annotate org/ideas.org @ 41:1676052a2257

merge ideas.
author Robert McIntyre <rlm@mit.edu>
date Sat, 13 Jul 2013 02:28:04 -0400
parents 11b6f711bc99
children 25b2ade0816a
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@41 17 - Browser based graphics-card accelerated distributed computing API.
rlm@41 18
rlm@40 19 - pronouns :: use capital letters A-Z instead of pronouns. They solve
rlm@40 20 pronoun referents and gender neutrality, are short to
rlm@40 21 say, and you can encode useful information into the
rlm@40 22 choice of letter. For example, instead of "Meetings
rlm@40 23 shall be presided over by the president, unless she is
rlm@40 24 absent." USE Meetings shall be presided over by the
rlm@40 25 president, unless P is absent." We already use this a
rlm@40 26 little, since I and U are reserved for the subject and
rlm@40 27 object respectively.
rlm@40 28
rlm@40 29 - phone DSP :: software app that inserts an audio DSP between the
rlm@40 30 input to a phone and the output. The DSP is delicious
rlm@40 31 and configurable, and can allow men to make their
rlm@40 32 voices deeper, etc. The app would allow you to hear
rlm@40 33 your own voice as others hear it. Most people hate how
rlm@40 34 their own voice sounds. The app would also allow one to
rlm@40 35 immediately change the paramaters of the DSP using good
rlm@40 36 presets.
rlm@40 37
rlm@40 38 - predestined body learning :: a good example of pre destined learning
rlm@40 39 might be the mirror neurons.
rlm@40 40
rlm@40 41 - resturant reciept :: use a carbon copy reciept instead of two stupid
rlm@40 42 copies.
rlm@40 43
rlm@41 44 - anti google glass :: glasses with mounted lasers and computer vision
rlm@41 45 that targets the cameras in google glass and destroy them.
rlm@41 46
rlm@40 47 - wearable towel :: towel with clasp, velcro, whatever, that allows
rlm@40 48 one to wear the towel more securely than just
rlm@40 49 wrapping it tightly and hoping for the best.
rlm@40 50
rlm@41 51 - Easiest way to disguise onself as a woman is to wear a burka.
rlm@41 52
rlm@40 53 - book-mode :: intelligent color highlighting for books and
rlm@40 54 articles. It would disambiguate pronouns and involved
rlm@40 55 references. For example, if "Rachael" as red, and "the
rlm@40 56 blonde haired girl" refers to "Rachael", then "the
rlm@40 57 blonde haired girl" would he colored red. Also, you
rlm@40 58 could disambiguate multi part runon sentences by
rlm@40 59 highlighting each subcomponent. Maybe would also have
rlm@40 60 appliations to scientific reading.
rlm@40 61
rlm@40 62 - Handheld light Rain measurement :: this would be a clear, teflon
rlm@40 63 coated plasic disk with a camera underneath the disk. You would
rlm@40 64 be able to hold the device out and it would measure the rate of
rlm@40 65 accumulation of water droplets from fine mists and light rain by
rlm@40 66 using computer vision to measure the diameters of the drops.
rlm@40 67
rlm@40 68 - Big Brother Farming :: This would be a vision system that would
rlm@40 69 individually monitor each plant and turn on water, etc to ensure
rlm@40 70 maximum/uniform growth for each plant.
rlm@40 71
rlm@40 72 - Discrete Faucet :: A faucet with discrete ticks instead of
rlm@40 73 continous.
rlm@40 74
rlm@40 75 - Laser Circle :: take a glass microfiliment and shine a laser at one
rlm@40 76 end at an oblique angle. It will make a perfect,
rlm@40 77 large circle on the wall, converting a laser beam
rlm@40 78 into a laser cone, perserving most of the energy of
rlm@40 79 the laser.
rlm@40 80
rlm@40 81 - Invisible Glass :: Take a container of liquid and embed a
rlm@40 82 glass sculpture made out of glass that has exactly the same index
rlm@40 83 of refraction and color of the liquid. Then the sculpture will be
rlm@40 84 totally invisible in the container, and will only be revealed
rlm@40 85 when the liquid is drained. The container might be a fancy
rlm@40 86 wine/spirit bottle or an hourglass.
rlm@40 87
rlm@40 88 - Caterpillar people :: A race of catepillar like creatures gains
rlm@40 89 intelligence after eons of predation by birds, etc. These
rlm@40 90 catepillar creatures still undergo metamorphosis into a large
rlm@40 91 butterfly-like creature. The metamorphosis process turns the
rlm@40 92 caterpillar's brain into mush and reforms it into a minimal,
rlm@40 93 dumb, truly insect-like mind, completely destroying the person
rlm@40 94 the catepillar was. The society develops all sorts of customs and
rlm@40 95 religious interpretations of the metamorphosis. It is viewed as
rlm@40 96 good and natural by some since it is part of their life cycle and
rlm@40 97 necessary to propogate the species, as only the butterflies can
rlm@40 98 mate. Some think that the butterflies are still the same person
rlm@40 99 because they have the same soul, even they no longer posess the
rlm@40 100 memories or personality of the original catepillar. Some see the
rlm@40 101 butterfly form as the "true form" of the species, since the
rlm@40 102 butterflies can fly, mate, and are beautiful. Many make a big
rlm@40 103 deal out of the fact that 1-2% of the catepillar's mind is
rlm@40 104 actually preserved in the butterfly. Some see it as a terrible
rlm@40 105 tradgedy and argue that the catepillars should try to stop the
rlm@40 106 metamorphosis by technology. Practically, some very important
rlm@40 107 members of society undergo hormone therapy and/or surgery to
rlm@40 108 prevent metamorphosis so that they can live longer as themselves.
rlm@40 109
rlm@40 110 This is a continuation of Marvin Minsky's ideas about pain being
rlm@40 111 something that preserves our bodies while destroying our minds,
rlm@40 112 something that is a remnant from our too harsh animal days that
rlm@40 113 hasn't caught up to the fact that we have very complex brains
rlm@40 114 now. It's a worst-case scenario about a maladaptive genetic
rlm@40 115 legacy. Also, it's inspired by "There She Is!!!", which makes a
rlm@40 116 compelling point about homosexuality by introducing a second
rlm@40 117 gender characteristic (bunny/cat, male/female), which makes
rlm@40 118 homophobia look very silly. Here, our own biological legacy of
rlm@40 119 pain and death is made to look like the tradegy it is through the
rlm@40 120 lense of the the caterpillar people.
rlm@40 121
rlm@40 122 - http://betsofbitco.in/ :: what a great place for an AI/person to
rlm@40 123 prove themselves as a good predictor. I wish this could be
rlm@40 124 automated.
rlm@40 125
rlm@33 126 - don't forget about that mirror in the student center!, it's two
rlm@33 127 mirrors at right angles, like staring at a corner of a room. The
rlm@33 128 light reflects so that it shows you what you actually look like,
rlm@33 129 instead of your mirror image.
rlm@33 130
rlm@33 131 - remote control wasp :: use computer to drive wings with remote
rlm@32 132 power/logic.
rlm@32 133
rlm@33 134 - public (distributed?) database of email->private-key pairs, to
rlm@33 135 enable automatic encryption.
rlm@32 136
rlm@39 137 - every equivalent creature will see each others' eyes as black --
rlm@40 138 it's universal. Even if the creatures see in radio waves, and their
rlm@39 139 eyes are 2m long pieces of jagged metal, when those creatures look
rlm@39 140 at each other, they will see black, the absence of light and color
rlm@32 141 (since it's being absorbed by the sensor array).
rlm@32 142
rlm@33 143 - intelligent microwave :: it learns where the hot nodes of its fields
rlm@32 144 are, and uses them to evenly heat any food item. It has an infared
rlm@32 145 camera or something to keep track of how hot the food is. That way,
rlm@32 146 you don't get bowls where the edges are boiling, while the center is
rlm@32 147 still frozen. Requires a little bit of intelligence/vision, since
rlm@32 148 the exact pattern of heating totally depends on the exact shape of
rlm@32 149 the food. Wouldn't need a carasouel, and wouldn't need a timer,
rlm@32 150 just a desired temperature. Could also detect ice, and automotically
rlm@32 151 defrost the parts which are frozen. Might be able to work much
rlm@32 152 faster since it can aviod overheating; might have problems with
rlm@32 153 heating the insides of thick things, might need a weight sensor too.
rlm@32 154
rlm@39 155 + Would be much cleaner than other microwaves, since food would
rlm@39 156 "sputter" and splash liquid much less.
rlm@32 157
rlm@39 158 + Throw in some SIFT+R processing to match previously cooked foods
rlm@39 159 and learn the exact heating profiles for things that have been
rlm@39 160 cooked before -- it can get faster the more its used.
rlm@32 161
rlm@33 162 - brain-aware image compression algorithm
rlm@32 163
rlm@33 164 - Credit card proxy - would be a company which works like paypal
rlm@33 165 except for real world transactions
rlm@32 166
rlm@33 167 - Flesh pillow :: a pillow like the arm or torso of a human, complete
rlm@33 168 with simulated temperature, bones, and heartbeat.
rlm@33 169
rlm@33 170 - super screw :: a screw which has only one or two threads and intead
rlm@33 171 uses compresion to fit into a hole (the whole shank
rlm@33 172 of the screw is split into multiple pieces to
rlm@33 173 accomplish this; the tip is a point, then the middle
rlm@33 174 bulges out and gets compressed when screwed in.
rlm@33 175
rlm@33 176 - light filter :: (like light tweezers) to mechanically seperate
rlm@33 177 fluids with different index of refraction
rlm@33 178
rlm@33 179 - chalk eraser project :: maybe make a directional eraser, for easy
rlm@33 180 release of chalk dust, like fur, and how it likes to rest in a
rlm@33 181 certain direction.
rlm@33 182
rlm@34 183 - silver socks
rlm@32 184
rlm@34 185 - UROP: magnet gear/metal teeth tape device to distill urine through
rlm@34 186 evaporation and easily dispose of urea crystals for use in desert --
rlm@34 187 produce drinkable water.
rlm@32 188
rlm@34 189 - UROP: Make the LED in line with the flow for the microinjector, so
rlm@34 190 that it may transmit maximum flow. Motor that changes distance of
rlm@34 191 internal magnet from windings depending on desired speed so as to
rlm@34 192 obtain maximum power efficiency.
rlm@32 193
rlm@34 194 - web scraper which monitors various lottries, looking for "special"
rlm@34 195 gimmick changes in the rules (like 4x winnings on Wednesdays) and
rlm@34 196 computes expected value...
rlm@34 197
rlm@34 198 - Memristiors novel design :: make an evolutionary algorithm to make
rlm@34 199 old stuff using all four basic circuit elements.
rlm@34 200
rlm@34 201 - Conductive concrete
rlm@34 202
rlm@34 203 - little bitty melting pot
rlm@34 204
rlm@34 205 - power strip/timer programmable combination
rlm@34 206
rlm@34 207 - algorthms which learn what their inputs are and in what order, and
rlm@34 208 can adapt to changing circumstances -- they remember previous
rlm@34 209 arguments and adapt so as to respond to different connections.
rlm@34 210
rlm@34 211 - hear a true pure tone by direct stimultion of the nerves of the ear
rlm@34 212 mechanical analogue to the electrical op-amp
rlm@34 213
rlm@34 214 - paper folding device :: make it convienent to fold lots of papers in
rlm@34 215 various ways.
rlm@34 216
rlm@34 217 - concrete epoxy :: epoxy with sand/ some other solid material.
rlm@34 218
rlm@34 219 - suspend some ball of material with a high index of refraction and
rlm@34 220 shine light into it so it gets stuck -- would the light stay trapped
rlm@34 221 forever? Could you build up unlimited quantities of light inside the
rlm@34 222 sphere (which could then be released slowly by frustrated internal
rlm@34 223 reflection?
rlm@34 224
rlm@40 225 - movie screening :: Movies always are too long at first. One way to
rlm@34 226 shorten them ``scientifically" is to record blink rate during the
rlm@34 227 move and then remove / shorten the frames of the parts in which
rlm@34 228 there are a lot of blinking (average this over multiple people)
rlm@34 229 better yet, put it online and do it across thousands of people. I
rlm@34 230 got this from youtube in which there is an episode of kill bill
rlm@34 231 whih is composed entirely of the parts in whihc opeople had their
rlm@34 232 eyes closed. slogan: want to make a movie people can't take their
rlm@34 233 eyes off of? Just take those parts out!
rlm@34 234
rlm@35 235 - capture reading of a scientific atricle via screen capture while
rlm@35 236 people read it, then use it to make the article better. like the
rlm@35 237 movie-pruning idea.
rlm@35 238
rlm@35 239 - super reading program that teaches people the ideal mental mask to
rlm@35 240 apply during reading so as to read very fast.
rlm@35 241
rlm@34 242 - explosive thermite epoxy putty (one part would contain the rust, one
rlm@34 243 part the alumimum)
rlm@34 244
rlm@35 245 - use the above screen capture routine to make a quiz program tha
rlm@35 246 constructs questions about the content you seemed to gloss over
rlm@35 247 while reading. could be easy if the pdf came with embedded
rlm@35 248 questions. Dylan: automatically generate word-cloud about the parts
rlm@35 249 you found most interesting; help others who read the same stuff by
rlm@35 250 drawing attention to the interesting parts.
rlm@34 251
rlm@35 252 - make a samurai sword, but use osmiridum instead of martensite for
rlm@35 253 the cutting part; it should be a better sword.
rlm@32 254
rlm@35 255 - use the induction technology used to recharge electric toothbrushes
rlm@35 256 with no metal links to send data -- without any metal at all!
rlm@32 257
rlm@35 258 - reading is a form of synsethesia
rlm@32 259
rlm@35 260 - A machine which translates the text eg, "ACTGAC" into actual DNA
rlm@32 261
rlm@35 262 - ferro-fluid magnetic field suspended micro generator to make
rlm@35 263 electricity
rlm@32 264
rlm@35 265 - alcohol/fluid flow powered battery
rlm@32 266
rlm@35 267 - folding razor blade sword
rlm@32 268
rlm@35 269 - learn perfect pitch using another sense in combination (sight or
rlm@35 270 touch)
rlm@32 271
rlm@35 272 - kaleidoscope projector
rlm@32 273
rlm@35 274 - razor blade de-sharpener (for guilt free disposal)
rlm@32 275
rlm@35 276 - bricks filled with luminescent plant material
rlm@32 277
rlm@35 278 - metal grids with seeds inside, which grow together and form a
rlm@35 279 durable biological matrix. The metal substrate delivers
rlm@35 280 water. (maybe use plastic instead of metal?) Dylan: enrich plants
rlm@35 281 with inorganic compounds; electrical interfaces in cellular plant
rlm@35 282 matter => remote-controlled photosynthetic/bioluminescent
rlm@35 283 structures.
rlm@32 284
rlm@35 285 - conducting extracellular matrix
rlm@32 286
rlm@35 287 - cross-modal memory hashing
rlm@32 288
rlm@35 289 - flossing thimble-gaurds
rlm@32 290
rlm@35 291 - integrate lattice learning with rules by generating hypothetical
rlm@35 292 examples
rlm@32 293
rlm@35 294 - wooden refridgerator to give food a better taste Dylan: like barrels
rlm@35 295 for wine, or planks for salmon. Maybe just have "flavor planks" for
rlm@35 296 your pre-existing fridge. Need to mitigate effect of temperature on
rlm@35 297 volatility?
rlm@32 298
rlm@35 299 - radioactive transmutation molecule by molecule :: create precious
rlm@35 300 metals or something else economically advantageous.
rlm@32 301
rlm@35 302 - innolculate food with tons of harmless bacteria so that there's no
rlm@35 303 room for bad bacteria as a method of preservation
rlm@32 304
rlm@35 305 - pasteur - style holding jar with siphon as a way to store liquids ar
rlm@35 306 room temperature indefinately w/o refridgeration.(7/26/2009)
rlm@32 307
rlm@35 308 - Throw rude people out of resturant as a matter of course -- make
rlm@35 309 ambiance much better.
rlm@32 310
rlm@35 311 - make something that mixes soap with firehydrant water (and reduces
rlm@35 312 the pressure a bit) and use it to clean windows of buildings.
rlm@32 313
rlm@35 314 - make an ocarina out of pure silver
rlm@32 315
rlm@35 316 - fire pen :: pen which burns words on to the page, thus never needing
rlm@35 317 any ink. Is ther a way to make it runnable from the
rlm@35 318 human's energy?
rlm@32 319
rlm@35 320 - website to design your own soda, and label, and have it mailed to
rlm@35 321 you / sell it from your own online store.
rlm@35 322
rlm@35 323 - solar panels that float on the ocean
rlm@35 324 - handcuffs with more than two cuffs (3?) :: great for daisy chaining
rlm@35 325 prisoniers, binding them to environment, etc.
rlm@35 326
rlm@35 327 - vector based SOUND files :: like the pictures but with SOUND. codify
rlm@35 328 sound in a language with enough symbols so that it can describe
rlm@35 329 everything and encode it in that. would be like going from speech
rlm@35 330 to text or smtg. This would store sound as an image of the
rlm@35 331 wavefront encoded as a vector image.
rlm@32 332
rlm@36 333 - Mouse with a horizontal scroll wheel in addition to the vertical
rlm@36 334 scroll wheel
rlm@32 335
rlm@36 336 - logic maintance system for big institutions to make sure the things
rlm@36 337 they are thinking about doing are not retarded
rlm@32 338
rlm@36 339 - http://www.regulations.gov/
rlm@32 340
rlm@36 341 - genetically engineered glowing fruit -- sell seeds?
rlm@32 342
rlm@36 343 - memory slide :: IF memories are encoded using particular sensory
rlm@36 344 impressions, what happens if the sensory organ
rlm@36 345 itself changes? those memories would become
rlm@36 346 unaccessable. maybe this is why we can't remember
rlm@36 347 much from our childhoods. also, could this happen
rlm@36 348 throught life as well? Could S remember stuff from
rlm@36 349 his childhood?
rlm@32 350
rlm@36 351 - make a completely indestructable phone :: no moving parts or display
rlm@36 352 you should be able to slam it around all you want, and it will
rlm@36 353 just work. brutally simple. aerogel around the battery, minimal
rlm@36 354 interface - never gets too hot, and can be dropped into water. no
rlm@36 355 holes -- uses field effects for everything from the buttons to
rlm@36 356 inductive charging and data transfer.
rlm@32 357
rlm@36 358 - midi to ocarina "tabs" program (online website? buy ocarinas from it
rlm@36 359 too)
rlm@32 360
rlm@36 361 - 3d printing with sound pulses (or just patterns) -- like the 8.03
rlm@36 362 lecture
rlm@32 363
rlm@40 364 - lighter flint on spring :: make hot, throw it at something, and it
rlm@40 365 makes sparkles!
rlm@32 366
rlm@36 367 - Rebranding New+Clear Energy with informational campaign and
rlm@36 368 public debate forum to enforce its transparent and open
rlm@36 369 nature. France needn't be the world leader in nuclear
rlm@36 370 energy. (Dylan)
rlm@32 371
rlm@36 372 - Engineer a material which has both ductility and high surface
rlm@36 373 tension to make the "third" minimal-surface-energy solution to a
rlm@36 374 bubble suspended between two equal-diameter rings. (Solutions are
rlm@36 375 cylindrical catenary curve, two separated half-bubbles, and a
rlm@36 376 double-cone)
rlm@38 377
rlm@38 378 - Textbook whose content can be varied continuously :: alter level of
rlm@38 379 difficulty, rigor, diction, emphasize crossover with certain
rlm@38 380 other discipline, etc. Content generated dynamically from
rlm@38 381 knowledge base, along with questions that are moreover altered to
rlm@38 382 guide knowledge acquisition. Motivation: One book of
rlm@40 383 knowledge. /One./
rlm@40 384
rlm@40 385 - relationships as a business ::
rlm@40 386 http://thedailywtf.com/Articles/Up-or-Out-Solving-the-IT-Turnover-Crisis.aspx
rlm@40 387 is an excellent talk about the "culture of quitting," which is about
rlm@40 388 better business by letting people go instead of keeping them around
rlm@40 389 past their "apex". Focouses on information transfer. Cool idea of an
rlm@40 390 alumni network, which for relationships would be a group of
rlm@40 391 satisfied ex-lovers, who would recommend new people your way, and
rlm@40 392 who might consider coming to you again, refreshed from their time
rlm@40 393 away with new stories/experiences. I should look for examples of
rlm@40 394 this and how they worked out.
rlm@40 395
rlm@40 396 - coffe with tea :: /rlm-tea/ contains 2% sugar, 10% cream, and 20%
rlm@40 397 dylan coffee. /dylan coffee/ contains 5% sugar,
rlm@40 398 20% cream, and 10% rlm-tea. Start your mornings
rlm@40 399 with recursion!
rlm@40 400
rlm@40 401 - psychic crystal :: in a science fiction story, this would be an
rlm@40 402 object that is very easy to move physically but is extremely
rlm@40 403 difficult to move with telekinesis.
rlm@40 404
rlm@40 405 ** From Jacob's idea list
rlm@40 406
rlm@40 407 - Roommate-cancelling headphones: uses roommate's laptop mic to seed
rlm@40 408 noise cancellation alg in your headzphones (would this
rlm@40 409 work?). -Update on sound canceling headphones that take feed from
rlm@40 410 tv: how about ones that cancel people talking on the phone by
rlm@40 411 receiving the phone signals and playing inverse sound
rlm@40 412 waves. #signalprocessing ~jcole@mit.edu
rlm@40 413
rlm@40 414 - Browser based graphics-card accelerated distributed computing API.
rlm@40 415
rlm@40 416 - ClackerAlert -- tells if you slam the keys too hard using sound data
rlm@40 417 (and speed/jerkiness data)!.Prevents RSI ~jcole@mit.e
rlm@40 418
rlm@40 419 - Panic Pin :: separate pin that you can tell someone if forced to
rlm@41 420 identify your PIN (idea from idea about credit cards)