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new ideas.
author Robert McIntyre <rlm@mit.edu>
date Thu, 05 Feb 2015 23:05:45 -0800
parents 695c5f257d37
children 94e03d638078
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@42 10 * Ideas
rlm@42 11
rlm@43 12 This is a list of all the ideas I've had that I felt like writing down
rlm@90 13 for the past ~ 8 years. Some of them could be practical inventions and
rlm@47 14 are "just" waiting the that 95% perspiration to bring them to
rlm@47 15 fruition, some are ideas for science fiction, and some are simple
rlm@48 16 observations. Some are really only for my own personal notes and are
rlm@48 17 not meant to be comprehensible. They are arranged roughly in reverse
rlm@48 18 chronological order, with the most recent ideas at the top of the
rlm@48 19 list. The ones at the bottom of the list are heavily influenced by my
rlm@48 20 time at MIT.
rlm@43 21
rlm@43 22 If you find some of these interesting and would like to collaborate on
rlm@43 23 them with me or discuss them in more detail, I'd love to hear from
rlm@43 24 you. You can email me at ideas@aurellem.org.
rlm@43 25
rlm@52 26 If you want to use one of these ideas as your own and run with it,
rlm@52 27 please feel free. I'd love to hear about it if you do.
rlm@52 28
rlm@62 29 #+begin_quote
rlm@62 30 There's no end to what a man can accomplish if he doesn't care about
rlm@62 31 getting credit.
rlm@62 32 #+end_quote
rlm@62 33
rlm@140 34 - pockets :: more things should have them!
rlm@140 35
rlm@140 36 - colored shower head :: a shower head add on that measures the temp
rlm@140 37 of the water and changes the color of the water streams w/ an LED
rlm@140 38 to show you the temperature. That way you can align to the color
rlm@140 39 you want and see the temperature without feeling it.
rlm@140 40
rlm@140 41 - giant dragonflies :: we could rapidly MAKE giant dragonflies by
rlm@140 42 evolving modern dragonflies in an very oxygen rich environment!
rlm@140 43
rlm@140 44 - anesthetic surgery courtesty video :: as a matter of courtesy,
rlm@140 45 whenever you go under anesthetic, the doctors should provide you
rlm@140 46 with a video of the surgery / recovery after you are concious
rlm@140 47 again. The recording should begin about 3 minutes before
rlm@140 48 anesthetic, and continue until both you and the docor agree to
rlm@140 49 stop recording, or you leave the hospital.
rlm@140 50
rlm@140 51 - whirlpool of light :: shine a laser out into space. But the planet
rlm@140 52 is spinning! What you get is a spiral or light! And as this
rlm@140 53 signal expands, does it eventually reveal it's wuantized nature?
rlm@140 54
rlm@140 55 - perfusion coking :: EOM
rlm@140 56
rlm@140 57 - whatever :: asdfsadasda asda
rlm@140 58
rlm@140 59 - timestamp verification :: you sign your message, and it has a
rlm@140 60 timestamp at the top, with a +- percision number. Then you send
rlm@140 61 it over to the public timestamp server, which only signs the
rlm@140 62 message if it gets the message within the timestamp window. Or
rlm@140 63 the computer just signs the message but puts a timestamp at the
rlm@140 64 beginning. So if everyone trusts the timestamp server, you can
rlm@140 65 get reliable timestamps, and prove priority on ideas, etc.
rlm@140 66
rlm@139 67 - the great computing slow-down :: in general, our computers are
rlm@139 68 getting faster and faster. However, eventually our brains will be
rlm@139 69 made of the same stuff our computers are made of! This has very
rlm@139 70 interesting consequences -- I can add 2+2 and get four in about a
rlm@139 71 second. Since my neurons actually work at around 10-60 hertz in
rlm@139 72 parallel, this means that it takes me around 10-30 operations to
rlm@139 73 do this addition. That's actually not bad in terms of computing
rlm@139 74 time. If my neurons were as fast as the latest transitors, then
rlm@139 75 most calculators would be SLOWER than me at adding numbers. Only
rlm@139 76 the newest, most optimized calculators would be faster, and then
rlm@139 77 only about 10 times faster! This means that once we begin to
rlm@139 78 think at the speed of our technology, that technology will
rlm@139 79 suddenly seem pitifully slow in comparison to how it seems
rlm@139 80 now. And no amount of technical progress will remedy it, because
rlm@139 81 that same progress will also make us all think faster. We'll
rlm@139 82 either have to settle with living in "slow time" to do some
rlm@139 83 computations, or learn to make smarter hardware with special
rlm@139 84 optimizations. But this is actually really hard, because we'll be
rlm@139 85 working with machines that will appear to us about as fast as
rlm@139 86 MECHANICAL computers. So, in the future, all the cool parties
rlm@139 87 will be in cyperspace at vastly accelerated speeds compared to
rlm@139 88 how we exist now. But at these parties, the computers will SUCK!
rlm@139 89 Of course, this is one of the few things that can save us from AI
rlm@139 90 risk, because those AI's won't seem so scary when the're build
rlm@139 91 out of rickety mechanical parts form our perspective.
rlm@139 92
rlm@139 93 - unitary reverse evolution of chaos+minds :: chaotic systems diverge
rlm@139 94 exponentially in state space. Do you get anything interesting
rlm@139 95 when part of the physical system associated with the chaotic
rlm@139 96 system is a object that performs some sort of computation? Is it
rlm@139 97 possible for the computational system to play a
rlm@139 98 percision-enabling role in determining the final/initial
rlm@139 99 conditions of the chaotic system, just by tracing out thoughts in
rlm@139 100 its decision paths? This is probably too vague of an idea right
rlm@139 101 now, I just wanted to write it down.
rlm@139 102
rlm@138 103 - microwave time :: the cooking time you enter on most microwaves is
rlm@138 104 insane. It's expressed in what I call a "hybrid base", a
rlm@138 105 combination of base 10 and base 60. You can get absurd things
rlm@138 106 like 100 < 61, and 120 == 80! I wonder if these hybrid base
rlm@138 107 systems could be very useful for some purposes!
rlm@138 108
rlm@138 109 - three-eyes :: if you had three eyes, would you still draw cubes like
rlm@138 110 we currently draw them? Or would all 2D-representations of 3D
rlm@138 111 space always look hopelessly fake?
rlm@138 112
rlm@138 113 - visual taste/smell assay :: get a grid of bacteria, each expressing
rlm@138 114 a human taste/smell receptor linked to some sort of fluorscent
rlm@138 115 activity or ion pump. Use a camera / electrical grid to transduce
rlm@138 116 the smell / taste signal into bits!
rlm@138 117
rlm@138 118 - carabiner mushroom lock :: you can take a trapazodial carabiner and
rlm@138 119 make it so that a chain link is caught between the wide end of
rlm@138 120 the carabiner and another chain attached to the carabiner.
rlm@138 121
rlm@138 122 - children's tool shop :: I think that kids should be provided with
rlm@138 123 tool shops -- these would be nice sheds with a good collection of
rlm@138 124 tools to do various things -- circuit components and soldering
rlm@138 125 irons, wires, a small lathe, drill press, belt sander, a
rlm@138 126 centrifuge, microscope, and telescope, etc. The idea is that the
rlm@138 127 kid can now think, "I could use X to do this thing that I'm
rlm@138 128 thinking about" -- the building becomes an extension of the kid's
rlm@138 129 body & mind.
rlm@138 130
rlm@138 131 - fluid display :: like the previous idea about matching refractances
rlm@138 132 between glass and liquid, except you make a lot of
rlm@138 133 switchable glass tubes in various patterns in the
rlm@138 134 glass, and actively pump colored liquid through the
rlm@138 135 tubes (the tubes have glass-like fluid in them by
rlm@138 136 default.) The result is that you can cause the
rlm@138 137 tubes to appear and dissappear, and vary their
rlm@138 138 colors as well!
rlm@138 139
rlm@137 140 - immunoincompatibility :: take the human genome, and refactor it so
rlm@137 141 that it doesn't use a particular codon at all. Then remove the
rlm@137 142 support from our ribosomes for that codon. What does this do for
rlm@137 143 us? It makes us immune to almost all viruses!
rlm@137 144
rlm@137 145 - life cycle :: it's called a cycle, right? So, the thing that repeats
rlm@137 146 itself over and over, right? Not much of a cycle if
rlm@137 147 you don't come back after you die, if you ask me!
rlm@137 148
rlm@137 149 - car with no blind spots :: use some cameras in the back of the car
rlm@137 150 to augment the rear-view mirror so that you never have to turn
rlm@137 151 around in order to lane change.
rlm@137 152
rlm@137 153 - partial cell death :: you freeze a set of cells using some cryo
rlm@137 154 protocol and 60% survive. How can this be explained? It seems to
rlm@137 155 me that if the cells are the same, and the conditions
rlm@137 156 homogoneous, then all the cells should either die or
rlm@137 157 live. However, suppose that there is a metabolic cycle that needs
rlm@137 158 to be in a certain phase for the cell to survive. If the cells
rlm@137 159 are asynchronous, then you might end up with some cells dying
rlm@137 160 because there were in the wrong part of their cycle. This implies
rlm@137 161 that you might be able to cryoprotect cells by causing them to
rlm@137 162 enter a certain metabolic mode before freezing.
rlm@137 163
rlm@137 164 - cryonics color appeal :: perfusate used by cryonics companies should
rlm@137 165 have red food coloring in it. It's just a nice touch so that the
rlm@137 166 cryonics patient looks more life-like than with clear CPAs, and
rlm@137 167 hopefully might get treated with more respect.
rlm@137 168
rlm@137 169 - paramagnetic CPA :: you take a CPA that can be influenced by
rlm@137 170 magnetic fields so that its degrees of freedom are limited. Then,
rlm@137 171 you release the field, instantaly increasing the size of the
rlm@137 172 state space of the system and dramatically decreasing the
rlm@137 173 temperature enough to plunge the system past homogenous
rlm@137 174 nucleation temperature and directly to the glass transition
rlm@137 175 temperature, creating a doubly unstable glass at much lower CPA
rlm@137 176 concentrations than possible at conventional CPA concentrations.
rlm@137 177
rlm@137 178 - room temp noodles :: how does the physics of cooking noodles work?
rlm@137 179 Could you use a vacuum instead of heat to force water into the
rlm@137 180 noodle?
rlm@137 181
rlm@137 182 - personal carbon offset :: feel bad about contribuiting to global
rlm@137 183 warming by using electricity / driving a car? Forget trying to
rlm@137 184 "conserve" or "minimize your carbon footprint". Follow the
rlm@137 185 Platinum rule -- make the world BETTER off than you found it!
rlm@137 186 This would be a small, self contained system that sucks C02 out
rlm@137 187 of the air. It uses electricity, but it's so efficient at
rlm@137 188 removing CO2 that it more than offsets the CO2 produced by even a
rlm@137 189 coal plant to produce that electricity. This way, you can still
rlm@137 190 drive even a gas guzzler, but have a net negative carbon
rlm@137 191 footprint! Maybe something cool could be done with the carbon as
rlm@137 192 well. Use as much electricity as you want, but negate the damage
rlm@137 193 to the enviroment with more technology.
rlm@137 194
rlm@137 195 - undoing spermogenesis :: with enough sperm, you can derive the
rlm@137 196 donor's entire genome. You gain more confidence in the alleles
rlm@137 197 for a particular gene the more sperm you have. Each additional
rlm@137 198 sperm gives you the same sort of information you'd get flipping a
rlm@137 199 coin and trying to decide whether the coin is H/T of H/H. Is
rlm@137 200 there enough sperm in the the average load for you to be as
rlm@137 201 confident as mitosis?
rlm@137 202
rlm@136 203 - mars life :: we could engineer life that could survive on mars
rlm@136 204 (probably some non-vascular photosynthetic
rlm@136 205 poikilohydric creature like a lichen) by taking an
rlm@136 206 extremophile from Antarctica and evolving it in
rlm@136 207 increasingly Martian conditions. This could be an easy
rlm@136 208 start to a terraforming process.
rlm@136 209
rlm@134 210 - problem with Aubrey de Grey's ideas :: Aubrey de Grey says that we
rlm@134 211 might be able to live forever by continually repairing our bodies
rlm@134 212 at the cellular level -- he details 7 different mechanisms of
rlm@134 213 damage and says that if all of them are dealt with /together/
rlm@134 214 that it would stop aging. (You can't miss even one because
rlm@134 215 they're all fatal.) However, it doesn't take into account that
rlm@134 216 we are also beings of information and that there is a very real
rlm@134 217 software component to our existence. Even if our biological
rlm@134 218 chassies can be maintained forever, I think it is unlikely that
rlm@134 219 our minds will operate well far outside of the design constraints
rlm@134 220 that we've evolved to handle. Say I programmed a webserver with
rlm@134 221 the express goal of it being able to serve webpages for month on
rlm@134 222 some stock server. I'll do fairly rigorous testing to make sure
rlm@134 223 that it can handle the expected load then then some. Now say that
rlm@134 224 you want to keep a particular instance of this webserver running
rlm@134 225 indefinitely. (The program instance is like your mind and the
rlm@134 226 computer it's running on is like your body). You might very well
rlm@134 227 be able to keep the physical computer infrastructure running for
rlm@134 228 forever by replacing hard drives / ram / CPUs, etc. However,
rlm@134 229 since I designed the webserver to work for a month, it probably
rlm@135 230 has memory leaks, rare stochastic bugs, or other built in limits
rlm@134 231 / constraints (think log files or some date rollover shenanigans)
rlm@135 232 that will ultimately kill the webserver even with eternally
rlm@134 233 perfect hardware. Do you really expect that a webserver
rlm@135 234 engineered to work for 1 month will run for 10 years without
rlm@135 235 catastrophically crashing? Not even Apache can do this! In fact,
rlm@135 236 if I put in the extreme effort to make it that robust, I've
rlm@135 237 wasted time that I could have spent on other projects by pursuing
rlm@135 238 an unnecessary engineering goal. Likewise, human minds have only
rlm@134 239 ever run for at most 122 years before they are destroyed due to
rlm@134 240 hardware degradation. Fixing the hardware doesn't change any
rlm@134 241 software bugs that are almost certainly present in the human
rlm@134 242 mind. Think of all the pathological things that can go wrong with
rlm@134 243 a webserver, multiply it by a million, and that likely how
rlm@134 244 evolution has designed our minds. For example, consider memory :
rlm@134 245 why should you expect that we have evolved the ability to
rlm@134 246 coherently organize memories past say 150 years? There's been
rlm@134 247 absolutely no selective pressure for this ability, so you can bet
rlm@134 248 that if there's any fitness to be gained from not having
rlm@134 249 unlimited memory potential (such as better metabolic efficiency),
rlm@134 250 we have it! You might think that maybe we would just forget
rlm@134 251 things the same way that we sort of forget things that happen
rlm@134 252 earlier in our lives, but complicated information processing
rlm@134 253 systems don't have to fail gracefully when they're pushed far
rlm@134 254 past their design constraints. A 150 year old person is just as
rlm@134 255 likely to suffer a catastrophic psychosis due to software
rlm@134 256 limitations associated with memory as he is to do something with
rlm@134 257 all those memories we might consider reasonable. More likely, in
rlm@134 258 fact, since there are so very many ways for a complicated
rlm@134 259 software system to break and so few ways for it to run
rlm@134 260 successfully. Therefore, I think Aubrey de Grey's "hardware-only"
rlm@134 261 approach is missing a very important component of longevity
rlm@134 262 science, and any successful effort to make people live orders of
rlm@134 263 magnitude longer than they do naturally will need to deal with
rlm@134 264 people's software as well as their hardware.
rlm@134 265
rlm@133 266 - validating neurocryopreservation :: Problem : you want to test
rlm@133 267 whether a brain is functionally preserved through vitrification,
rlm@133 268 but you don't want to figure out how to preserve all the other
rlm@133 269 organs in the animal. It might be possible to keep the rest of
rlm@133 270 the body at almost 0C and vitrify just the head for only a few
rlm@133 271 minutes. Induce hypothermia, then separate out the head's blood
rlm@133 272 supply from the rest of the body, then just cryoptotect and
rlm@133 273 vitrify the head. Might need some sort of thermal guard to keep
rlm@133 274 the outer head / neck from becoming too cold. You leave the
rlm@133 275 spinal cord intact! Then you devitrify to 0C, remove
rlm@133 276 cryoprotectant, and then reattach the blood supply. You can
rlm@133 277 determine brain preservation using behavioral assays!
rlm@133 278
rlm@133 279 - freezing water purifier :: you slowly freeze water, but also run
rlm@133 280 liquid water over the frozen mass. This takes away basically all
rlm@133 281 impurities and creates "washed ice" then you melt the ice. Maybe
rlm@133 282 you could re-use the heat from creating the ice to melt the ice?
rlm@133 283
rlm@133 284 - ultra strength :: allow a person to visualize their muscle
rlm@133 285 recruitment patterns. Give them adrenaline and let
rlm@133 286 them feel what it's like to have the normal limits
rlm@133 287 removed. See if they can replicate the effects.
rlm@133 288
rlm@133 289 - phone names :: make a PX record for domain names that's like the MX
rlm@133 290 record, except that it is a phone number instead of
rlm@133 291 an IP address. That way, you can use the domain name
rlm@133 292 registration system to provide names for phone
rlm@133 293 numbers. Then, as long as you control the domain, you
rlm@133 294 can point people to your current phone number by
rlm@133 295 updating that record.
rlm@133 296
rlm@133 297 - edible flowers :: Edible white flowers that you put in a colored
rlm@133 298 solution with flavor. When the flower turns the
rlm@133 299 right color, it is also flavored and ready to eat!
rlm@133 300
rlm@131 301 - suicide cryonics :: according to [[http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/magazine/06suicide-t.html][this]], people who commit impulsive
rlm@131 302 suicides have a newfound sense of the importance of life. Perhaps
rlm@131 303 they are good cryonics targets.
rlm@131 304
rlm@131 305 - lead bone :: Could you fill in all the empty spaces in a bone with
rlm@131 306 lead? Might be cool.
rlm@131 307
rlm@131 308 - the quest for life :: Every stupid story has the "immortal who
rlm@131 309 wants to become mortal" or some other such idea. I want to story
rlm@131 310 where the protagonist loses their immortality and feels /angry/
rlm@131 311 and ashamed about losing something that's so absolutely crucial
rlm@131 312 to their identity. A reverse of "death makes life worth living",
rlm@131 313 they feel that living forever is what makes life worth
rlm@131 314 living. Now they've "lost their sunrise" or their "connection to
rlm@131 315 the timeless universe" or something. So they go on a quest to get
rlm@131 316 it back, learning about themselves along the way, and regaining
rlm@131 317 the precious thing they lost in the beginning.
rlm@131 318
rlm@130 319 - world-map :: take a small table and paint the continents in
rlm@130 320 toothpaste on the table. Make a slightly raised barrier
rlm@130 321 around the table. Slowly pour water onto the table, and
rlm@130 322 it will form the oceans!
rlm@130 323
rlm@95 324 - stage magic rituals :: rituals should incorporate elements of stage
rlm@95 325 magic. Foe example in Teller's tempest, they have a scene where
rlm@95 326 they levitate a crown in front of someone, then put it on his
rlm@95 327 head. They also have a wedding ceremony where they levitated the
rlm@95 328 bride as well. Actual weddings and other ceremonies should
rlm@95 329 incorporate stage magic as an enhancement.
rlm@95 330
rlm@95 331 - isotope time dilation :: use a cyclotron to speed up rare isotopes
rlm@95 332 developed in nuclear fusion experiments. The relativistic time
rlm@95 333 dilation will stop the isotopes from decaying, and allow time to
rlm@95 334 study them. This is based on radioactive isotopes that fall
rlm@95 335 through the earth's atmosphere that take hundreds of times
rlm@95 336 longer to decay than normal.
rlm@95 337
rlm@95 338 - marsupial stimulation :: You take a freshly pouched marsupial baby,
rlm@95 339 and show it videos and other interactive things while it matures
rlm@95 340 in the pouch. What mental effects would this have?
rlm@95 341
rlm@135 342 - dynamic re-keying :: Some older ways of tuning instruments sound
rlm@95 343 better, but we use the even-tempered scale today because it makes
rlm@95 344 it easier to switch keys. With electronic music, why not make
rlm@95 345 key-annotations and dynamically re-tune the piece to sound good
rlm@135 346 in the current key? Could be done as a midi+annotation -> midi
rlm@95 347 compiler for experimentation.
rlm@95 348
rlm@95 349 - death always implies damage :: is is possible for a corpse to differ
rlm@95 350 from a living person only in the fact that one is dead and the
rlm@95 351 other is alive? NO! A corpse must always have some sort of
rlm@95 352 molecular damage which causes the loss of function!
rlm@95 353
rlm@95 354 - inner eye :: Surgically install a bunch of tiny cameras inside a
rlm@95 355 person. Then, you can activate them all and get a
rlm@95 356 picture of your internal organs for diagnostic
rlm@95 357 purposes.
rlm@95 358
rlm@135 359 - chaos rails :: should make a visualization of the homoclinic tangle,
rlm@95 360 it's truly beautiful.
rlm@95 361
rlm@95 362 - context gobbler :: this would be in "inside-out macro" that takes
rlm@95 363 the context (like you use for things like error, continuations,
rlm@95 364 and friends) and transforms it to something else. Maybe useful?
rlm@95 365
rlm@91 366 - cryonics middle ages :: some people say that cryonics is an
rlm@91 367 experiment and that it is foolish to wait until we have revived a
rlm@91 368 human. There is a middle ground where the procedure has a dismal
rlm@91 369 success rate on humans, say 1 in 20, so that you'd be a fool to
rlm@91 370 try revival. Nonetheless, this very risky procedure could be the
rlm@91 371 legal proof of concept needed to create a new class of life
rlm@91 372 between "living" and "dead": "stasis".
rlm@91 373
rlm@91 374 - philosophy of the mirror :: neat thought experiment -- if you take a
rlm@91 375 mirror of someone by actually reversing a person's chirality
rlm@94 376 molecule by molecule, then will the only be able to read mirror
rlm@91 377 writing? The answer is yes, by analogy to a purely mechanical
rlm@94 378 scan-tron device. This is one of the only interesting transforms I
rlm@91 379 know that can take a human brain and change it in subtle,
rlm@91 380 non-destructive ways. It's also an argument against dualism.
rlm@91 381
rlm@91 382 - biosphere in a bottle :: There are around 15 million species. 15
rlm@91 383 million stem cells will fill only a tiny size, far less than a cubic
rlm@91 384 inch. Preserve a single cell from every species on earth in this
rlm@91 385 small space, and you will have a record of our current biosphere
rlm@91 386 that can be protected. "Hold the genetic data of all species in
rlm@92 387 your hand!"
rlm@91 388
rlm@90 389 - chaos lock :: The "arrow of time" points in the direction of
rlm@90 390 increasing entropy. The time evolution of chaotic
rlm@90 391 systems depend exquisitely on their initial state. If
rlm@90 392 you take a measurement of a chaotic system at any
rlm@90 393 given point of time, you can evolve that system
rlm@90 394 backwards or forwards based on your measurement. So
rlm@90 395 let's say you start the chaotic system in a VERY low
rlm@90 396 entropy state, then let it run for a while, then take
rlm@90 397 a measurement with some uncertainty. Your
rlm@90 398 measurement is pretty good, but obviously not
rlm@90 399 PERFECT. If you evolve the chaotic system back in
rlm@90 400 time, then you will see that you don't really reach
rlm@90 401 a state with low entropy an hour before (the entropy
rlm@90 402 is easy to measure with surrogates like alignment,
rlm@90 403 etc). So use this technique to SEARCH for a more
rlm@90 404 accurate measurement! This potentially can give you
rlm@90 405 many more orders of magnitude than you could get alone
rlm@90 406 just using an instrument. Sometimes it will give you
rlm@90 407 bad results, the the odds of it doing that are
rlm@90 408 infinitesimal, and you can just measure a couple of
rlm@90 409 times.
rlm@90 410
rlm@90 411 - cryo-evolution :: perhaps there would be a way to rapidly evolve a
rlm@90 412 symbiotic bacterial organism that could protect
rlm@90 413 human tissues from freezing damage.
rlm@90 414
rlm@87 415 - suicide parasite :: sometimes, people kill themselves for no good
rlm@87 416 reason. We often explain this with things like "hidden
rlm@87 417 depression" or we say that they had something like chronic jaw or
rlm@87 418 back pain. I think that smells of rationalization. I don't buy
rlm@87 419 it. I propose that in many suicide cases there is a disease that
rlm@88 420 causes the suicidal behavior. We already know that certain
rlm@87 421 parasites have mind-bending properties in other animals, even
rlm@87 422 mammals like mice. It's not much of a stretch to imagine a
rlm@88 423 parasite that causes suicides in humans. Some problems:
rlm@87 424 - What does the suicide parasite get out of it? :: This might be
rlm@87 425 answered by the whole thing being a glitch caused by
rlm@87 426 cross-species contamination. Toxoplasma works this way.
rlm@88 427 - What predictions does a disease model make :: suicide should
rlm@88 428 be more common among people who share a contagion
rlm@88 429 vector. There should be suicides that don't make any
rlm@87 430 sense : people who weren't really depressed, who had no
rlm@87 431 reason to kill themselves. People who have killed themselves
rlm@87 432 should have a higher incidence of some unknown parasite in
rlm@87 433 their brains.
rlm@86 434
rlm@89 435 - domestic insects :: People should eat more bugs because they're much
rlm@89 436 more efficient, so why not do some major domestication research
rlm@94 437 to make very appealing bugs? Beetles, in particular, seem to be
rlm@94 438 excellent targets for domestication because they have extreme
rlm@94 439 levels of genetic malleability.
rlm@87 440
rlm@87 441 - birth-clones :: What if each person was intentionally split at birth
rlm@87 442 into a normal embryo and a few "backup" cells which
rlm@87 443 is then frozen. The backup cells are created just
rlm@87 444 the same way as natural identical twins. The backups
rlm@88 445 can be used to regenerate organs. etc. Also, it
rlm@87 446 would be a good sci fi concept, because you could
rlm@87 447 have a culture where people reward people who were
rlm@87 448 especially awesome are "reborn" from their
rlm@88 449 backups. Imagine having a young Bach every
rlm@87 450 generation, etc.
rlm@86 451
rlm@94 452 - pronunciation guide :: a simple webpage where you type in a word and
rlm@94 453 it returns a simple, English sentence describing exactly how to
rlm@84 454 pronounce the word. For people who don't want to learn IPA.
rlm@86 455
rlm@87 456 - cortex-search :: use the repertoire of actions learned to limit the
rlm@87 457 search space of possible actions.
rlm@87 458
rlm@83 459 - learning to teleport :: scifi idea, this is a story about a person
rlm@83 460 who is struggling with his/her society's ideas about
rlm@83 461 teleportation. It's considered a fundamental part of being a
rlm@83 462 member of that society (after all, the difference between animals
rlm@83 463 and humans is that humans are creatures of pure information while
rlm@83 464 animals are burdened with base matter, "that's how you travel the
rlm@83 465 stars, etc") Humans are born normally, grow up, and then
rlm@83 466 eventually transcend via destructive upload. Analogies to jumping
rlm@83 467 off a diving board into a pool (which I simply /could not do/ for
rlm@83 468 a long time), etc.
rlm@83 469
rlm@87 470 - no-float-ice :: cup that has cross beams at the bottom where ice
rlm@87 471 forms. Then when you drink liquid from the glass,
rlm@87 472 the ice stays at the bottom and doesn't hit your
rlm@87 473 lips. For bars and fancy things.
rlm@87 474
rlm@82 475 - bitcoins for immigrants :: A common case with Mexican immigrants
rlm@82 476 (illegal or not) is that they want to send money they've earned
rlm@82 477 in the US back to their families in Mexico. They currently do this
rlm@82 478 through things like Money Gram or Western Union, and they get
rlm@82 479 fleeced in the process with fees. Bitcoin could greatly reduce
rlm@82 480 the cost of sending money from America to Mexico, but I don't
rlm@82 481 believe that it's currently used for that among Mexican
rlm@82 482 immigrants currently due to lack of knowledge. I bet you could
rlm@82 483 set up physical locations like those obnoxious Western Union huts
rlm@82 484 in places like Texas, Arizona, etc, and greatly undercut
rlm@82 485 them. Or, perhaps some educational seminars about bitcoin might
rlm@82 486 be in order. There's some money to be made there because there is
rlm@82 487 great demand, and it's a good thing to boot!
rlm@82 488
rlm@81 489 - reverse eye-tracking :: A painting that is actually a digital screen
rlm@82 490 with a camera. It records people's eye tracks permanently. It's
rlm@81 491 "artistic" because paintings are normally these things that you
rlm@81 492 look at without changing, but this one is changed the second you
rlm@81 493 look at it, recording where /you/ looked forever for others to
rlm@81 494 see. Make it be a painting of a woman and see the trolling as the
rlm@81 495 breasts and groin area light up with interest from all the males
rlm@81 496 passing by.
rlm@81 497
rlm@80 498 - smart toilets :: Instead of using indirect measures like infrared
rlm@80 499 detectors of the presence of a person, use computer
rlm@80 500 vision to directly measure whether the toilet needs
rlm@80 501 to be flushed. I think a lot of things will end up
rlm@80 502 going this way as we get better computer vision.
rlm@80 503
rlm@77 504 - validate chemopreservation :: chemopreservation is difficult to
rlm@77 505 validate because it destroys the functionality of a brain, and
rlm@77 506 brain simulation will take a long time to mature as a
rlm@77 507 technology. However, one very powerful way to validate
rlm@77 508 chemopreservation would be to have a person/animal learn
rlm@77 509 something with high complexity such as a number or the solution
rlm@80 510 to a maze, or a flashbulb memory. Then you preserve their brain
rlm@80 511 chemically, slice it up, and read /that specific memory/ from the
rlm@77 512 detailed brain scan. Much more difficult, but much more doable.
rlm@77 513
rlm@75 514 - candy screw :: edible candy screw with candy nuts that you can screw
rlm@75 515 as well.
rlm@76 516
rlm@74 517 - better bibliography :: when writing a thesis or paper, have the
rlm@80 518 bibliography not just be an opaque list of resources, but have it
rlm@74 519 be a list of /summaries/ and /qualities/ that each paper has in
rlm@80 520 the context of the paper being written. When examining a
rlm@80 521 bibliography, I want to know if reading the papers in the
rlm@74 522 bibliography are worth my time, and I also am probably also
rlm@74 523 interested in exactly the things that are being discussed in the
rlm@74 524 paper I'm reading. The bibliography is the perfect place to
rlm@74 525 provide information about the referenced papers from the
rlm@80 526 author's perspective. I will use this biographic form in my own
rlm@74 527 thesis.
rlm@74 528
rlm@73 529 - digital inter-library loan :: libraries at universities already do
rlm@80 530 inter-library loans for books, so why not do the same for access
rlm@73 531 to stupid paywalled digital papers? All the universities could
rlm@73 532 allow access to articles for registered students to all the files
rlm@73 533 available through any participating university. This could be
rlm@73 534 achieved by sending requests through proxies at participating
rlm@73 535 universities. Each university would decide who at the university
rlm@73 536 can access the proxy network. Access to the proxy network could
rlm@73 537 be made easy using something like http://libx.org/.
rlm@73 538
rlm@72 539 - chess visual :: to show the vast size of the game trees considered
rlm@72 540 by computers, show two people playing chess in a
rlm@72 541 void. They are floating in space, and there is a
rlm@72 542 simple chess board between them. Then, as they play,
rlm@72 543 the game tree's they are considering are drawn
rlm@72 544 behind him. The root of the tree starts centered in
rlm@72 545 their heads or whatever they use to think, and the
rlm@72 546 tree grows out from behind, never crossing the
rlm@72 547 dividing plane between the two players. Each
rlm@72 548 player's tree is a different color. As they grow,
rlm@72 549 there are animations for pruning, etc. Eventually,
rlm@72 550 they look like the hemispheres of a brain, wings,
rlm@72 551 etc. A human's tree might occasionally have a long
rlm@72 552 chain, while the computer tree would be more
rlm@72 553 uniform. You could compare deep blue and a modern
rlm@72 554 laptop. Use actual data when fighting two computers!
rlm@72 555
rlm@71 556 - time verification :: some standard way to verify that some piece of
rlm@71 557 data was recorded at a specific time. Might involve a time
rlm@73 558 server, a key for each time period, something like that.
rlm@71 559
rlm@70 560 - tamper proof gold bars :: [[http://www.tungsten-alloy.com/gold-plated-tungsten-alloy-bar.html][this site]] offers gold plated tungsten bars
rlm@70 561 as "novelty" items. One reason to prefer coins is because they
rlm@70 562 are much harder to counterfeit because there is less surface area
rlm@70 563 to mass ratio. However, gold bars are still a great design
rlm@70 564 because they can hold a lot of value in a small space. A gold bar
rlm@70 565 could be given the same protections (and more) that gold coins
rlm@70 566 have to offer by changing it into a "gold book", which would have
rlm@70 567 hundreds of "pages" of gold bound together. This could be
rlm@70 568 implemented with multiple steel rods going through the book which
rlm@70 569 can be removed, or some more classier mechanism for holding the
rlm@70 570 pages. The point is that the bar can be EASILY subdivided (and
rlm@70 571 people would perform this test before buying), thus guaranteeing
rlm@70 572 it's authenticity.
rlm@70 573
rlm@68 574 - aurellem shirt :: I should make an aurellem star symbol tee-shirt.
rlm@68 575
rlm@86 576 - touch vision :: inspired by GelSight, I want to reexamine cortex and
rlm@86 577 see if I could implement touch as a very low range
rlm@86 578 form of vision.
rlm@86 579
rlm@67 580 - high school science :: this is a lesson in scientific ethics. The
rlm@67 581 goal is to calculate /g/, the local gravitational
rlm@67 582 acceleration. The students are told that the textbook says it's
rlm@67 583 /exactly/ 9.81 before they start the experiment. See how they
rlm@67 584 doctor their results to get closer to the textbook value. It's
rlm@67 585 neat because for any given school, /g/ is probably *not* exactly
rlm@67 586 equal to 9.81, because that is just an average!
rlm@67 587
rlm@67 588 - opencourseware subtitles :: there are ladies who type up lectures
rlm@67 589 while they are being given. These recordings should be kept and
rlm@67 590 given to OCW for subtitles. If the timestamps of keys are
rlm@67 591 recorded, then it is easy to make subtitles.
rlm@67 592
rlm@66 593 - screen locking timing :: you use your computer camera to see if you
rlm@66 594 are sitting in front of the computer. If you are, then the screen
rlm@66 595 will never lock. If you are, then the screen will lock with a
rlm@67 596 30-40 second timeout. It's an extension of using inactivity to
rlm@66 597 initiate the countdown, just with more information.
rlm@66 598
rlm@66 599 - mirror toilet :: a toilet with a square basin made or mirror instead
rlm@67 600 or porcelain. That way, you can see how good of a
rlm@66 601 wipe job you have done / watch how your excretion
rlm@66 602 system works.
rlm@66 603
rlm@80 604 - test dummies :: why don't we clone anencephalic humans and use then to
rlm@62 605 test /in vivo/ human organ systems and drugs? It
rlm@62 606 would be ethical as long as there are women who are
rlm@62 607 willing to host the clones, and it would be a
rlm@67 608 tremendous resource for studying the human body. I
rlm@62 609 see nothing wrong with it morally, since no one is
rlm@67 610 suffering, and it stands to save many lives throughout
rlm@62 611 more advanced technology.
rlm@62 612
rlm@62 613 - X-ray telepresence :: given that a doctor is operating on a patient
rlm@62 614 via telepresence, one cool things you can do is shine X-rays into
rlm@62 615 the patient to view the insides during real time. If the system
rlm@80 616 was coupled with a Bayesian model of the layout of the structure,
rlm@67 617 and the x-rays were only fired whenever the uncertainty of the
rlm@62 618 model reached a certain threshold, then the radiation damage
rlm@62 619 and surgery risk could be minimized.
rlm@62 620
rlm@62 621 - superfluid vascular system :: I wonder what would happen if you
rlm@62 622 replaced the blood in a human with a superfluid. What would the
rlm@62 623 physical dynamics be? Would the superfluid flow through the
rlm@62 624 vasculature, or would it ignore it and travel through the cells,
rlm@62 625 or something else entirely. Since superfluids need to be cold to
rlm@62 626 retain their superfluidity, how would the dynamics change during
rlm@62 627 perfusion of a superfluid, where the fluid gains and looses
rlm@62 628 superfluidity as it goes deeper into the body and is cooled by
rlm@67 629 superfluid from upstream. In summary there are two things to
rlm@62 630 simulate 1.) replace all blood in human with superfluid
rlm@62 631 instantly. 2.) perfuse superfluid into human.
rlm@51 632
rlm@59 633 - projective guessing :: I think that we read and see things by
rlm@67 634 making a really good guess about what we're expecting to see,
rlm@59 635 and then searching for our guess in what we see. If it really
rlm@59 636 doesn't match, then we start to make more guesses / analyze the
rlm@59 637 image from first principles, but most stuff is projective
rlm@59 638 guessing.
rlm@59 639
rlm@67 640 - Intestinal flora maintenance :: why not inoculate babies at birth
rlm@59 641 with "ideal" gut flora instead of whatever bullshit they
rlm@59 642 naturally get, thus giving them optimal digestive/nutrient
rlm@67 643 extraction capabilities. Might also be able to make their farts
rlm@94 644 not stink for life, too. MORE IMPORTANTLY, might help to
rlm@91 645 preventatively stop some forms of /colic/, which affects 1 in 5
rlm@94 646 babies and causes constant screaming and pain for about 5 weeks.
rlm@59 647
rlm@56 648 - server culture : mirrors :: make a distributed system where people
rlm@56 649 can mirror the websites of people they like -- essentially cover
rlm@56 650 the server costs of favored websites. This could make popular
rlm@56 651 websites run at no cost. The system would require that the
rlm@56 652 mirrored content be the same as the official source. Sort of like
rlm@67 653 bit-torrent for websites.
rlm@56 654
rlm@56 655 - map programming :: one problem with functional programming is that
rlm@56 656 in order to remain functional, you have to pass up arguments up
rlm@67 657 into each calling function to get the full range of behavior
rlm@56 658 from the lower level functions. Normally people come to a
rlm@67 659 compromise involving abstraction and sparing use of dynamic
rlm@67 660 variables to configure runtime behavior. What would be the
rlm@56 661 advantages of making a programming language where every function
rlm@67 662 receives one argument, a map, which contains all the symbol
rlm@56 663 bindings it would ever need? This map is passed on to all
rlm@56 664 subordinate functions. This way, you could replace functions on
rlm@56 665 the fly, and arrange for there to be sensible defaults,
rlm@56 666 etc. Might cause more harm than good but is an interesting idea.
rlm@56 667
rlm@55 668 - rest nest :: a small EEG device you would attach to your head when
rlm@55 669 you go to sleep at night. ML algorithms would determine
rlm@55 670 your particular sleep cycles. This would mostly be an
rlm@55 671 alarm clock that you could give a time range, say
rlm@55 672 7:00AM - 7:15AM, and it would wake you up during an
rlm@55 673 ideal time corresponding to then end of one of your 90
rlm@55 674 min sleep cycles. You would feel much more rested upon
rlm@55 675 waking up, and would wake up faster. There might be
rlm@55 676 some other uses for the EEG data as well.
rlm@55 677
rlm@50 678 - image compression :: use a library like gimp or opencv to process an
rlm@50 679 image to make it have less entropy, then store the reverse of
rlm@50 680 those operations along with the compressed simpler image as a
rlm@80 681 super-compressed image file (possibly accepting some
rlm@80 682 losses). Trades file size for decompression time, and allows one
rlm@50 683 to cheat by using information in gimp/opencv to compress the
rlm@50 684 image.
rlm@50 685
rlm@47 686 - fixed cryopreservation :: why not use a fixative to buy enough time
rlm@42 687 to ramp up cryoprotectants to an acceptable level at room
rlm@42 688 temperature? Then, the whole system can be rapidly cooled and
rlm@42 689 vitrified. This method "severs the biological link" in that the
rlm@47 690 fixatives are highly toxic, but current vitrification procedures
rlm@42 691 do this anyway since there can be a lot of freezing damage.
rlm@38 692
rlm@67 693 - dilated security camera :: a security camera that would capture
rlm@58 694 full video footage of everything at 60fps but then decide to keep
rlm@58 695 only every 1 frame every 5 seconds unless there's something
rlm@58 696 "interesting" happening.
rlm@58 697
rlm@40 698 - bitcoin wallet :: Part of "server culture", this would be something
rlm@40 699 like "coin.your-domain.com" which would serve as
rlm@40 700 your personal trusted access to your own bitcoins
rlm@40 701 from anywhere.
rlm@40 702
rlm@40 703 - libpay :: this would be a free library which would enable
rlm@40 704 micro-donations to software projects and other projects,
rlm@47 705 so that you could donate a penny to "emacs" and it would
rlm@47 706 be automatically split up to every person who has ever
rlm@40 707 contributed to emacs in proportion to the amount of
rlm@40 708 community esteem, code quantity, bugs fixed, whatever the
rlm@47 709 community decides. This might make it possible for
rlm@40 710 programmers to live entirely off of free programming.
rlm@40 711
rlm@45 712 - distributed graphics :: Browser based graphics-card accelerated
rlm@45 713 distributed computing API.
rlm@41 714
rlm@40 715 - pronouns :: use capital letters A-Z instead of pronouns. They solve
rlm@40 716 pronoun referents and gender neutrality, are short to
rlm@40 717 say, and you can encode useful information into the
rlm@40 718 choice of letter. For example, instead of "Meetings
rlm@40 719 shall be presided over by the president, unless she is
rlm@42 720 absent." USE "Meetings shall be presided over by the
rlm@40 721 president, unless P is absent." We already use this a
rlm@40 722 little, since I and U are reserved for the subject and
rlm@40 723 object respectively.
rlm@40 724
rlm@40 725 - phone DSP :: software app that inserts an audio DSP between the
rlm@40 726 input to a phone and the output. The DSP is delicious
rlm@40 727 and configurable, and can allow men to make their
rlm@40 728 voices deeper, etc. The app would allow you to hear
rlm@40 729 your own voice as others hear it. Most people hate how
rlm@40 730 their own voice sounds. The app would also allow one to
rlm@47 731 immediately change the parameters of the DSP using good
rlm@40 732 presets.
rlm@40 733
rlm@47 734 - predestined body learning :: a good example of predestined learning
rlm@40 735 might be the mirror neurons.
rlm@40 736
rlm@47 737 - restaurant receipt :: use a carbon copy receipt instead of two stupid
rlm@40 738 copies.
rlm@40 739
rlm@41 740 - anti google glass :: glasses with mounted lasers and computer vision
rlm@41 741 that targets the cameras in google glass and destroy them.
rlm@41 742
rlm@40 743 - wearable towel :: towel with clasp, velcro, whatever, that allows
rlm@40 744 one to wear the towel more securely than just
rlm@40 745 wrapping it tightly and hoping for the best.
rlm@40 746
rlm@47 747 - crossdressing :: Easiest way to disguise oneself as a woman is to
rlm@44 748 wear a burka.
rlm@41 749
rlm@40 750 - book-mode :: intelligent color highlighting for books and
rlm@40 751 articles. It would disambiguate pronouns and involved
rlm@93 752 references. For example, if "Rachael" was assigned the
rlm@93 753 color red, and "the blonde haired girl" refers to
rlm@93 754 "Rachael", then "the blonde haired girl" would be
rlm@93 755 colored red. Also, you could disambiguate multi part
rlm@93 756 run-on sentences by highlighting each
rlm@93 757 subcomponent. Maybe would also have applications to
rlm@93 758 scientific reading.
rlm@40 759
rlm@40 760 - Handheld light Rain measurement :: this would be a clear, teflon
rlm@47 761 coated plastic disk with a camera underneath the disk. You would
rlm@40 762 be able to hold the device out and it would measure the rate of
rlm@40 763 accumulation of water droplets from fine mists and light rain by
rlm@40 764 using computer vision to measure the diameters of the drops.
rlm@40 765
rlm@40 766 - Big Brother Farming :: This would be a vision system that would
rlm@40 767 individually monitor each plant and turn on water, etc to ensure
rlm@40 768 maximum/uniform growth for each plant.
rlm@40 769
rlm@40 770 - Discrete Faucet :: A faucet with discrete ticks instead of
rlm@47 771 continuous.
rlm@40 772
rlm@40 773 - Laser Circle :: take a glass microfiliment and shine a laser at one
rlm@40 774 end at an oblique angle. It will make a perfect,
rlm@40 775 large circle on the wall, converting a laser beam
rlm@47 776 into a laser cone, preserving most of the energy of
rlm@40 777 the laser.
rlm@40 778
rlm@40 779 - Invisible Glass :: Take a container of liquid and embed a
rlm@40 780 glass sculpture made out of glass that has exactly the same index
rlm@40 781 of refraction and color of the liquid. Then the sculpture will be
rlm@40 782 totally invisible in the container, and will only be revealed
rlm@40 783 when the liquid is drained. The container might be a fancy
rlm@40 784 wine/spirit bottle or an hourglass.
rlm@40 785
rlm@47 786 - Caterpillar people :: A race of caterpillar like creatures gains
rlm@40 787 intelligence after eons of predation by birds, etc. These
rlm@47 788 caterpillar creatures still undergo metamorphosis into a large
rlm@40 789 butterfly-like creature. The metamorphosis process turns the
rlm@40 790 caterpillar's brain into mush and reforms it into a minimal,
rlm@40 791 dumb, truly insect-like mind, completely destroying the person
rlm@47 792 the caterpillar was. The society develops all sorts of customs and
rlm@40 793 religious interpretations of the metamorphosis. It is viewed as
rlm@40 794 good and natural by some since it is part of their life cycle and
rlm@47 795 necessary to propagate the species, as only the butterflies can
rlm@40 796 mate. Some think that the butterflies are still the same person
rlm@47 797 because they have the same soul, even they no longer posses the
rlm@47 798 memories or personality of the original caterpillar. Some see the
rlm@40 799 butterfly form as the "true form" of the species, since the
rlm@40 800 butterflies can fly, mate, and are beautiful. Many make a big
rlm@47 801 deal out of the fact that 1-2% of the caterpillar's mind is
rlm@40 802 actually preserved in the butterfly. Some see it as a terrible
rlm@47 803 tragedy and argue that the caterpillars should try to stop the
rlm@40 804 metamorphosis by technology. Practically, some very important
rlm@40 805 members of society undergo hormone therapy and/or surgery to
rlm@40 806 prevent metamorphosis so that they can live longer as themselves.
rlm@40 807
rlm@40 808 This is a continuation of Marvin Minsky's ideas about pain being
rlm@40 809 something that preserves our bodies while destroying our minds,
rlm@40 810 something that is a remnant from our too harsh animal days that
rlm@40 811 hasn't caught up to the fact that we have very complex brains
rlm@40 812 now. It's a worst-case scenario about a maladaptive genetic
rlm@40 813 legacy. Also, it's inspired by "There She Is!!!", which makes a
rlm@40 814 compelling point about homosexuality by introducing a second
rlm@40 815 gender characteristic (bunny/cat, male/female), which makes
rlm@40 816 homophobia look very silly. Here, our own biological legacy of
rlm@47 817 pain and death is made to look like the tragedy it is through the
rlm@47 818 lens of the the caterpillar people.
rlm@40 819
rlm@46 820 - relationships as a business :: [[http://thedailywtf.com/Articles/Up-or-Out-Solving-the-IT-Turnover-Crisis.aspx][Turnover-Crisis]] is an excellent talk
rlm@46 821 about the "culture of quitting," which is about better business
rlm@46 822 by letting people go instead of keeping them around past their
rlm@47 823 "apex". Focuses on information transfer. Cool idea of an alumni
rlm@46 824 network, which for relationships would be a group of satisfied
rlm@46 825 ex-lovers, who would recommend new people your way, and who might
rlm@46 826 consider coming to you again, refreshed from their time away with
rlm@46 827 new stories/experiences. I should look for examples of this and
rlm@46 828 how they worked out.
rlm@43 829
rlm@47 830 - coffee with tea :: /rlm-tea/ contains 2% sugar, 10% cream, and 20%
rlm@43 831 dylan coffee. /dylan coffee/ contains 5% sugar,
rlm@43 832 20% cream, and 10% rlm-tea. Start your mornings
rlm@43 833 with recursion!
rlm@43 834
rlm@43 835 - psychic crystal :: in a science fiction story, this would be an
rlm@43 836 object that is very easy to move physically but is extremely
rlm@43 837 difficult to move with telekinesis.
rlm@43 838
rlm@40 839 - http://betsofbitco.in/ :: what a great place for an AI/person to
rlm@40 840 prove themselves as a good predictor. I wish this could be
rlm@40 841 automated.
rlm@40 842
rlm@44 843 - true reflection :: don't forget about that mirror in the student
rlm@44 844 center!, it's two mirrors at right angles, like staring at a
rlm@44 845 corner of a room. The light reflects so that it shows you what
rlm@44 846 you actually look like, instead of your mirror image.
rlm@33 847
rlm@33 848 - remote control wasp :: use computer to drive wings with remote
rlm@32 849 power/logic.
rlm@32 850
rlm@47 851 - encrypted email phone book :: public (distributed?) database of
rlm@44 852 email->private-key pairs, to enable automatic encryption.
rlm@32 853
rlm@44 854 - universal eye color :: every equivalent creature will see each
rlm@44 855 others' eyes as black -- it's universal. Even if the creatures
rlm@44 856 see in radio waves, and their eyes are 2m long pieces of jagged
rlm@44 857 metal, when those creatures look at each other, they will see
rlm@44 858 black, the absence of light and color (since it's being absorbed
rlm@44 859 by the sensor array).
rlm@32 860
rlm@33 861 - intelligent microwave :: it learns where the hot nodes of its fields
rlm@83 862 are, and uses them to evenly heat any food item. It has an infrared
rlm@32 863 camera or something to keep track of how hot the food is. That way,
rlm@32 864 you don't get bowls where the edges are boiling, while the center is
rlm@32 865 still frozen. Requires a little bit of intelligence/vision, since
rlm@32 866 the exact pattern of heating totally depends on the exact shape of
rlm@47 867 the food. Wouldn't need a carousel, and wouldn't need a timer,
rlm@47 868 just a desired temperature. Could also detect ice, and automatically
rlm@32 869 defrost the parts which are frozen. Might be able to work much
rlm@47 870 faster since it can avoid overheating; might have problems with
rlm@32 871 heating the insides of thick things, might need a weight sensor too.
rlm@32 872
rlm@39 873 + Would be much cleaner than other microwaves, since food would
rlm@39 874 "sputter" and splash liquid much less.
rlm@32 875
rlm@39 876 + Throw in some SIFT+R processing to match previously cooked foods
rlm@39 877 and learn the exact heating profiles for things that have been
rlm@54 878 cooked before -- it can get faster the more it's used.
rlm@32 879
rlm@47 880 - compression :: brain-aware image compression algorithm
rlm@32 881
rlm@44 882 - Credit card proxy :: would be a company which works like paypal
rlm@44 883 except for real world transactions
rlm@32 884
rlm@33 885 - Flesh pillow :: a pillow like the arm or torso of a human, complete
rlm@33 886 with simulated temperature, bones, and heartbeat.
rlm@33 887
rlm@47 888 - super screw :: a screw which has only one or two threads and instead
rlm@47 889 uses compression to fit into a hole (the whole shank
rlm@33 890 of the screw is split into multiple pieces to
rlm@33 891 accomplish this; the tip is a point, then the middle
rlm@33 892 bulges out and gets compressed when screwed in.
rlm@33 893
rlm@47 894 - light filter :: (like light tweezers) to mechanically separate
rlm@33 895 fluids with different index of refraction
rlm@33 896
rlm@33 897 - chalk eraser project :: maybe make a directional eraser, for easy
rlm@33 898 release of chalk dust, like fur, and how it likes to rest in a
rlm@33 899 certain direction.
rlm@33 900
rlm@44 901 - silver socks :: socks laced with silver for the antimicrobial
rlm@44 902 properties.
rlm@32 903
rlm@53 904 - UROP :: magnet gear/metal teeth tape
rlm@53 905
rlm@82 906 - Rod of Moses :: device to distill urine through evaporation and
rlm@53 907 easily dispose of urea crystals for use in desert --
rlm@53 908 produce drinkable water.
rlm@32 909
rlm@47 910 - UROP :: Make the LED in line with the flow for the micro injector, so
rlm@44 911 that it may transmit maximum flow. Motor that changes
rlm@44 912 distance of internal magnet from windings depending on
rlm@44 913 desired speed so as to obtain maximum power efficiency.
rlm@32 914
rlm@47 915 - lottery scraper :: web scraper which monitors various lotteries,
rlm@44 916 looking for "special" gimmick changes in the rules (like 4x
rlm@44 917 winnings on Wednesdays) and computes expected value...
rlm@34 918
rlm@34 919 - Memristiors novel design :: make an evolutionary algorithm to make
rlm@34 920 old stuff using all four basic circuit elements.
rlm@34 921
rlm@44 922 - Conductive concrete :: concrete that has embedded metal fibers so
rlm@44 923 that it can conduct electricity.
rlm@34 924
rlm@44 925 - little bitty melting pot :: might be useful for some types of
rlm@44 926 manufacturing/3D printing -- how small can an induction melter be
rlm@44 927 made, for example.
rlm@34 928
rlm@44 929 - power strip/timer programmable combination :: meh
rlm@34 930
rlm@47 931 - algorithms :: which learn what their inputs are and in what order,
rlm@44 932 and can adapt to changing circumstances -- they
rlm@44 933 remember previous arguments and adapt so as to respond
rlm@44 934 to different connections.
rlm@34 935
rlm@47 936 - true pure tones :: hear a true pure tone by direct stimulation of the
rlm@44 937 nerves of the ear
rlm@43 938
rlm@43 939 - mechanical analogue to the electrical op-amp :: would be an object
rlm@43 940 with two levers -- you pull on one lever and the other moves the
rlm@43 941 same way, no matter what's in the way or what it is driving. This
rlm@47 942 analogy could be useful to teach op amps to people.
rlm@34 943
rlm@47 944 - paper folding device :: make it convenient to fold lots of papers in
rlm@34 945 various ways.
rlm@34 946
rlm@34 947 - concrete epoxy :: epoxy with sand/ some other solid material.
rlm@34 948
rlm@47 949 - light capacitor :: suspend some ball of material with a high index
rlm@43 950 of refraction and shine light into it so it gets stuck -- would
rlm@43 951 the light stay trapped forever? Could you build up unlimited
rlm@43 952 quantities of light inside the sphere (which could then be
rlm@43 953 released slowly by frustrated internal reflection?
rlm@34 954
rlm@40 955 - movie screening :: Movies always are too long at first. One way to
rlm@34 956 shorten them ``scientifically" is to record blink rate during the
rlm@34 957 move and then remove / shorten the frames of the parts in which
rlm@34 958 there are a lot of blinking (average this over multiple people)
rlm@34 959 better yet, put it online and do it across thousands of people. I
rlm@34 960 got this from youtube in which there is an episode of kill bill
rlm@47 961 which is composed entirely of the parts in which people had their
rlm@34 962 eyes closed. slogan: want to make a movie people can't take their
rlm@34 963 eyes off of? Just take those parts out!
rlm@34 964
rlm@47 965 - optimize an article :: capture reading of a scientific article via
rlm@44 966 screen capture while people read it, then use it to make the
rlm@44 967 article better. like the movie-pruning idea.
rlm@35 968
rlm@44 969 - super reading program :: teaches people the ideal mental mask to
rlm@44 970 apply during reading so as to read very fast.
rlm@35 971
rlm@44 972 - explosive thermite epoxy putty :: one part would contain the rust,
rlm@47 973 one part the aluminum.
rlm@34 974
rlm@44 975 - reading comprehension :: use the above screen capture routine to
rlm@44 976 make a quiz program that constructs questions about the content
rlm@44 977 you seemed to gloss over while reading. could be easy if the pdf
rlm@44 978 came with embedded questions. Dylan: automatically generate
rlm@44 979 word-cloud about the parts you found most interesting; help
rlm@44 980 others who read the same stuff by drawing attention to the
rlm@44 981 interesting parts.
rlm@34 982
rlm@44 983 - hard sword :: make a samurai sword, but use osmiridum instead of
rlm@44 984 martensite for the cutting part; it should be a better
rlm@44 985 sword.
rlm@32 986
rlm@44 987 - close range wireless :: use the induction technology used to
rlm@44 988 recharge electric toothbrushes with no metal links to send data
rlm@44 989 without any metal at all!
rlm@32 990
rlm@44 991 - reading :: is a form of synsethesia
rlm@32 992
rlm@44 993 - DNA printer :: A machine which translates the text eg, "ACTGAC" into
rlm@44 994 actual DNA
rlm@32 995
rlm@44 996 - black generator :: ferro-fluid magnetic field suspended micro
rlm@44 997 generator to make electricity
rlm@32 998
rlm@44 999 - alcohol battery :: alcohol/fluid flow powered battery
rlm@32 1000
rlm@44 1001 - folding razor blade sword ::
rlm@32 1002
rlm@44 1003 - perfect pitch :: learn perfect pitch using another sense in
rlm@44 1004 combination (sight or touch)
rlm@32 1005
rlm@44 1006 - kaleidoscope projector ::
rlm@32 1007
rlm@44 1008 - razor blade de-sharpener :: for guilt free disposal
rlm@32 1009
rlm@44 1010 - bricks :: filled with luminescent plant material
rlm@32 1011
rlm@47 1012 - bio metallic structure :: metal grids with seeds inside, which grow
rlm@44 1013 together and form a durable biological matrix. The metal
rlm@44 1014 substrate delivers water. (maybe use plastic instead of metal?)
rlm@44 1015 Dylan: enrich plants with inorganic compounds; electrical
rlm@44 1016 interfaces in cellular plant matter => remote-controlled
rlm@44 1017 photosynthetic/bioluminescent structures.
rlm@32 1018
rlm@44 1019 - conducting extracellular matrix :: to allow better control of
rlm@44 1020 organic systems and an enhanced nervous system.
rlm@32 1021
rlm@44 1022 - cross-modal memory hashing :: a way to retrieve memories more
rlm@44 1023 robustly.
rlm@32 1024
rlm@47 1025 - flossing thimble-guards :: (these actually exist)
rlm@32 1026
rlm@44 1027 - rules + lattice learning :: integrate lattice learning with rules by
rlm@44 1028 generating hypothetical examples
rlm@32 1029
rlm@47 1030 - wooden refrigerator :: to give food a better taste Dylan: like
rlm@44 1031 barrels for wine, or planks for salmon. Maybe just have "flavor
rlm@44 1032 planks" for your pre-existing fridge. Need to mitigate effect of
rlm@44 1033 temperature on volatility?
rlm@32 1034
rlm@35 1035 - radioactive transmutation molecule by molecule :: create precious
rlm@35 1036 metals or something else economically advantageous.
rlm@32 1037
rlm@47 1038 - crowd preservation :: inoculate food with tons of harmless
rlm@44 1039 bacteria so that there's no room for bad bacteria as a method of
rlm@44 1040 preservation
rlm@32 1041
rlm@47 1042 - old school preservation :: Pasteur - style holding jar with siphon
rlm@47 1043 as a way to store liquids at room temperature indefinitely w/o
rlm@47 1044 refrigeration.
rlm@32 1045
rlm@47 1046 - restaurant policy :: Throw rude people out of restaurant as a matter
rlm@44 1047 of course -- make ambiance much better.
rlm@32 1048
rlm@47 1049 - clean windows :: make something that mixes soap with fire hydrant
rlm@44 1050 water (and reduces the pressure a bit) and use it
rlm@44 1051 to clean windows of buildings.
rlm@32 1052
rlm@44 1053 - ocarina :: make an ocarina out of pure silver
rlm@32 1054
rlm@35 1055 - fire pen :: pen which burns words on to the page, thus never needing
rlm@47 1056 any ink. Is there a way to make it runnable from the
rlm@35 1057 human's energy?
rlm@32 1058
rlm@44 1059 - website to design your own soda :: and label, and have it mailed to
rlm@44 1060 you / sell it from your own online store.
rlm@35 1061
rlm@44 1062 - solar panels :: that float on the ocean
rlm@43 1063
rlm@35 1064 - handcuffs with more than two cuffs (3?) :: great for daisy chaining
rlm@43 1065 people, binding them to environment, etc.
rlm@35 1066
rlm@35 1067 - vector based SOUND files :: like the pictures but with SOUND. codify
rlm@35 1068 sound in a language with enough symbols so that it can describe
rlm@35 1069 everything and encode it in that. would be like going from speech
rlm@43 1070 to text or smtg. Could also store sound as an image of the
rlm@35 1071 wavefront encoded as a vector image.
rlm@32 1072
rlm@44 1073 - Mouse :: with a horizontal scroll wheel in addition to the vertical
rlm@44 1074 scroll wheel
rlm@32 1075
rlm@47 1076 - logic maintenance system for big institutions :: to make sure the
rlm@44 1077 things they are thinking about doing are not retarded
rlm@32 1078
rlm@47 1079 - http://www.regulations.gov/ :: cool site
rlm@32 1080
rlm@44 1081 - genetically engineered glowing fruit :: sell seeds?
rlm@32 1082
rlm@36 1083 - memory slide :: IF memories are encoded using particular sensory
rlm@36 1084 impressions, what happens if the sensory organ
rlm@36 1085 itself changes? those memories would become
rlm@47 1086 inaccessible. maybe this is why we can't remember
rlm@36 1087 much from our childhoods. also, could this happen
rlm@47 1088 throughout life as well? Could S remember stuff from
rlm@36 1089 his childhood?
rlm@32 1090
rlm@47 1091 - make a completely indestructible phone :: no moving parts or display
rlm@36 1092 you should be able to slam it around all you want, and it will
rlm@36 1093 just work. brutally simple. aerogel around the battery, minimal
rlm@36 1094 interface - never gets too hot, and can be dropped into water. no
rlm@36 1095 holes -- uses field effects for everything from the buttons to
rlm@36 1096 inductive charging and data transfer.
rlm@32 1097
rlm@44 1098 - midi to ocarina "tabs" program :: (online website? buy ocarinas from
rlm@44 1099 it too)
rlm@32 1100
rlm@44 1101 - 3d printing with sound pulses (or just patterns) :: like the 8.03
rlm@44 1102 lecture
rlm@32 1103
rlm@40 1104 - lighter flint on spring :: make hot, throw it at something, and it
rlm@40 1105 makes sparkles!
rlm@32 1106
rlm@44 1107 - nuclear energy :: Rebranding New+Clear Energy with informational
rlm@44 1108 campaign and public debate forum to enforce its
rlm@44 1109 transparent and open nature. France needn't be the
rlm@44 1110 world leader in nuclear energy. (Dylan)
rlm@32 1111
rlm@44 1112 - bubbles :: Engineer a material which has both ductility and high
rlm@44 1113 surface tension to make the "third"
rlm@44 1114 minimal-surface-energy solution to a bubble suspended
rlm@44 1115 between two equal-diameter rings. (Solutions are
rlm@44 1116 cylindrical catenary curve, two separated half-bubbles,
rlm@44 1117 and a double-cone)
rlm@38 1118
rlm@38 1119 - Textbook whose content can be varied continuously :: alter level of
rlm@38 1120 difficulty, rigor, diction, emphasize crossover with certain
rlm@38 1121 other discipline, etc. Content generated dynamically from
rlm@38 1122 knowledge base, along with questions that are moreover altered to
rlm@38 1123 guide knowledge acquisition. Motivation: One book of
rlm@40 1124 knowledge. /One./
rlm@40 1125
rlm@40 1126 ** From Jacob's idea list
rlm@40 1127
rlm@47 1128 - Roommate-canceling headphones: uses roommate's laptop mic to seed
rlm@43 1129 noise cancellation alg in your headphones (would this
rlm@40 1130 work?). -Update on sound canceling headphones that take feed from
rlm@40 1131 tv: how about ones that cancel people talking on the phone by
rlm@40 1132 receiving the phone signals and playing inverse sound
rlm@40 1133 waves. #signalprocessing ~jcole@mit.edu
rlm@40 1134
rlm@40 1135 - ClackerAlert -- tells if you slam the keys too hard using sound data
rlm@40 1136 (and speed/jerkiness data)!.Prevents RSI ~jcole@mit.e
rlm@40 1137
rlm@40 1138 - Panic Pin :: separate pin that you can tell someone if forced to
rlm@41 1139 identify your PIN (idea from idea about credit cards)