Mercurial > thoughts

annotate org/ideas.org @ 133:35eb4c1a7bf7

Find changesets by keywords (author, files, the commit message), revision number or hash, or revset expression.
add more ideas.
author Robert McIntyre <rlm@mit.edu>
date Thu, 04 Sep 2014 15:33:15 -0700
parents 823974ec6e0f
children b6cbdd5a9547
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@133 34 - validating neurocryopreservation :: Problem : you want to test
rlm@133 35 whether a brain is functionally preserved through vitrification,
rlm@133 36 but you don't want to figure out how to preserve all the other
rlm@133 37 organs in the animal. It might be possible to keep the rest of
rlm@133 38 the body at almost 0C and vitrify just the head for only a few
rlm@133 39 minutes. Induce hypothermia, then separate out the head's blood
rlm@133 40 supply from the rest of the body, then just cryoptotect and
rlm@133 41 vitrify the head. Might need some sort of thermal guard to keep
rlm@133 42 the outer head / neck from becoming too cold. You leave the
rlm@133 43 spinal cord intact! Then you devitrify to 0C, remove
rlm@133 44 cryoprotectant, and then reattach the blood supply. You can
rlm@133 45 determine brain preservation using behavioral assays!
rlm@133 46
rlm@133 47 - freezing water purifier :: you slowly freeze water, but also run
rlm@133 48 liquid water over the frozen mass. This takes away basically all
rlm@133 49 impurities and creates "washed ice" then you melt the ice. Maybe
rlm@133 50 you could re-use the heat from creating the ice to melt the ice?
rlm@133 51
rlm@133 52 - ultra strength :: allow a person to visualize their muscle
rlm@133 53 recruitment patterns. Give them adrenaline and let
rlm@133 54 them feel what it's like to have the normal limits
rlm@133 55 removed. See if they can replicate the effects.
rlm@133 56
rlm@133 57 - phone names :: make a PX record for domain names that's like the MX
rlm@133 58 record, except that it is a phone number instead of
rlm@133 59 an IP address. That way, you can use the domain name
rlm@133 60 registration system to provide names for phone
rlm@133 61 numbers. Then, as long as you control the domain, you
rlm@133 62 can point people to your current phone number by
rlm@133 63 updating that record.
rlm@133 64
rlm@133 65 - edible flowers :: Edible white flowers that you put in a colored
rlm@133 66 solution with flavor. When the flower turns the
rlm@133 67 right color, it is also flavored and ready to eat!
rlm@133 68
rlm@131 69 - suicide cryonics :: according to [[http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/magazine/06suicide-t.html][this]], people who commit impulsive
rlm@131 70 suicides have a newfound sense of the importance of life. Perhaps
rlm@131 71 they are good cryonics targets.
rlm@131 72
rlm@131 73 - lead bone :: Could you fill in all the empty spaces in a bone with
rlm@131 74 lead? Might be cool.
rlm@131 75
rlm@131 76 - the quest for life :: Every stupid story has the "immortal who
rlm@131 77 wants to become mortal" or some other such idea. I want to story
rlm@131 78 where the protagonist loses their immortality and feels /angry/
rlm@131 79 and ashamed about losing something that's so absolutely crucial
rlm@131 80 to their identity. A reverse of "death makes life worth living",
rlm@131 81 they feel that living forever is what makes life worth
rlm@131 82 living. Now they've "lost their sunrise" or their "connection to
rlm@131 83 the timeless universe" or something. So they go on a quest to get
rlm@131 84 it back, learning about themselves along the way, and regaining
rlm@131 85 the precious thing they lost in the beginning.
rlm@131 86
rlm@130 87 - world-map :: take a small table and paint the continents in
rlm@130 88 toothpaste on the table. Make a slightly raised barrier
rlm@130 89 around the table. Slowly pour water onto the table, and
rlm@130 90 it will form the oceans!
rlm@130 91
rlm@95 92 - stage magic rituals :: rituals should incorporate elements of stage
rlm@95 93 magic. Foe example in Teller's tempest, they have a scene where
rlm@95 94 they levitate a crown in front of someone, then put it on his
rlm@95 95 head. They also have a wedding ceremony where they levitated the
rlm@95 96 bride as well. Actual weddings and other ceremonies should
rlm@95 97 incorporate stage magic as an enhancement.
rlm@95 98
rlm@95 99 - isotope time dilation :: use a cyclotron to speed up rare isotopes
rlm@95 100 developed in nuclear fusion experiments. The relativistic time
rlm@95 101 dilation will stop the isotopes from decaying, and allow time to
rlm@95 102 study them. This is based on radioactive isotopes that fall
rlm@95 103 through the earth's atmosphere that take hundreds of times
rlm@95 104 longer to decay than normal.
rlm@95 105
rlm@95 106 - marsupial stimulation :: You take a freshly pouched marsupial baby,
rlm@95 107 and show it videos and other interactive things while it matures
rlm@95 108 in the pouch. What mental effects would this have?
rlm@95 109
rlm@95 110 - dynamic re-keying :: Some older ways of tuning insturments sound
rlm@95 111 better, but we use the even-tempered scale today because it makes
rlm@95 112 it easier to switch keys. With electronic music, why not make
rlm@95 113 key-annotations and dynamically re-tune the piece to sound good
rlm@95 114 in the current key? Coule be done as a midi+annotation -> midi
rlm@95 115 compiler for experimentation.
rlm@95 116
rlm@95 117 - death always implies damage :: is is possible for a corpse to differ
rlm@95 118 from a living person only in the fact that one is dead and the
rlm@95 119 other is alive? NO! A corpse must always have some sort of
rlm@95 120 molecular damage which causes the loss of function!
rlm@95 121
rlm@95 122 - inner eye :: Surgically install a bunch of tiny cameras inside a
rlm@95 123 person. Then, you can activate them all and get a
rlm@95 124 picture of your internal organs for diagnostic
rlm@95 125 purposes.
rlm@95 126
rlm@95 127 - chaos rails :: should make a visulazation of the homoclinic tangle,
rlm@95 128 it's truly beautiful.
rlm@95 129
rlm@95 130 - context gobbler :: this would be in "inside-out macro" that takes
rlm@95 131 the context (like you use for things like error, continuations,
rlm@95 132 and friends) and transforms it to something else. Maybe useful?
rlm@95 133
rlm@91 134 - cryonics middle ages :: some people say that cryonics is an
rlm@91 135 experiment and that it is foolish to wait until we have revived a
rlm@91 136 human. There is a middle ground where the procedure has a dismal
rlm@91 137 success rate on humans, say 1 in 20, so that you'd be a fool to
rlm@91 138 try revival. Nonetheless, this very risky procedure could be the
rlm@91 139 legal proof of concept needed to create a new class of life
rlm@91 140 between "living" and "dead": "stasis".
rlm@91 141
rlm@91 142 - philosophy of the mirror :: neat thought experiment -- if you take a
rlm@91 143 mirror of someone by actually reversing a person's chirality
rlm@94 144 molecule by molecule, then will the only be able to read mirror
rlm@91 145 writing? The answer is yes, by analogy to a purely mechanical
rlm@94 146 scan-tron device. This is one of the only interesting transforms I
rlm@91 147 know that can take a human brain and change it in subtle,
rlm@91 148 non-destructive ways. It's also an argument against dualism.
rlm@91 149
rlm@91 150 - biosphere in a bottle :: There are around 15 million species. 15
rlm@91 151 million stem cells will fill only a tiny size, far less than a cubic
rlm@91 152 inch. Preserve a single cell from every species on earth in this
rlm@91 153 small space, and you will have a record of our current biosphere
rlm@91 154 that can be protected. "Hold the genetic data of all species in
rlm@92 155 your hand!"
rlm@91 156
rlm@90 157 - chaos lock :: The "arrow of time" points in the direction of
rlm@90 158 increasing entropy. The time evolution of chaotic
rlm@90 159 systems depend exquisitely on their initial state. If
rlm@90 160 you take a measurement of a chaotic system at any
rlm@90 161 given point of time, you can evolve that system
rlm@90 162 backwards or forwards based on your measurement. So
rlm@90 163 let's say you start the chaotic system in a VERY low
rlm@90 164 entropy state, then let it run for a while, then take
rlm@90 165 a measurement with some uncertainty. Your
rlm@90 166 measurement is pretty good, but obviously not
rlm@90 167 PERFECT. If you evolve the chaotic system back in
rlm@90 168 time, then you will see that you don't really reach
rlm@90 169 a state with low entropy an hour before (the entropy
rlm@90 170 is easy to measure with surrogates like alignment,
rlm@90 171 etc). So use this technique to SEARCH for a more
rlm@90 172 accurate measurement! This potentially can give you
rlm@90 173 many more orders of magnitude than you could get alone
rlm@90 174 just using an instrument. Sometimes it will give you
rlm@90 175 bad results, the the odds of it doing that are
rlm@90 176 infinitesimal, and you can just measure a couple of
rlm@90 177 times.
rlm@90 178
rlm@90 179 - cryo-evolution :: perhaps there would be a way to rapidly evolve a
rlm@90 180 symbiotic bacterial organism that could protect
rlm@90 181 human tissues from freezing damage.
rlm@90 182
rlm@87 183 - suicide parasite :: sometimes, people kill themselves for no good
rlm@87 184 reason. We often explain this with things like "hidden
rlm@87 185 depression" or we say that they had something like chronic jaw or
rlm@87 186 back pain. I think that smells of rationalization. I don't buy
rlm@87 187 it. I propose that in many suicide cases there is a disease that
rlm@88 188 causes the suicidal behavior. We already know that certain
rlm@87 189 parasites have mind-bending properties in other animals, even
rlm@87 190 mammals like mice. It's not much of a stretch to imagine a
rlm@88 191 parasite that causes suicides in humans. Some problems:
rlm@87 192 - What does the suicide parasite get out of it? :: This might be
rlm@87 193 answered by the whole thing being a glitch caused by
rlm@87 194 cross-species contamination. Toxoplasma works this way.
rlm@88 195 - What predictions does a disease model make :: suicide should
rlm@88 196 be more common among people who share a contagion
rlm@88 197 vector. There should be suicides that don't make any
rlm@87 198 sense : people who weren't really depressed, who had no
rlm@87 199 reason to kill themselves. People who have killed themselves
rlm@87 200 should have a higher incidence of some unknown parasite in
rlm@87 201 their brains.
rlm@86 202
rlm@89 203 - domestic insects :: People should eat more bugs because they're much
rlm@89 204 more efficient, so why not do some major domestication research
rlm@94 205 to make very appealing bugs? Beetles, in particular, seem to be
rlm@94 206 excellent targets for domestication because they have extreme
rlm@94 207 levels of genetic malleability.
rlm@87 208
rlm@87 209 - birth-clones :: What if each person was intentionally split at birth
rlm@87 210 into a normal embryo and a few "backup" cells which
rlm@87 211 is then frozen. The backup cells are created just
rlm@87 212 the same way as natural identical twins. The backups
rlm@88 213 can be used to regenerate organs. etc. Also, it
rlm@87 214 would be a good sci fi concept, because you could
rlm@87 215 have a culture where people reward people who were
rlm@87 216 especially awesome are "reborn" from their
rlm@88 217 backups. Imagine having a young Bach every
rlm@87 218 generation, etc.
rlm@86 219
rlm@94 220 - pronunciation guide :: a simple webpage where you type in a word and
rlm@94 221 it returns a simple, English sentence describing exactly how to
rlm@84 222 pronounce the word. For people who don't want to learn IPA.
rlm@86 223
rlm@87 224 - cortex-search :: use the repertoire of actions learned to limit the
rlm@87 225 search space of possible actions.
rlm@87 226
rlm@83 227 - learning to teleport :: scifi idea, this is a story about a person
rlm@83 228 who is struggling with his/her society's ideas about
rlm@83 229 teleportation. It's considered a fundamental part of being a
rlm@83 230 member of that society (after all, the difference between animals
rlm@83 231 and humans is that humans are creatures of pure information while
rlm@83 232 animals are burdened with base matter, "that's how you travel the
rlm@83 233 stars, etc") Humans are born normally, grow up, and then
rlm@83 234 eventually transcend via destructive upload. Analogies to jumping
rlm@83 235 off a diving board into a pool (which I simply /could not do/ for
rlm@83 236 a long time), etc.
rlm@83 237
rlm@87 238 - no-float-ice :: cup that has cross beams at the bottom where ice
rlm@87 239 forms. Then when you drink liquid from the glass,
rlm@87 240 the ice stays at the bottom and doesn't hit your
rlm@87 241 lips. For bars and fancy things.
rlm@87 242
rlm@82 243 - bitcoins for immigrants :: A common case with Mexican immigrants
rlm@82 244 (illegal or not) is that they want to send money they've earned
rlm@82 245 in the US back to their families in Mexico. They currently do this
rlm@82 246 through things like Money Gram or Western Union, and they get
rlm@82 247 fleeced in the process with fees. Bitcoin could greatly reduce
rlm@82 248 the cost of sending money from America to Mexico, but I don't
rlm@82 249 believe that it's currently used for that among Mexican
rlm@82 250 immigrants currently due to lack of knowledge. I bet you could
rlm@82 251 set up physical locations like those obnoxious Western Union huts
rlm@82 252 in places like Texas, Arizona, etc, and greatly undercut
rlm@82 253 them. Or, perhaps some educational seminars about bitcoin might
rlm@82 254 be in order. There's some money to be made there because there is
rlm@82 255 great demand, and it's a good thing to boot!
rlm@82 256
rlm@81 257 - reverse eye-tracking :: A painting that is actually a digital screen
rlm@82 258 with a camera. It records people's eye tracks permanently. It's
rlm@81 259 "artistic" because paintings are normally these things that you
rlm@81 260 look at without changing, but this one is changed the second you
rlm@81 261 look at it, recording where /you/ looked forever for others to
rlm@81 262 see. Make it be a painting of a woman and see the trolling as the
rlm@81 263 breasts and groin area light up with interest from all the males
rlm@81 264 passing by.
rlm@81 265
rlm@80 266 - smart toilets :: Instead of using indirect measures like infrared
rlm@80 267 detectors of the presence of a person, use computer
rlm@80 268 vision to directly measure whether the toilet needs
rlm@80 269 to be flushed. I think a lot of things will end up
rlm@80 270 going this way as we get better computer vision.
rlm@80 271
rlm@77 272 - validate chemopreservation :: chemopreservation is difficult to
rlm@77 273 validate because it destroys the functionality of a brain, and
rlm@77 274 brain simulation will take a long time to mature as a
rlm@77 275 technology. However, one very powerful way to validate
rlm@77 276 chemopreservation would be to have a person/animal learn
rlm@77 277 something with high complexity such as a number or the solution
rlm@80 278 to a maze, or a flashbulb memory. Then you preserve their brain
rlm@80 279 chemically, slice it up, and read /that specific memory/ from the
rlm@77 280 detailed brain scan. Much more difficult, but much more doable.
rlm@77 281
rlm@75 282 - candy screw :: edible candy screw with candy nuts that you can screw
rlm@75 283 as well.
rlm@76 284
rlm@74 285 - better bibliography :: when writing a thesis or paper, have the
rlm@80 286 bibliography not just be an opaque list of resources, but have it
rlm@74 287 be a list of /summaries/ and /qualities/ that each paper has in
rlm@80 288 the context of the paper being written. When examining a
rlm@80 289 bibliography, I want to know if reading the papers in the
rlm@74 290 bibliography are worth my time, and I also am probably also
rlm@74 291 interested in exactly the things that are being discussed in the
rlm@74 292 paper I'm reading. The bibliography is the perfect place to
rlm@74 293 provide information about the referenced papers from the
rlm@80 294 author's perspective. I will use this biographic form in my own
rlm@74 295 thesis.
rlm@74 296
rlm@73 297 - digital inter-library loan :: libraries at universities already do
rlm@80 298 inter-library loans for books, so why not do the same for access
rlm@73 299 to stupid paywalled digital papers? All the universities could
rlm@73 300 allow access to articles for registered students to all the files
rlm@73 301 available through any participating university. This could be
rlm@73 302 achieved by sending requests through proxies at participating
rlm@73 303 universities. Each university would decide who at the university
rlm@73 304 can access the proxy network. Access to the proxy network could
rlm@73 305 be made easy using something like http://libx.org/.
rlm@73 306
rlm@72 307 - chess visual :: to show the vast size of the game trees considered
rlm@72 308 by computers, show two people playing chess in a
rlm@72 309 void. They are floating in space, and there is a
rlm@72 310 simple chess board between them. Then, as they play,
rlm@72 311 the game tree's they are considering are drawn
rlm@72 312 behind him. The root of the tree starts centered in
rlm@72 313 their heads or whatever they use to think, and the
rlm@72 314 tree grows out from behind, never crossing the
rlm@72 315 dividing plane between the two players. Each
rlm@72 316 player's tree is a different color. As they grow,
rlm@72 317 there are animations for pruning, etc. Eventually,
rlm@72 318 they look like the hemispheres of a brain, wings,
rlm@72 319 etc. A human's tree might occasionally have a long
rlm@72 320 chain, while the computer tree would be more
rlm@72 321 uniform. You could compare deep blue and a modern
rlm@72 322 laptop. Use actual data when fighting two computers!
rlm@72 323
rlm@71 324 - time verification :: some standard way to verify that some piece of
rlm@71 325 data was recorded at a specific time. Might involve a time
rlm@73 326 server, a key for each time period, something like that.
rlm@71 327
rlm@70 328 - tamper proof gold bars :: [[http://www.tungsten-alloy.com/gold-plated-tungsten-alloy-bar.html][this site]] offers gold plated tungsten bars
rlm@70 329 as "novelty" items. One reason to prefer coins is because they
rlm@70 330 are much harder to counterfeit because there is less surface area
rlm@70 331 to mass ratio. However, gold bars are still a great design
rlm@70 332 because they can hold a lot of value in a small space. A gold bar
rlm@70 333 could be given the same protections (and more) that gold coins
rlm@70 334 have to offer by changing it into a "gold book", which would have
rlm@70 335 hundreds of "pages" of gold bound together. This could be
rlm@70 336 implemented with multiple steel rods going through the book which
rlm@70 337 can be removed, or some more classier mechanism for holding the
rlm@70 338 pages. The point is that the bar can be EASILY subdivided (and
rlm@70 339 people would perform this test before buying), thus guaranteeing
rlm@70 340 it's authenticity.
rlm@70 341
rlm@68 342 - aurellem shirt :: I should make an aurellem star symbol tee-shirt.
rlm@68 343
rlm@86 344 - touch vision :: inspired by GelSight, I want to reexamine cortex and
rlm@86 345 see if I could implement touch as a very low range
rlm@86 346 form of vision.
rlm@86 347
rlm@67 348 - high school science :: this is a lesson in scientific ethics. The
rlm@67 349 goal is to calculate /g/, the local gravitational
rlm@67 350 acceleration. The students are told that the textbook says it's
rlm@67 351 /exactly/ 9.81 before they start the experiment. See how they
rlm@67 352 doctor their results to get closer to the textbook value. It's
rlm@67 353 neat because for any given school, /g/ is probably *not* exactly
rlm@67 354 equal to 9.81, because that is just an average!
rlm@67 355
rlm@67 356 - opencourseware subtitles :: there are ladies who type up lectures
rlm@67 357 while they are being given. These recordings should be kept and
rlm@67 358 given to OCW for subtitles. If the timestamps of keys are
rlm@67 359 recorded, then it is easy to make subtitles.
rlm@67 360
rlm@66 361 - screen locking timing :: you use your computer camera to see if you
rlm@66 362 are sitting in front of the computer. If you are, then the screen
rlm@66 363 will never lock. If you are, then the screen will lock with a
rlm@67 364 30-40 second timeout. It's an extension of using inactivity to
rlm@66 365 initiate the countdown, just with more information.
rlm@66 366
rlm@66 367 - mirror toilet :: a toilet with a square basin made or mirror instead
rlm@67 368 or porcelain. That way, you can see how good of a
rlm@66 369 wipe job you have done / watch how your excretion
rlm@66 370 system works.
rlm@66 371
rlm@80 372 - test dummies :: why don't we clone anencephalic humans and use then to
rlm@62 373 test /in vivo/ human organ systems and drugs? It
rlm@62 374 would be ethical as long as there are women who are
rlm@62 375 willing to host the clones, and it would be a
rlm@67 376 tremendous resource for studying the human body. I
rlm@62 377 see nothing wrong with it morally, since no one is
rlm@67 378 suffering, and it stands to save many lives throughout
rlm@62 379 more advanced technology.
rlm@62 380
rlm@62 381 - X-ray telepresence :: given that a doctor is operating on a patient
rlm@62 382 via telepresence, one cool things you can do is shine X-rays into
rlm@62 383 the patient to view the insides during real time. If the system
rlm@80 384 was coupled with a Bayesian model of the layout of the structure,
rlm@67 385 and the x-rays were only fired whenever the uncertainty of the
rlm@62 386 model reached a certain threshold, then the radiation damage
rlm@62 387 and surgery risk could be minimized.
rlm@62 388
rlm@62 389 - superfluid vascular system :: I wonder what would happen if you
rlm@62 390 replaced the blood in a human with a superfluid. What would the
rlm@62 391 physical dynamics be? Would the superfluid flow through the
rlm@62 392 vasculature, or would it ignore it and travel through the cells,
rlm@62 393 or something else entirely. Since superfluids need to be cold to
rlm@62 394 retain their superfluidity, how would the dynamics change during
rlm@62 395 perfusion of a superfluid, where the fluid gains and looses
rlm@62 396 superfluidity as it goes deeper into the body and is cooled by
rlm@67 397 superfluid from upstream. In summary there are two things to
rlm@62 398 simulate 1.) replace all blood in human with superfluid
rlm@62 399 instantly. 2.) perfuse superfluid into human.
rlm@51 400
rlm@59 401 - projective guessing :: I think that we read and see things by
rlm@67 402 making a really good guess about what we're expecting to see,
rlm@59 403 and then searching for our guess in what we see. If it really
rlm@59 404 doesn't match, then we start to make more guesses / analyze the
rlm@59 405 image from first principles, but most stuff is projective
rlm@59 406 guessing.
rlm@59 407
rlm@67 408 - Intestinal flora maintenance :: why not inoculate babies at birth
rlm@59 409 with "ideal" gut flora instead of whatever bullshit they
rlm@59 410 naturally get, thus giving them optimal digestive/nutrient
rlm@67 411 extraction capabilities. Might also be able to make their farts
rlm@94 412 not stink for life, too. MORE IMPORTANTLY, might help to
rlm@91 413 preventatively stop some forms of /colic/, which affects 1 in 5
rlm@94 414 babies and causes constant screaming and pain for about 5 weeks.
rlm@59 415
rlm@56 416 - server culture : mirrors :: make a distributed system where people
rlm@56 417 can mirror the websites of people they like -- essentially cover
rlm@56 418 the server costs of favored websites. This could make popular
rlm@56 419 websites run at no cost. The system would require that the
rlm@56 420 mirrored content be the same as the official source. Sort of like
rlm@67 421 bit-torrent for websites.
rlm@56 422
rlm@56 423 - map programming :: one problem with functional programming is that
rlm@56 424 in order to remain functional, you have to pass up arguments up
rlm@67 425 into each calling function to get the full range of behavior
rlm@56 426 from the lower level functions. Normally people come to a
rlm@67 427 compromise involving abstraction and sparing use of dynamic
rlm@67 428 variables to configure runtime behavior. What would be the
rlm@56 429 advantages of making a programming language where every function
rlm@67 430 receives one argument, a map, which contains all the symbol
rlm@56 431 bindings it would ever need? This map is passed on to all
rlm@56 432 subordinate functions. This way, you could replace functions on
rlm@56 433 the fly, and arrange for there to be sensible defaults,
rlm@56 434 etc. Might cause more harm than good but is an interesting idea.
rlm@56 435
rlm@55 436 - rest nest :: a small EEG device you would attach to your head when
rlm@55 437 you go to sleep at night. ML algorithms would determine
rlm@55 438 your particular sleep cycles. This would mostly be an
rlm@55 439 alarm clock that you could give a time range, say
rlm@55 440 7:00AM - 7:15AM, and it would wake you up during an
rlm@55 441 ideal time corresponding to then end of one of your 90
rlm@55 442 min sleep cycles. You would feel much more rested upon
rlm@55 443 waking up, and would wake up faster. There might be
rlm@55 444 some other uses for the EEG data as well.
rlm@55 445
rlm@50 446 - image compression :: use a library like gimp or opencv to process an
rlm@50 447 image to make it have less entropy, then store the reverse of
rlm@50 448 those operations along with the compressed simpler image as a
rlm@80 449 super-compressed image file (possibly accepting some
rlm@80 450 losses). Trades file size for decompression time, and allows one
rlm@50 451 to cheat by using information in gimp/opencv to compress the
rlm@50 452 image.
rlm@50 453
rlm@47 454 - fixed cryopreservation :: why not use a fixative to buy enough time
rlm@42 455 to ramp up cryoprotectants to an acceptable level at room
rlm@42 456 temperature? Then, the whole system can be rapidly cooled and
rlm@42 457 vitrified. This method "severs the biological link" in that the
rlm@47 458 fixatives are highly toxic, but current vitrification procedures
rlm@42 459 do this anyway since there can be a lot of freezing damage.
rlm@38 460
rlm@67 461 - dilated security camera :: a security camera that would capture
rlm@58 462 full video footage of everything at 60fps but then decide to keep
rlm@58 463 only every 1 frame every 5 seconds unless there's something
rlm@58 464 "interesting" happening.
rlm@58 465
rlm@40 466 - bitcoin wallet :: Part of "server culture", this would be something
rlm@40 467 like "coin.your-domain.com" which would serve as
rlm@40 468 your personal trusted access to your own bitcoins
rlm@40 469 from anywhere.
rlm@40 470
rlm@40 471 - libpay :: this would be a free library which would enable
rlm@40 472 micro-donations to software projects and other projects,
rlm@47 473 so that you could donate a penny to "emacs" and it would
rlm@47 474 be automatically split up to every person who has ever
rlm@40 475 contributed to emacs in proportion to the amount of
rlm@40 476 community esteem, code quantity, bugs fixed, whatever the
rlm@47 477 community decides. This might make it possible for
rlm@40 478 programmers to live entirely off of free programming.
rlm@40 479
rlm@45 480 - distributed graphics :: Browser based graphics-card accelerated
rlm@45 481 distributed computing API.
rlm@41 482
rlm@40 483 - pronouns :: use capital letters A-Z instead of pronouns. They solve
rlm@40 484 pronoun referents and gender neutrality, are short to
rlm@40 485 say, and you can encode useful information into the
rlm@40 486 choice of letter. For example, instead of "Meetings
rlm@40 487 shall be presided over by the president, unless she is
rlm@42 488 absent." USE "Meetings shall be presided over by the
rlm@40 489 president, unless P is absent." We already use this a
rlm@40 490 little, since I and U are reserved for the subject and
rlm@40 491 object respectively.
rlm@40 492
rlm@40 493 - phone DSP :: software app that inserts an audio DSP between the
rlm@40 494 input to a phone and the output. The DSP is delicious
rlm@40 495 and configurable, and can allow men to make their
rlm@40 496 voices deeper, etc. The app would allow you to hear
rlm@40 497 your own voice as others hear it. Most people hate how
rlm@40 498 their own voice sounds. The app would also allow one to
rlm@47 499 immediately change the parameters of the DSP using good
rlm@40 500 presets.
rlm@40 501
rlm@47 502 - predestined body learning :: a good example of predestined learning
rlm@40 503 might be the mirror neurons.
rlm@40 504
rlm@47 505 - restaurant receipt :: use a carbon copy receipt instead of two stupid
rlm@40 506 copies.
rlm@40 507
rlm@41 508 - anti google glass :: glasses with mounted lasers and computer vision
rlm@41 509 that targets the cameras in google glass and destroy them.
rlm@41 510
rlm@40 511 - wearable towel :: towel with clasp, velcro, whatever, that allows
rlm@40 512 one to wear the towel more securely than just
rlm@40 513 wrapping it tightly and hoping for the best.
rlm@40 514
rlm@47 515 - crossdressing :: Easiest way to disguise oneself as a woman is to
rlm@44 516 wear a burka.
rlm@41 517
rlm@40 518 - book-mode :: intelligent color highlighting for books and
rlm@40 519 articles. It would disambiguate pronouns and involved
rlm@93 520 references. For example, if "Rachael" was assigned the
rlm@93 521 color red, and "the blonde haired girl" refers to
rlm@93 522 "Rachael", then "the blonde haired girl" would be
rlm@93 523 colored red. Also, you could disambiguate multi part
rlm@93 524 run-on sentences by highlighting each
rlm@93 525 subcomponent. Maybe would also have applications to
rlm@93 526 scientific reading.
rlm@40 527
rlm@40 528 - Handheld light Rain measurement :: this would be a clear, teflon
rlm@47 529 coated plastic disk with a camera underneath the disk. You would
rlm@40 530 be able to hold the device out and it would measure the rate of
rlm@40 531 accumulation of water droplets from fine mists and light rain by
rlm@40 532 using computer vision to measure the diameters of the drops.
rlm@40 533
rlm@40 534 - Big Brother Farming :: This would be a vision system that would
rlm@40 535 individually monitor each plant and turn on water, etc to ensure
rlm@40 536 maximum/uniform growth for each plant.
rlm@40 537
rlm@40 538 - Discrete Faucet :: A faucet with discrete ticks instead of
rlm@47 539 continuous.
rlm@40 540
rlm@40 541 - Laser Circle :: take a glass microfiliment and shine a laser at one
rlm@40 542 end at an oblique angle. It will make a perfect,
rlm@40 543 large circle on the wall, converting a laser beam
rlm@47 544 into a laser cone, preserving most of the energy of
rlm@40 545 the laser.
rlm@40 546
rlm@40 547 - Invisible Glass :: Take a container of liquid and embed a
rlm@40 548 glass sculpture made out of glass that has exactly the same index
rlm@40 549 of refraction and color of the liquid. Then the sculpture will be
rlm@40 550 totally invisible in the container, and will only be revealed
rlm@40 551 when the liquid is drained. The container might be a fancy
rlm@40 552 wine/spirit bottle or an hourglass.
rlm@40 553
rlm@47 554 - Caterpillar people :: A race of caterpillar like creatures gains
rlm@40 555 intelligence after eons of predation by birds, etc. These
rlm@47 556 caterpillar creatures still undergo metamorphosis into a large
rlm@40 557 butterfly-like creature. The metamorphosis process turns the
rlm@40 558 caterpillar's brain into mush and reforms it into a minimal,
rlm@40 559 dumb, truly insect-like mind, completely destroying the person
rlm@47 560 the caterpillar was. The society develops all sorts of customs and
rlm@40 561 religious interpretations of the metamorphosis. It is viewed as
rlm@40 562 good and natural by some since it is part of their life cycle and
rlm@47 563 necessary to propagate the species, as only the butterflies can
rlm@40 564 mate. Some think that the butterflies are still the same person
rlm@47 565 because they have the same soul, even they no longer posses the
rlm@47 566 memories or personality of the original caterpillar. Some see the
rlm@40 567 butterfly form as the "true form" of the species, since the
rlm@40 568 butterflies can fly, mate, and are beautiful. Many make a big
rlm@47 569 deal out of the fact that 1-2% of the caterpillar's mind is
rlm@40 570 actually preserved in the butterfly. Some see it as a terrible
rlm@47 571 tragedy and argue that the caterpillars should try to stop the
rlm@40 572 metamorphosis by technology. Practically, some very important
rlm@40 573 members of society undergo hormone therapy and/or surgery to
rlm@40 574 prevent metamorphosis so that they can live longer as themselves.
rlm@40 575
rlm@40 576 This is a continuation of Marvin Minsky's ideas about pain being
rlm@40 577 something that preserves our bodies while destroying our minds,
rlm@40 578 something that is a remnant from our too harsh animal days that
rlm@40 579 hasn't caught up to the fact that we have very complex brains
rlm@40 580 now. It's a worst-case scenario about a maladaptive genetic
rlm@40 581 legacy. Also, it's inspired by "There She Is!!!", which makes a
rlm@40 582 compelling point about homosexuality by introducing a second
rlm@40 583 gender characteristic (bunny/cat, male/female), which makes
rlm@40 584 homophobia look very silly. Here, our own biological legacy of
rlm@47 585 pain and death is made to look like the tragedy it is through the
rlm@47 586 lens of the the caterpillar people.
rlm@40 587
rlm@46 588 - relationships as a business :: [[http://thedailywtf.com/Articles/Up-or-Out-Solving-the-IT-Turnover-Crisis.aspx][Turnover-Crisis]] is an excellent talk
rlm@46 589 about the "culture of quitting," which is about better business
rlm@46 590 by letting people go instead of keeping them around past their
rlm@47 591 "apex". Focuses on information transfer. Cool idea of an alumni
rlm@46 592 network, which for relationships would be a group of satisfied
rlm@46 593 ex-lovers, who would recommend new people your way, and who might
rlm@46 594 consider coming to you again, refreshed from their time away with
rlm@46 595 new stories/experiences. I should look for examples of this and
rlm@46 596 how they worked out.
rlm@43 597
rlm@47 598 - coffee with tea :: /rlm-tea/ contains 2% sugar, 10% cream, and 20%
rlm@43 599 dylan coffee. /dylan coffee/ contains 5% sugar,
rlm@43 600 20% cream, and 10% rlm-tea. Start your mornings
rlm@43 601 with recursion!
rlm@43 602
rlm@43 603 - psychic crystal :: in a science fiction story, this would be an
rlm@43 604 object that is very easy to move physically but is extremely
rlm@43 605 difficult to move with telekinesis.
rlm@43 606
rlm@40 607 - http://betsofbitco.in/ :: what a great place for an AI/person to
rlm@40 608 prove themselves as a good predictor. I wish this could be
rlm@40 609 automated.
rlm@40 610
rlm@44 611 - true reflection :: don't forget about that mirror in the student
rlm@44 612 center!, it's two mirrors at right angles, like staring at a
rlm@44 613 corner of a room. The light reflects so that it shows you what
rlm@44 614 you actually look like, instead of your mirror image.
rlm@33 615
rlm@33 616 - remote control wasp :: use computer to drive wings with remote
rlm@32 617 power/logic.
rlm@32 618
rlm@47 619 - encrypted email phone book :: public (distributed?) database of
rlm@44 620 email->private-key pairs, to enable automatic encryption.
rlm@32 621
rlm@44 622 - universal eye color :: every equivalent creature will see each
rlm@44 623 others' eyes as black -- it's universal. Even if the creatures
rlm@44 624 see in radio waves, and their eyes are 2m long pieces of jagged
rlm@44 625 metal, when those creatures look at each other, they will see
rlm@44 626 black, the absence of light and color (since it's being absorbed
rlm@44 627 by the sensor array).
rlm@32 628
rlm@33 629 - intelligent microwave :: it learns where the hot nodes of its fields
rlm@83 630 are, and uses them to evenly heat any food item. It has an infrared
rlm@32 631 camera or something to keep track of how hot the food is. That way,
rlm@32 632 you don't get bowls where the edges are boiling, while the center is
rlm@32 633 still frozen. Requires a little bit of intelligence/vision, since
rlm@32 634 the exact pattern of heating totally depends on the exact shape of
rlm@47 635 the food. Wouldn't need a carousel, and wouldn't need a timer,
rlm@47 636 just a desired temperature. Could also detect ice, and automatically
rlm@32 637 defrost the parts which are frozen. Might be able to work much
rlm@47 638 faster since it can avoid overheating; might have problems with
rlm@32 639 heating the insides of thick things, might need a weight sensor too.
rlm@32 640
rlm@39 641 + Would be much cleaner than other microwaves, since food would
rlm@39 642 "sputter" and splash liquid much less.
rlm@32 643
rlm@39 644 + Throw in some SIFT+R processing to match previously cooked foods
rlm@39 645 and learn the exact heating profiles for things that have been
rlm@54 646 cooked before -- it can get faster the more it's used.
rlm@32 647
rlm@47 648 - compression :: brain-aware image compression algorithm
rlm@32 649
rlm@44 650 - Credit card proxy :: would be a company which works like paypal
rlm@44 651 except for real world transactions
rlm@32 652
rlm@33 653 - Flesh pillow :: a pillow like the arm or torso of a human, complete
rlm@33 654 with simulated temperature, bones, and heartbeat.
rlm@33 655
rlm@47 656 - super screw :: a screw which has only one or two threads and instead
rlm@47 657 uses compression to fit into a hole (the whole shank
rlm@33 658 of the screw is split into multiple pieces to
rlm@33 659 accomplish this; the tip is a point, then the middle
rlm@33 660 bulges out and gets compressed when screwed in.
rlm@33 661
rlm@47 662 - light filter :: (like light tweezers) to mechanically separate
rlm@33 663 fluids with different index of refraction
rlm@33 664
rlm@33 665 - chalk eraser project :: maybe make a directional eraser, for easy
rlm@33 666 release of chalk dust, like fur, and how it likes to rest in a
rlm@33 667 certain direction.
rlm@33 668
rlm@44 669 - silver socks :: socks laced with silver for the antimicrobial
rlm@44 670 properties.
rlm@32 671
rlm@53 672 - UROP :: magnet gear/metal teeth tape
rlm@53 673
rlm@82 674 - Rod of Moses :: device to distill urine through evaporation and
rlm@53 675 easily dispose of urea crystals for use in desert --
rlm@53 676 produce drinkable water.
rlm@32 677
rlm@47 678 - UROP :: Make the LED in line with the flow for the micro injector, so
rlm@44 679 that it may transmit maximum flow. Motor that changes
rlm@44 680 distance of internal magnet from windings depending on
rlm@44 681 desired speed so as to obtain maximum power efficiency.
rlm@32 682
rlm@47 683 - lottery scraper :: web scraper which monitors various lotteries,
rlm@44 684 looking for "special" gimmick changes in the rules (like 4x
rlm@44 685 winnings on Wednesdays) and computes expected value...
rlm@34 686
rlm@34 687 - Memristiors novel design :: make an evolutionary algorithm to make
rlm@34 688 old stuff using all four basic circuit elements.
rlm@34 689
rlm@44 690 - Conductive concrete :: concrete that has embedded metal fibers so
rlm@44 691 that it can conduct electricity.
rlm@34 692
rlm@44 693 - little bitty melting pot :: might be useful for some types of
rlm@44 694 manufacturing/3D printing -- how small can an induction melter be
rlm@44 695 made, for example.
rlm@34 696
rlm@44 697 - power strip/timer programmable combination :: meh
rlm@34 698
rlm@47 699 - algorithms :: which learn what their inputs are and in what order,
rlm@44 700 and can adapt to changing circumstances -- they
rlm@44 701 remember previous arguments and adapt so as to respond
rlm@44 702 to different connections.
rlm@34 703
rlm@47 704 - true pure tones :: hear a true pure tone by direct stimulation of the
rlm@44 705 nerves of the ear
rlm@43 706
rlm@43 707 - mechanical analogue to the electrical op-amp :: would be an object
rlm@43 708 with two levers -- you pull on one lever and the other moves the
rlm@43 709 same way, no matter what's in the way or what it is driving. This
rlm@47 710 analogy could be useful to teach op amps to people.
rlm@34 711
rlm@47 712 - paper folding device :: make it convenient to fold lots of papers in
rlm@34 713 various ways.
rlm@34 714
rlm@34 715 - concrete epoxy :: epoxy with sand/ some other solid material.
rlm@34 716
rlm@47 717 - light capacitor :: suspend some ball of material with a high index
rlm@43 718 of refraction and shine light into it so it gets stuck -- would
rlm@43 719 the light stay trapped forever? Could you build up unlimited
rlm@43 720 quantities of light inside the sphere (which could then be
rlm@43 721 released slowly by frustrated internal reflection?
rlm@34 722
rlm@40 723 - movie screening :: Movies always are too long at first. One way to
rlm@34 724 shorten them ``scientifically" is to record blink rate during the
rlm@34 725 move and then remove / shorten the frames of the parts in which
rlm@34 726 there are a lot of blinking (average this over multiple people)
rlm@34 727 better yet, put it online and do it across thousands of people. I
rlm@34 728 got this from youtube in which there is an episode of kill bill
rlm@47 729 which is composed entirely of the parts in which people had their
rlm@34 730 eyes closed. slogan: want to make a movie people can't take their
rlm@34 731 eyes off of? Just take those parts out!
rlm@34 732
rlm@47 733 - optimize an article :: capture reading of a scientific article via
rlm@44 734 screen capture while people read it, then use it to make the
rlm@44 735 article better. like the movie-pruning idea.
rlm@35 736
rlm@44 737 - super reading program :: teaches people the ideal mental mask to
rlm@44 738 apply during reading so as to read very fast.
rlm@35 739
rlm@44 740 - explosive thermite epoxy putty :: one part would contain the rust,
rlm@47 741 one part the aluminum.
rlm@34 742
rlm@44 743 - reading comprehension :: use the above screen capture routine to
rlm@44 744 make a quiz program that constructs questions about the content
rlm@44 745 you seemed to gloss over while reading. could be easy if the pdf
rlm@44 746 came with embedded questions. Dylan: automatically generate
rlm@44 747 word-cloud about the parts you found most interesting; help
rlm@44 748 others who read the same stuff by drawing attention to the
rlm@44 749 interesting parts.
rlm@34 750
rlm@44 751 - hard sword :: make a samurai sword, but use osmiridum instead of
rlm@44 752 martensite for the cutting part; it should be a better
rlm@44 753 sword.
rlm@32 754
rlm@44 755 - close range wireless :: use the induction technology used to
rlm@44 756 recharge electric toothbrushes with no metal links to send data
rlm@44 757 without any metal at all!
rlm@32 758
rlm@44 759 - reading :: is a form of synsethesia
rlm@32 760
rlm@44 761 - DNA printer :: A machine which translates the text eg, "ACTGAC" into
rlm@44 762 actual DNA
rlm@32 763
rlm@44 764 - black generator :: ferro-fluid magnetic field suspended micro
rlm@44 765 generator to make electricity
rlm@32 766
rlm@44 767 - alcohol battery :: alcohol/fluid flow powered battery
rlm@32 768
rlm@44 769 - folding razor blade sword ::
rlm@32 770
rlm@44 771 - perfect pitch :: learn perfect pitch using another sense in
rlm@44 772 combination (sight or touch)
rlm@32 773
rlm@44 774 - kaleidoscope projector ::
rlm@32 775
rlm@44 776 - razor blade de-sharpener :: for guilt free disposal
rlm@32 777
rlm@44 778 - bricks :: filled with luminescent plant material
rlm@32 779
rlm@47 780 - bio metallic structure :: metal grids with seeds inside, which grow
rlm@44 781 together and form a durable biological matrix. The metal
rlm@44 782 substrate delivers water. (maybe use plastic instead of metal?)
rlm@44 783 Dylan: enrich plants with inorganic compounds; electrical
rlm@44 784 interfaces in cellular plant matter => remote-controlled
rlm@44 785 photosynthetic/bioluminescent structures.
rlm@32 786
rlm@44 787 - conducting extracellular matrix :: to allow better control of
rlm@44 788 organic systems and an enhanced nervous system.
rlm@32 789
rlm@44 790 - cross-modal memory hashing :: a way to retrieve memories more
rlm@44 791 robustly.
rlm@32 792
rlm@47 793 - flossing thimble-guards :: (these actually exist)
rlm@32 794
rlm@44 795 - rules + lattice learning :: integrate lattice learning with rules by
rlm@44 796 generating hypothetical examples
rlm@32 797
rlm@47 798 - wooden refrigerator :: to give food a better taste Dylan: like
rlm@44 799 barrels for wine, or planks for salmon. Maybe just have "flavor
rlm@44 800 planks" for your pre-existing fridge. Need to mitigate effect of
rlm@44 801 temperature on volatility?
rlm@32 802
rlm@35 803 - radioactive transmutation molecule by molecule :: create precious
rlm@35 804 metals or something else economically advantageous.
rlm@32 805
rlm@47 806 - crowd preservation :: inoculate food with tons of harmless
rlm@44 807 bacteria so that there's no room for bad bacteria as a method of
rlm@44 808 preservation
rlm@32 809
rlm@47 810 - old school preservation :: Pasteur - style holding jar with siphon
rlm@47 811 as a way to store liquids at room temperature indefinitely w/o
rlm@47 812 refrigeration.
rlm@32 813
rlm@47 814 - restaurant policy :: Throw rude people out of restaurant as a matter
rlm@44 815 of course -- make ambiance much better.
rlm@32 816
rlm@47 817 - clean windows :: make something that mixes soap with fire hydrant
rlm@44 818 water (and reduces the pressure a bit) and use it
rlm@44 819 to clean windows of buildings.
rlm@32 820
rlm@44 821 - ocarina :: make an ocarina out of pure silver
rlm@32 822
rlm@35 823 - fire pen :: pen which burns words on to the page, thus never needing
rlm@47 824 any ink. Is there a way to make it runnable from the
rlm@35 825 human's energy?
rlm@32 826
rlm@44 827 - website to design your own soda :: and label, and have it mailed to
rlm@44 828 you / sell it from your own online store.
rlm@35 829
rlm@44 830 - solar panels :: that float on the ocean
rlm@43 831
rlm@35 832 - handcuffs with more than two cuffs (3?) :: great for daisy chaining
rlm@43 833 people, binding them to environment, etc.
rlm@35 834
rlm@35 835 - vector based SOUND files :: like the pictures but with SOUND. codify
rlm@35 836 sound in a language with enough symbols so that it can describe
rlm@35 837 everything and encode it in that. would be like going from speech
rlm@43 838 to text or smtg. Could also store sound as an image of the
rlm@35 839 wavefront encoded as a vector image.
rlm@32 840
rlm@44 841 - Mouse :: with a horizontal scroll wheel in addition to the vertical
rlm@44 842 scroll wheel
rlm@32 843
rlm@47 844 - logic maintenance system for big institutions :: to make sure the
rlm@44 845 things they are thinking about doing are not retarded
rlm@32 846
rlm@47 847 - http://www.regulations.gov/ :: cool site
rlm@32 848
rlm@44 849 - genetically engineered glowing fruit :: sell seeds?
rlm@32 850
rlm@36 851 - memory slide :: IF memories are encoded using particular sensory
rlm@36 852 impressions, what happens if the sensory organ
rlm@36 853 itself changes? those memories would become
rlm@47 854 inaccessible. maybe this is why we can't remember
rlm@36 855 much from our childhoods. also, could this happen
rlm@47 856 throughout life as well? Could S remember stuff from
rlm@36 857 his childhood?
rlm@32 858
rlm@47 859 - make a completely indestructible phone :: no moving parts or display
rlm@36 860 you should be able to slam it around all you want, and it will
rlm@36 861 just work. brutally simple. aerogel around the battery, minimal
rlm@36 862 interface - never gets too hot, and can be dropped into water. no
rlm@36 863 holes -- uses field effects for everything from the buttons to
rlm@36 864 inductive charging and data transfer.
rlm@32 865
rlm@44 866 - midi to ocarina "tabs" program :: (online website? buy ocarinas from
rlm@44 867 it too)
rlm@32 868
rlm@44 869 - 3d printing with sound pulses (or just patterns) :: like the 8.03
rlm@44 870 lecture
rlm@32 871
rlm@40 872 - lighter flint on spring :: make hot, throw it at something, and it
rlm@40 873 makes sparkles!
rlm@32 874
rlm@44 875 - nuclear energy :: Rebranding New+Clear Energy with informational
rlm@44 876 campaign and public debate forum to enforce its
rlm@44 877 transparent and open nature. France needn't be the
rlm@44 878 world leader in nuclear energy. (Dylan)
rlm@32 879
rlm@44 880 - bubbles :: Engineer a material which has both ductility and high
rlm@44 881 surface tension to make the "third"
rlm@44 882 minimal-surface-energy solution to a bubble suspended
rlm@44 883 between two equal-diameter rings. (Solutions are
rlm@44 884 cylindrical catenary curve, two separated half-bubbles,
rlm@44 885 and a double-cone)
rlm@38 886
rlm@38 887 - Textbook whose content can be varied continuously :: alter level of
rlm@38 888 difficulty, rigor, diction, emphasize crossover with certain
rlm@38 889 other discipline, etc. Content generated dynamically from
rlm@38 890 knowledge base, along with questions that are moreover altered to
rlm@38 891 guide knowledge acquisition. Motivation: One book of
rlm@40 892 knowledge. /One./
rlm@40 893
rlm@40 894 ** From Jacob's idea list
rlm@40 895
rlm@47 896 - Roommate-canceling headphones: uses roommate's laptop mic to seed
rlm@43 897 noise cancellation alg in your headphones (would this
rlm@40 898 work?). -Update on sound canceling headphones that take feed from
rlm@40 899 tv: how about ones that cancel people talking on the phone by
rlm@40 900 receiving the phone signals and playing inverse sound
rlm@40 901 waves. #signalprocessing ~jcole@mit.edu
rlm@40 902
rlm@40 903 - ClackerAlert -- tells if you slam the keys too hard using sound data
rlm@40 904 (and speed/jerkiness data)!.Prevents RSI ~jcole@mit.e
rlm@40 905
rlm@40 906 - Panic Pin :: separate pin that you can tell someone if forced to
rlm@41 907 identify your PIN (idea from idea about credit cards)