 interface - never gets too hot, and can be dropped into water. no
rlm@36 348 holes -- uses field effects for everything from the buttons to
rlm@36 349 inductive charging and data transfer.
rlm@32 350
rlm@36 351 - midi to ocarina "tabs" program (online website? buy ocarinas from it
rlm@36 352 too)
rlm@32 353
rlm@36 354 - 3d printing with sound pulses (or just patterns) -- like the 8.03
rlm@36 355 lecture
rlm@32 356
rlm@40 357 - lighter flint on spring :: make hot, throw it at something, and it
rlm@40 358 makes sparkles!
rlm@32 359
rlm@36 360 - Rebranding New+Clear Energy with informational campaign and
rlm@36 361 public debate forum to enforce its transparent and open
rlm@36 362 nature. France needn't be the world leader in nuclear
rlm@36 363 energy. (Dylan)
rlm@32 364
rlm@36 365 - Engineer a material which has both ductility and high surface
rlm@36 366 tension to make the "third" minimal-surface-energy solution to a
rlm@36 367 bubble suspended between two equal-diameter rings. (Solutions are
rlm@36 368 cylindrical catenary curve, two separated half-bubbles, and a
rlm@36 369 double-cone)
rlm@38 370
rlm@38 371 - Textbook whose content can be varied continuously :: alter level of
rlm@38 372 difficulty, rigor, diction, emphasize crossover with certain
rlm@38 373 other discipline, etc. Content generated dynamically from
rlm@38 374 knowledge base, along with questions that are moreover altered to
rlm@38 375 guide knowledge acquisition. Motivation: One book of
rlm@40 376 knowledge. /One./
rlm@40 377
rlm@40 378 - relationships as a business ::
rlm@40 379 http://thedailywtf.com/Articles/Up-or-Out-Solving-the-IT-Turnover-Crisis.aspx
rlm@40 380 is an excellent talk about the "culture of quitting," which is about
rlm@40 381 better business by letting people go instead of keeping them around
rlm@40 382 past their "apex". Focouses on information transfer. Cool idea of an
rlm@40 383 alumni network, which for relationships would be a group of
rlm@40 384 satisfied ex-lovers, who would recommend new people your way, and
rlm@40 385 who might consider coming to you again, refreshed from their time
rlm@40 386 away with new stories/experiences. I should look for examples of
rlm@40 387 this and how they worked out.
rlm@40 388
rlm@40 389 - coffe with tea :: /rlm-tea/ contains 2% sugar, 10% cream, and 20%
rlm@40 390 dylan coffee. /dylan coffee/ contains 5% sugar,
rlm@40 391 20% cream, and 10% rlm-tea. Start your mornings
rlm@40 392 with recursion!
rlm@40 393
rlm@40 394 - psychic crystal :: in a science fiction story, this would be an
rlm@40 395 object that is very easy to move physically but is extremely
rlm@40 396 difficult to move with telekinesis.
rlm@40 397
rlm@40 398
rlm@40 399
rlm@40 400 ** From Jacob's idea list
rlm@40 401
rlm@40 402 - Roommate-cancelling headphones: uses roommate's laptop mic to seed
rlm@40 403 noise cancellation alg in your headzphones (would this
rlm@40 404 work?). -Update on sound canceling headphones that take feed from
rlm@40 405 tv: how about ones that cancel people talking on the phone by
rlm@40 406 receiving the phone signals and playing inverse sound
rlm@40 407 waves. #signalprocessing ~jcole@mit.edu
rlm@40 408
rlm@40 409 - Browser based graphics-card accelerated distributed computing API.
rlm@40 410
rlm@40 411 - ClackerAlert -- tells if you slam the keys too hard using sound data
rlm@40 412 (and speed/jerkiness data)!.Prevents RSI ~jcole@mit.e
rlm@40 413
rlm@40 414 - Panic Pin :: separate pin that you can tell someone if forced to
rlm@40 415 identify your PIN (idea from idea about credit cards