Mercurial > thoughts

annotate org/ideas.org @ 85:41741f76b567

Find changesets by keywords (author, files, the commit message), revision number or hash, or revset expression.
merge, and an idea about the power of ice.
author Robert McIntyre <rlm@mit.edu>
date Thu, 16 Jan 2014 10:37:11 -0500
parents dfcbbb3d4b9a 0653ed4b00a3
children 8bd81d22ae93
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@43 13 for the past ~ 7 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@85 34 <<<<<<< local
rlm@84 35 - pronuncation guide :: a simple webpage where you type in a word and
rlm@84 36 it returns a simpe, English sentence describing exactly how to
rlm@84 37 pronounce the word. For people who don't want to learn IPA.
rlm@85 38 =======
rlm@83 39 - learning to teleport :: scifi idea, this is a story about a person
rlm@83 40 who is struggling with his/her society's ideas about
rlm@83 41 teleportation. It's considered a fundamental part of being a
rlm@83 42 member of that society (after all, the difference between animals
rlm@83 43 and humans is that humans are creatures of pure information while
rlm@83 44 animals are burdened with base matter, "that's how you travel the
rlm@83 45 stars, etc") Humans are born normally, grow up, and then
rlm@83 46 eventually transcend via destructive upload. Analogies to jumping
rlm@83 47 off a diving board into a pool (which I simply /could not do/ for
rlm@83 48 a long time), etc.
rlm@85 49 >>>>>>> other
rlm@83 50
rlm@85 51 <<<<<<< local
rlm@84 52 - touch vision :: inspired by GelSight, I want to reexamine cortex and
rlm@84 53 see if I could implement touch as a very low range
rlm@84 54 form of vision.
rlm@85 55 =======
rlm@82 56 - bitcoins for immigrants :: A common case with Mexican immigrants
rlm@82 57 (illegal or not) is that they want to send money they've earned
rlm@82 58 in the US back to their families in Mexico. They currently do this
rlm@82 59 through things like Money Gram or Western Union, and they get
rlm@82 60 fleeced in the process with fees. Bitcoin could greatly reduce
rlm@82 61 the cost of sending money from America to Mexico, but I don't
rlm@82 62 believe that it's currently used for that among Mexican
rlm@82 63 immigrants currently due to lack of knowledge. I bet you could
rlm@82 64 set up physical locations like those obnoxious Western Union huts
rlm@82 65 in places like Texas, Arizona, etc, and greatly undercut
rlm@82 66 them. Or, perhaps some educational seminars about bitcoin might
rlm@82 67 be in order. There's some money to be made there because there is
rlm@82 68 great demand, and it's a good thing to boot!
rlm@85 69 >>>>>>> other
rlm@82 70
rlm@85 71 <<<<<<< local
rlm@85 72 =======
rlm@81 73 - reverse eye-tracking :: A painting that is actually a digital screen
rlm@82 74 with a camera. It records people's eye tracks permanently. It's
rlm@81 75 "artistic" because paintings are normally these things that you
rlm@81 76 look at without changing, but this one is changed the second you
rlm@81 77 look at it, recording where /you/ looked forever for others to
rlm@81 78 see. Make it be a painting of a woman and see the trolling as the
rlm@81 79 breasts and groin area light up with interest from all the males
rlm@81 80 passing by.
rlm@81 81
rlm@80 82 - smart toilets :: Instead of using indirect measures like infrared
rlm@80 83 detectors of the presence of a person, use computer
rlm@80 84 vision to directly measure whether the toilet needs
rlm@80 85 to be flushed. I think a lot of things will end up
rlm@80 86 going this way as we get better computer vision.
rlm@80 87
rlm@77 88 - validate chemopreservation :: chemopreservation is difficult to
rlm@77 89 validate because it destroys the functionality of a brain, and
rlm@77 90 brain simulation will take a long time to mature as a
rlm@77 91 technology. However, one very powerful way to validate
rlm@77 92 chemopreservation would be to have a person/animal learn
rlm@77 93 something with high complexity such as a number or the solution
rlm@80 94 to a maze, or a flashbulb memory. Then you preserve their brain
rlm@80 95 chemically, slice it up, and read /that specific memory/ from the
rlm@77 96 detailed brain scan. Much more difficult, but much more doable.
rlm@77 97
rlm@75 98 - candy screw :: edible candy screw with candy nuts that you can screw
rlm@75 99 as well.
rlm@76 100
rlm@74 101 - better bibliography :: when writing a thesis or paper, have the
rlm@80 102 bibliography not just be an opaque list of resources, but have it
rlm@74 103 be a list of /summaries/ and /qualities/ that each paper has in
rlm@80 104 the context of the paper being written. When examining a
rlm@80 105 bibliography, I want to know if reading the papers in the
rlm@74 106 bibliography are worth my time, and I also am probably also
rlm@74 107 interested in exactly the things that are being discussed in the
rlm@74 108 paper I'm reading. The bibliography is the perfect place to
rlm@74 109 provide information about the referenced papers from the
rlm@80 110 author's perspective. I will use this biographic form in my own
rlm@74 111 thesis.
rlm@74 112
rlm@73 113 - digital inter-library loan :: libraries at universities already do
rlm@80 114 inter-library loans for books, so why not do the same for access
rlm@73 115 to stupid paywalled digital papers? All the universities could
rlm@73 116 allow access to articles for registered students to all the files
rlm@73 117 available through any participating university. This could be
rlm@73 118 achieved by sending requests through proxies at participating
rlm@73 119 universities. Each university would decide who at the university
rlm@73 120 can access the proxy network. Access to the proxy network could
rlm@73 121 be made easy using something like http://libx.org/.
rlm@73 122
rlm@72 123 - chess visual :: to show the vast size of the game trees considered
rlm@72 124 by computers, show two people playing chess in a
rlm@72 125 void. They are floating in space, and there is a
rlm@72 126 simple chess board between them. Then, as they play,
rlm@72 127 the game tree's they are considering are drawn
rlm@72 128 behind him. The root of the tree starts centered in
rlm@72 129 their heads or whatever they use to think, and the
rlm@72 130 tree grows out from behind, never crossing the
rlm@72 131 dividing plane between the two players. Each
rlm@72 132 player's tree is a different color. As they grow,
rlm@72 133 there are animations for pruning, etc. Eventually,
rlm@72 134 they look like the hemispheres of a brain, wings,
rlm@72 135 etc. A human's tree might occasionally have a long
rlm@72 136 chain, while the computer tree would be more
rlm@72 137 uniform. You could compare deep blue and a modern
rlm@72 138 laptop. Use actual data when fighting two computers!
rlm@72 139
rlm@71 140 - time verification :: some standard way to verify that some piece of
rlm@71 141 data was recorded at a specific time. Might involve a time
rlm@73 142 server, a key for each time period, something like that.
rlm@71 143
rlm@70 144 - tamper proof gold bars :: [[http://www.tungsten-alloy.com/gold-plated-tungsten-alloy-bar.html][this site]] offers gold plated tungsten bars
rlm@70 145 as "novelty" items. One reason to prefer coins is because they
rlm@70 146 are much harder to counterfeit because there is less surface area
rlm@70 147 to mass ratio. However, gold bars are still a great design
rlm@70 148 because they can hold a lot of value in a small space. A gold bar
rlm@70 149 could be given the same protections (and more) that gold coins
rlm@70 150 have to offer by changing it into a "gold book", which would have
rlm@70 151 hundreds of "pages" of gold bound together. This could be
rlm@70 152 implemented with multiple steel rods going through the book which
rlm@70 153 can be removed, or some more classier mechanism for holding the
rlm@70 154 pages. The point is that the bar can be EASILY subdivided (and
rlm@70 155 people would perform this test before buying), thus guaranteeing
rlm@70 156 it's authenticity.
rlm@70 157
rlm@68 158 - aurellem shirt :: I should make an aurellem star symbol tee-shirt.
rlm@68 159
rlm@85 160 >>>>>>> other
rlm@67 161 - high school science :: this is a lesson in scientific ethics. The
rlm@67 162 goal is to calculate /g/, the local gravitational
rlm@67 163 acceleration. The students are told that the textbook says it's
rlm@67 164 /exactly/ 9.81 before they start the experiment. See how they
rlm@67 165 doctor their results to get closer to the textbook value. It's
rlm@67 166 neat because for any given school, /g/ is probably *not* exactly
rlm@67 167 equal to 9.81, because that is just an average!
rlm@67 168
rlm@67 169 - opencourseware subtitles :: there are ladies who type up lectures
rlm@67 170 while they are being given. These recordings should be kept and
rlm@67 171 given to OCW for subtitles. If the timestamps of keys are
rlm@67 172 recorded, then it is easy to make subtitles.
rlm@67 173
rlm@66 174 - screen locking timing :: you use your computer camera to see if you
rlm@66 175 are sitting in front of the computer. If you are, then the screen
rlm@66 176 will never lock. If you are, then the screen will lock with a
rlm@67 177 30-40 second timeout. It's an extension of using inactivity to
rlm@66 178 initiate the countdown, just with more information.
rlm@66 179
rlm@66 180 - mirror toilet :: a toilet with a square basin made or mirror instead
rlm@67 181 or porcelain. That way, you can see how good of a
rlm@66 182 wipe job you have done / watch how your excretion
rlm@66 183 system works.
rlm@66 184
rlm@80 185 - test dummies :: why don't we clone anencephalic humans and use then to
rlm@62 186 test /in vivo/ human organ systems and drugs? It
rlm@62 187 would be ethical as long as there are women who are
rlm@62 188 willing to host the clones, and it would be a
rlm@67 189 tremendous resource for studying the human body. I
rlm@62 190 see nothing wrong with it morally, since no one is
rlm@67 191 suffering, and it stands to save many lives throughout
rlm@62 192 more advanced technology.
rlm@62 193
rlm@62 194 - X-ray telepresence :: given that a doctor is operating on a patient
rlm@62 195 via telepresence, one cool things you can do is shine X-rays into
rlm@62 196 the patient to view the insides during real time. If the system
rlm@80 197 was coupled with a Bayesian model of the layout of the structure,
rlm@67 198 and the x-rays were only fired whenever the uncertainty of the
rlm@62 199 model reached a certain threshold, then the radiation damage
rlm@62 200 and surgery risk could be minimized.
rlm@62 201
rlm@62 202 - superfluid vascular system :: I wonder what would happen if you
rlm@62 203 replaced the blood in a human with a superfluid. What would the
rlm@62 204 physical dynamics be? Would the superfluid flow through the
rlm@62 205 vasculature, or would it ignore it and travel through the cells,
rlm@62 206 or something else entirely. Since superfluids need to be cold to
rlm@62 207 retain their superfluidity, how would the dynamics change during
rlm@62 208 perfusion of a superfluid, where the fluid gains and looses
rlm@62 209 superfluidity as it goes deeper into the body and is cooled by
rlm@67 210 superfluid from upstream. In summary there are two things to
rlm@62 211 simulate 1.) replace all blood in human with superfluid
rlm@62 212 instantly. 2.) perfuse superfluid into human.
rlm@51 213
rlm@59 214 - projective guessing :: I think that we read and see things by
rlm@67 215 making a really good guess about what we're expecting to see,
rlm@59 216 and then searching for our guess in what we see. If it really
rlm@59 217 doesn't match, then we start to make more guesses / analyze the
rlm@59 218 image from first principles, but most stuff is projective
rlm@59 219 guessing.
rlm@59 220
rlm@67 221 - Intestinal flora maintenance :: why not inoculate babies at birth
rlm@59 222 with "ideal" gut flora instead of whatever bullshit they
rlm@59 223 naturally get, thus giving them optimal digestive/nutrient
rlm@67 224 extraction capabilities. Might also be able to make their farts
rlm@59 225 not stink for life, too.
rlm@59 226
rlm@56 227 - server culture : mirrors :: make a distributed system where people
rlm@56 228 can mirror the websites of people they like -- essentially cover
rlm@56 229 the server costs of favored websites. This could make popular
rlm@56 230 websites run at no cost. The system would require that the
rlm@56 231 mirrored content be the same as the official source. Sort of like
rlm@67 232 bit-torrent for websites.
rlm@56 233
rlm@56 234 - map programming :: one problem with functional programming is that
rlm@56 235 in order to remain functional, you have to pass up arguments up
rlm@67 236 into each calling function to get the full range of behavior
rlm@56 237 from the lower level functions. Normally people come to a
rlm@67 238 compromise involving abstraction and sparing use of dynamic
rlm@67 239 variables to configure runtime behavior. What would be the
rlm@56 240 advantages of making a programming language where every function
rlm@67 241 receives one argument, a map, which contains all the symbol
rlm@56 242 bindings it would ever need? This map is passed on to all
rlm@56 243 subordinate functions. This way, you could replace functions on
rlm@56 244 the fly, and arrange for there to be sensible defaults,
rlm@56 245 etc. Might cause more harm than good but is an interesting idea.
rlm@56 246
rlm@55 247 - rest nest :: a small EEG device you would attach to your head when
rlm@55 248 you go to sleep at night. ML algorithms would determine
rlm@55 249 your particular sleep cycles. This would mostly be an
rlm@55 250 alarm clock that you could give a time range, say
rlm@55 251 7:00AM - 7:15AM, and it would wake you up during an
rlm@55 252 ideal time corresponding to then end of one of your 90
rlm@55 253 min sleep cycles. You would feel much more rested upon
rlm@55 254 waking up, and would wake up faster. There might be
rlm@55 255 some other uses for the EEG data as well.
rlm@55 256
rlm@50 257 - image compression :: use a library like gimp or opencv to process an
rlm@50 258 image to make it have less entropy, then store the reverse of
rlm@50 259 those operations along with the compressed simpler image as a
rlm@80 260 super-compressed image file (possibly accepting some
rlm@80 261 losses). Trades file size for decompression time, and allows one
rlm@50 262 to cheat by using information in gimp/opencv to compress the
rlm@50 263 image.
rlm@50 264
rlm@47 265 - fixed cryopreservation :: why not use a fixative to buy enough time
rlm@42 266 to ramp up cryoprotectants to an acceptable level at room
rlm@42 267 temperature? Then, the whole system can be rapidly cooled and
rlm@42 268 vitrified. This method "severs the biological link" in that the
rlm@47 269 fixatives are highly toxic, but current vitrification procedures
rlm@42 270 do this anyway since there can be a lot of freezing damage.
rlm@38 271
rlm@67 272 - dilated security camera :: a security camera that would capture
rlm@58 273 full video footage of everything at 60fps but then decide to keep
rlm@58 274 only every 1 frame every 5 seconds unless there's something
rlm@58 275 "interesting" happening.
rlm@58 276
rlm@40 277 - bitcoin wallet :: Part of "server culture", this would be something
rlm@40 278 like "coin.your-domain.com" which would serve as
rlm@40 279 your personal trusted access to your own bitcoins
rlm@40 280 from anywhere.
rlm@40 281
rlm@40 282 - libpay :: this would be a free library which would enable
rlm@40 283 micro-donations to software projects and other projects,
rlm@47 284 so that you could donate a penny to "emacs" and it would
rlm@47 285 be automatically split up to every person who has ever
rlm@40 286 contributed to emacs in proportion to the amount of
rlm@40 287 community esteem, code quantity, bugs fixed, whatever the
rlm@47 288 community decides. This might make it possible for
rlm@40 289 programmers to live entirely off of free programming.
rlm@40 290
rlm@45 291 - distributed graphics :: Browser based graphics-card accelerated
rlm@45 292 distributed computing API.
rlm@41 293
rlm@40 294 - pronouns :: use capital letters A-Z instead of pronouns. They solve
rlm@40 295 pronoun referents and gender neutrality, are short to
rlm@40 296 say, and you can encode useful information into the
rlm@40 297 choice of letter. For example, instead of "Meetings
rlm@40 298 shall be presided over by the president, unless she is
rlm@42 299 absent." USE "Meetings shall be presided over by the
rlm@40 300 president, unless P is absent." We already use this a
rlm@40 301 little, since I and U are reserved for the subject and
rlm@40 302 object respectively.
rlm@40 303
rlm@40 304 - phone DSP :: software app that inserts an audio DSP between the
rlm@40 305 input to a phone and the output. The DSP is delicious
rlm@40 306 and configurable, and can allow men to make their
rlm@40 307 voices deeper, etc. The app would allow you to hear
rlm@40 308 your own voice as others hear it. Most people hate how
rlm@40 309 their own voice sounds. The app would also allow one to
rlm@47 310 immediately change the parameters of the DSP using good
rlm@40 311 presets.
rlm@40 312
rlm@47 313 - predestined body learning :: a good example of predestined learning
rlm@40 314 might be the mirror neurons.
rlm@40 315
rlm@47 316 - restaurant receipt :: use a carbon copy receipt instead of two stupid
rlm@40 317 copies.
rlm@40 318
rlm@41 319 - anti google glass :: glasses with mounted lasers and computer vision
rlm@41 320 that targets the cameras in google glass and destroy them.
rlm@41 321
rlm@40 322 - wearable towel :: towel with clasp, velcro, whatever, that allows
rlm@40 323 one to wear the towel more securely than just
rlm@40 324 wrapping it tightly and hoping for the best.
rlm@40 325
rlm@47 326 - crossdressing :: Easiest way to disguise oneself as a woman is to
rlm@44 327 wear a burka.
rlm@41 328
rlm@40 329 - book-mode :: intelligent color highlighting for books and
rlm@40 330 articles. It would disambiguate pronouns and involved
rlm@40 331 references. For example, if "Rachael" as red, and "the
rlm@40 332 blonde haired girl" refers to "Rachael", then "the
rlm@40 333 blonde haired girl" would he colored red. Also, you
rlm@47 334 could disambiguate multi part run-on sentences by
rlm@40 335 highlighting each subcomponent. Maybe would also have
rlm@47 336 applications to scientific reading.
rlm@40 337
rlm@40 338 - Handheld light Rain measurement :: this would be a clear, teflon
rlm@47 339 coated plastic disk with a camera underneath the disk. You would
rlm@40 340 be able to hold the device out and it would measure the rate of
rlm@40 341 accumulation of water droplets from fine mists and light rain by
rlm@40 342 using computer vision to measure the diameters of the drops.
rlm@40 343
rlm@40 344 - Big Brother Farming :: This would be a vision system that would
rlm@40 345 individually monitor each plant and turn on water, etc to ensure
rlm@40 346 maximum/uniform growth for each plant.
rlm@40 347
rlm@40 348 - Discrete Faucet :: A faucet with discrete ticks instead of
rlm@47 349 continuous.
rlm@40 350
rlm@40 351 - Laser Circle :: take a glass microfiliment and shine a laser at one
rlm@40 352 end at an oblique angle. It will make a perfect,
rlm@40 353 large circle on the wall, converting a laser beam
rlm@47 354 into a laser cone, preserving most of the energy of
rlm@40 355 the laser.
rlm@40 356
rlm@40 357 - Invisible Glass :: Take a container of liquid and embed a
rlm@40 358 glass sculpture made out of glass that has exactly the same index
rlm@40 359 of refraction and color of the liquid. Then the sculpture will be
rlm@40 360 totally invisible in the container, and will only be revealed
rlm@40 361 when the liquid is drained. The container might be a fancy
rlm@40 362 wine/spirit bottle or an hourglass.
rlm@40 363
rlm@47 364 - Caterpillar people :: A race of caterpillar like creatures gains
rlm@40 365 intelligence after eons of predation by birds, etc. These
rlm@47 366 caterpillar creatures still undergo metamorphosis into a large
rlm@40 367 butterfly-like creature. The metamorphosis process turns the
rlm@40 368 caterpillar's brain into mush and reforms it into a minimal,
rlm@40 369 dumb, truly insect-like mind, completely destroying the person
rlm@47 370 the caterpillar was. The society develops all sorts of customs and
rlm@40 371 religious interpretations of the metamorphosis. It is viewed as
rlm@40 372 good and natural by some since it is part of their life cycle and
rlm@47 373 necessary to propagate the species, as only the butterflies can
rlm@40 374 mate. Some think that the butterflies are still the same person
rlm@47 375 because they have the same soul, even they no longer posses the
rlm@47 376 memories or personality of the original caterpillar. Some see the
rlm@40 377 butterfly form as the "true form" of the species, since the
rlm@40 378 butterflies can fly, mate, and are beautiful. Many make a big
rlm@47 379 deal out of the fact that 1-2% of the caterpillar's mind is
rlm@40 380 actually preserved in the butterfly. Some see it as a terrible
rlm@47 381 tragedy and argue that the caterpillars should try to stop the
rlm@40 382 metamorphosis by technology. Practically, some very important
rlm@40 383 members of society undergo hormone therapy and/or surgery to
rlm@40 384 prevent metamorphosis so that they can live longer as themselves.
rlm@40 385
rlm@40 386 This is a continuation of Marvin Minsky's ideas about pain being
rlm@40 387 something that preserves our bodies while destroying our minds,
rlm@40 388 something that is a remnant from our too harsh animal days that
rlm@40 389 hasn't caught up to the fact that we have very complex brains
rlm@40 390 now. It's a worst-case scenario about a maladaptive genetic
rlm@40 391 legacy. Also, it's inspired by "There She Is!!!", which makes a
rlm@40 392 compelling point about homosexuality by introducing a second
rlm@40 393 gender characteristic (bunny/cat, male/female), which makes
rlm@40 394 homophobia look very silly. Here, our own biological legacy of
rlm@47 395 pain and death is made to look like the tragedy it is through the
rlm@47 396 lens of the the caterpillar people.
rlm@40 397
rlm@46 398 - relationships as a business :: [[http://thedailywtf.com/Articles/Up-or-Out-Solving-the-IT-Turnover-Crisis.aspx][Turnover-Crisis]] is an excellent talk
rlm@46 399 about the "culture of quitting," which is about better business
rlm@46 400 by letting people go instead of keeping them around past their
rlm@47 401 "apex". Focuses on information transfer. Cool idea of an alumni
rlm@46 402 network, which for relationships would be a group of satisfied
rlm@46 403 ex-lovers, who would recommend new people your way, and who might
rlm@46 404 consider coming to you again, refreshed from their time away with
rlm@46 405 new stories/experiences. I should look for examples of this and
rlm@46 406 how they worked out.
rlm@43 407
rlm@47 408 - coffee with tea :: /rlm-tea/ contains 2% sugar, 10% cream, and 20%
rlm@43 409 dylan coffee. /dylan coffee/ contains 5% sugar,
rlm@43 410 20% cream, and 10% rlm-tea. Start your mornings
rlm@43 411 with recursion!
rlm@43 412
rlm@43 413 - psychic crystal :: in a science fiction story, this would be an
rlm@43 414 object that is very easy to move physically but is extremely
rlm@43 415 difficult to move with telekinesis.
rlm@43 416
rlm@40 417 - http://betsofbitco.in/ :: what a great place for an AI/person to
rlm@40 418 prove themselves as a good predictor. I wish this could be
rlm@40 419 automated.
rlm@40 420
rlm@44 421 - true reflection :: don't forget about that mirror in the student
rlm@44 422 center!, it's two mirrors at right angles, like staring at a
rlm@44 423 corner of a room. The light reflects so that it shows you what
rlm@44 424 you actually look like, instead of your mirror image.
rlm@33 425
rlm@33 426 - remote control wasp :: use computer to drive wings with remote
rlm@32 427 power/logic.
rlm@32 428
rlm@47 429 - encrypted email phone book :: public (distributed?) database of
rlm@44 430 email->private-key pairs, to enable automatic encryption.
rlm@32 431
rlm@44 432 - universal eye color :: every equivalent creature will see each
rlm@44 433 others' eyes as black -- it's universal. Even if the creatures
rlm@44 434 see in radio waves, and their eyes are 2m long pieces of jagged
rlm@44 435 metal, when those creatures look at each other, they will see
rlm@44 436 black, the absence of light and color (since it's being absorbed
rlm@44 437 by the sensor array).
rlm@32 438
rlm@33 439 - intelligent microwave :: it learns where the hot nodes of its fields
rlm@83 440 are, and uses them to evenly heat any food item. It has an infrared
rlm@32 441 camera or something to keep track of how hot the food is. That way,
rlm@32 442 you don't get bowls where the edges are boiling, while the center is
rlm@32 443 still frozen. Requires a little bit of intelligence/vision, since
rlm@32 444 the exact pattern of heating totally depends on the exact shape of
rlm@47 445 the food. Wouldn't need a carousel, and wouldn't need a timer,
rlm@47 446 just a desired temperature. Could also detect ice, and automatically
rlm@32 447 defrost the parts which are frozen. Might be able to work much
rlm@47 448 faster since it can avoid overheating; might have problems with
rlm@32 449 heating the insides of thick things, might need a weight sensor too.
rlm@32 450
rlm@39 451 + Would be much cleaner than other microwaves, since food would
rlm@39 452 "sputter" and splash liquid much less.
rlm@32 453
rlm@39 454 + Throw in some SIFT+R processing to match previously cooked foods
rlm@39 455 and learn the exact heating profiles for things that have been
rlm@54 456 cooked before -- it can get faster the more it's used.
rlm@32 457
rlm@47 458 - compression :: brain-aware image compression algorithm
rlm@32 459
rlm@44 460 - Credit card proxy :: would be a company which works like paypal
rlm@44 461 except for real world transactions
rlm@32 462
rlm@33 463 - Flesh pillow :: a pillow like the arm or torso of a human, complete
rlm@33 464 with simulated temperature, bones, and heartbeat.
rlm@33 465
rlm@47 466 - super screw :: a screw which has only one or two threads and instead
rlm@47 467 uses compression to fit into a hole (the whole shank
rlm@33 468 of the screw is split into multiple pieces to
rlm@33 469 accomplish this; the tip is a point, then the middle
rlm@33 470 bulges out and gets compressed when screwed in.
rlm@33 471
rlm@47 472 - light filter :: (like light tweezers) to mechanically separate
rlm@33 473 fluids with different index of refraction
rlm@33 474
rlm@33 475 - chalk eraser project :: maybe make a directional eraser, for easy
rlm@33 476 release of chalk dust, like fur, and how it likes to rest in a
rlm@33 477 certain direction.
rlm@33 478
rlm@44 479 - silver socks :: socks laced with silver for the antimicrobial
rlm@44 480 properties.
rlm@32 481
rlm@53 482 - UROP :: magnet gear/metal teeth tape
rlm@53 483
rlm@82 484 - Rod of Moses :: device to distill urine through evaporation and
rlm@53 485 easily dispose of urea crystals for use in desert --
rlm@53 486 produce drinkable water.
rlm@32 487
rlm@47 488 - UROP :: Make the LED in line with the flow for the micro injector, so
rlm@44 489 that it may transmit maximum flow. Motor that changes
rlm@44 490 distance of internal magnet from windings depending on
rlm@44 491 desired speed so as to obtain maximum power efficiency.
rlm@32 492
rlm@47 493 - lottery scraper :: web scraper which monitors various lotteries,
rlm@44 494 looking for "special" gimmick changes in the rules (like 4x
rlm@44 495 winnings on Wednesdays) and computes expected value...
rlm@34 496
rlm@34 497 - Memristiors novel design :: make an evolutionary algorithm to make
rlm@34 498 old stuff using all four basic circuit elements.
rlm@34 499
rlm@44 500 - Conductive concrete :: concrete that has embedded metal fibers so
rlm@44 501 that it can conduct electricity.
rlm@34 502
rlm@44 503 - little bitty melting pot :: might be useful for some types of
rlm@44 504 manufacturing/3D printing -- how small can an induction melter be
rlm@44 505 made, for example.
rlm@34 506
rlm@44 507 - power strip/timer programmable combination :: meh
rlm@34 508
rlm@47 509 - algorithms :: which learn what their inputs are and in what order,
rlm@44 510 and can adapt to changing circumstances -- they
rlm@44 511 remember previous arguments and adapt so as to respond
rlm@44 512 to different connections.
rlm@34 513
rlm@47 514 - true pure tones :: hear a true pure tone by direct stimulation of the
rlm@44 515 nerves of the ear
rlm@43 516
rlm@43 517 - mechanical analogue to the electrical op-amp :: would be an object
rlm@43 518 with two levers -- you pull on one lever and the other moves the
rlm@43 519 same way, no matter what's in the way or what it is driving. This
rlm@47 520 analogy could be useful to teach op amps to people.
rlm@34 521
rlm@47 522 - paper folding device :: make it convenient to fold lots of papers in
rlm@34 523 various ways.
rlm@34 524
rlm@34 525 - concrete epoxy :: epoxy with sand/ some other solid material.
rlm@34 526
rlm@47 527 - light capacitor :: suspend some ball of material with a high index
rlm@43 528 of refraction and shine light into it so it gets stuck -- would
rlm@43 529 the light stay trapped forever? Could you build up unlimited
rlm@43 530 quantities of light inside the sphere (which could then be
rlm@43 531 released slowly by frustrated internal reflection?
rlm@34 532
rlm@40 533 - movie screening :: Movies always are too long at first. One way to
rlm@34 534 shorten them ``scientifically" is to record blink rate during the
rlm@34 535 move and then remove / shorten the frames of the parts in which
rlm@34 536 there are a lot of blinking (average this over multiple people)
rlm@34 537 better yet, put it online and do it across thousands of people. I
rlm@34 538 got this from youtube in which there is an episode of kill bill
rlm@47 539 which is composed entirely of the parts in which people had their
rlm@34 540 eyes closed. slogan: want to make a movie people can't take their
rlm@34 541 eyes off of? Just take those parts out!
rlm@34 542
rlm@47 543 - optimize an article :: capture reading of a scientific article via
rlm@44 544 screen capture while people read it, then use it to make the
rlm@44 545 article better. like the movie-pruning idea.
rlm@35 546
rlm@44 547 - super reading program :: teaches people the ideal mental mask to
rlm@44 548 apply during reading so as to read very fast.
rlm@35 549
rlm@44 550 - explosive thermite epoxy putty :: one part would contain the rust,
rlm@47 551 one part the aluminum.
rlm@34 552
rlm@44 553 - reading comprehension :: use the above screen capture routine to
rlm@44 554 make a quiz program that constructs questions about the content
rlm@44 555 you seemed to gloss over while reading. could be easy if the pdf
rlm@44 556 came with embedded questions. Dylan: automatically generate
rlm@44 557 word-cloud about the parts you found most interesting; help
rlm@44 558 others who read the same stuff by drawing attention to the
rlm@44 559 interesting parts.
rlm@34 560
rlm@44 561 - hard sword :: make a samurai sword, but use osmiridum instead of
rlm@44 562 martensite for the cutting part; it should be a better
rlm@44 563 sword.
rlm@32 564
rlm@44 565 - close range wireless :: use the induction technology used to
rlm@44 566 recharge electric toothbrushes with no metal links to send data
rlm@44 567 without any metal at all!
rlm@32 568
rlm@44 569 - reading :: is a form of synsethesia
rlm@32 570
rlm@44 571 - DNA printer :: A machine which translates the text eg, "ACTGAC" into
rlm@44 572 actual DNA
rlm@32 573
rlm@44 574 - black generator :: ferro-fluid magnetic field suspended micro
rlm@44 575 generator to make electricity
rlm@32 576
rlm@44 577 - alcohol battery :: alcohol/fluid flow powered battery
rlm@32 578
rlm@44 579 - folding razor blade sword ::
rlm@32 580
rlm@44 581 - perfect pitch :: learn perfect pitch using another sense in
rlm@44 582 combination (sight or touch)
rlm@32 583
rlm@44 584 - kaleidoscope projector ::
rlm@32 585
rlm@44 586 - razor blade de-sharpener :: for guilt free disposal
rlm@32 587
rlm@44 588 - bricks :: filled with luminescent plant material
rlm@32 589
rlm@47 590 - bio metallic structure :: metal grids with seeds inside, which grow
rlm@44 591 together and form a durable biological matrix. The metal
rlm@44 592 substrate delivers water. (maybe use plastic instead of metal?)
rlm@44 593 Dylan: enrich plants with inorganic compounds; electrical
rlm@44 594 interfaces in cellular plant matter => remote-controlled
rlm@44 595 photosynthetic/bioluminescent structures.
rlm@32 596
rlm@44 597 - conducting extracellular matrix :: to allow better control of
rlm@44 598 organic systems and an enhanced nervous system.
rlm@32 599
rlm@44 600 - cross-modal memory hashing :: a way to retrieve memories more
rlm@44 601 robustly.
rlm@32 602
rlm@47 603 - flossing thimble-guards :: (these actually exist)
rlm@32 604
rlm@44 605 - rules + lattice learning :: integrate lattice learning with rules by
rlm@44 606 generating hypothetical examples
rlm@32 607
rlm@47 608 - wooden refrigerator :: to give food a better taste Dylan: like
rlm@44 609 barrels for wine, or planks for salmon. Maybe just have "flavor
rlm@44 610 planks" for your pre-existing fridge. Need to mitigate effect of
rlm@44 611 temperature on volatility?
rlm@32 612
rlm@35 613 - radioactive transmutation molecule by molecule :: create precious
rlm@35 614 metals or something else economically advantageous.
rlm@32 615
rlm@47 616 - crowd preservation :: inoculate food with tons of harmless
rlm@44 617 bacteria so that there's no room for bad bacteria as a method of
rlm@44 618 preservation
rlm@32 619
rlm@47 620 - old school preservation :: Pasteur - style holding jar with siphon
rlm@47 621 as a way to store liquids at room temperature indefinitely w/o
rlm@47 622 refrigeration.
rlm@32 623
rlm@47 624 - restaurant policy :: Throw rude people out of restaurant as a matter
rlm@44 625 of course -- make ambiance much better.
rlm@32 626
rlm@47 627 - clean windows :: make something that mixes soap with fire hydrant
rlm@44 628 water (and reduces the pressure a bit) and use it
rlm@44 629 to clean windows of buildings.
rlm@32 630
rlm@44 631 - ocarina :: make an ocarina out of pure silver
rlm@32 632
rlm@35 633 - fire pen :: pen which burns words on to the page, thus never needing
rlm@47 634 any ink. Is there a way to make it runnable from the
rlm@35 635 human's energy?
rlm@32 636
rlm@44 637 - website to design your own soda :: and label, and have it mailed to
rlm@44 638 you / sell it from your own online store.
rlm@35 639
rlm@44 640 - solar panels :: that float on the ocean
rlm@43 641
rlm@35 642 - handcuffs with more than two cuffs (3?) :: great for daisy chaining
rlm@43 643 people, binding them to environment, etc.
rlm@35 644
rlm@35 645 - vector based SOUND files :: like the pictures but with SOUND. codify
rlm@35 646 sound in a language with enough symbols so that it can describe
rlm@35 647 everything and encode it in that. would be like going from speech
rlm@43 648 to text or smtg. Could also store sound as an image of the
rlm@35 649 wavefront encoded as a vector image.
rlm@32 650
rlm@44 651 - Mouse :: with a horizontal scroll wheel in addition to the vertical
rlm@44 652 scroll wheel
rlm@32 653
rlm@47 654 - logic maintenance system for big institutions :: to make sure the
rlm@44 655 things they are thinking about doing are not retarded
rlm@32 656
rlm@47 657 - http://www.regulations.gov/ :: cool site
rlm@32 658
rlm@44 659 - genetically engineered glowing fruit :: sell seeds?
rlm@32 660
rlm@36 661 - memory slide :: IF memories are encoded using particular sensory
rlm@36 662 impressions, what happens if the sensory organ
rlm@36 663 itself changes? those memories would become
rlm@47 664 inaccessible. maybe this is why we can't remember
rlm@36 665 much from our childhoods. also, could this happen
rlm@47 666 throughout life as well? Could S remember stuff from
rlm@36 667 his childhood?
rlm@32 668
rlm@47 669 - make a completely indestructible phone :: no moving parts or display
rlm@36 670 you should be able to slam it around all you want, and it will
rlm@36 671 just work. brutally simple. aerogel around the battery, minimal
rlm@36 672 interface - never gets too hot, and can be dropped into water. no
rlm@36 673 holes -- uses field effects for everything from the buttons to
rlm@36 674 inductive charging and data transfer.
rlm@32 675
rlm@44 676 - midi to ocarina "tabs" program :: (online website? buy ocarinas from
rlm@44 677 it too)
rlm@32 678
rlm@44 679 - 3d printing with sound pulses (or just patterns) :: like the 8.03
rlm@44 680 lecture
rlm@32 681
rlm@40 682 - lighter flint on spring :: make hot, throw it at something, and it
rlm@40 683 makes sparkles!
rlm@32 684
rlm@44 685 - nuclear energy :: Rebranding New+Clear Energy with informational
rlm@44 686 campaign and public debate forum to enforce its
rlm@44 687 transparent and open nature. France needn't be the
rlm@44 688 world leader in nuclear energy. (Dylan)
rlm@32 689
rlm@44 690 - bubbles :: Engineer a material which has both ductility and high
rlm@44 691 surface tension to make the "third"
rlm@44 692 minimal-surface-energy solution to a bubble suspended
rlm@44 693 between two equal-diameter rings. (Solutions are
rlm@44 694 cylindrical catenary curve, two separated half-bubbles,
rlm@44 695 and a double-cone)
rlm@38 696
rlm@38 697 - Textbook whose content can be varied continuously :: alter level of
rlm@38 698 difficulty, rigor, diction, emphasize crossover with certain
rlm@38 699 other discipline, etc. Content generated dynamically from
rlm@38 700 knowledge base, along with questions that are moreover altered to
rlm@38 701 guide knowledge acquisition. Motivation: One book of
rlm@40 702 knowledge. /One./
rlm@40 703
rlm@40 704
rlm@40 705 ** From Jacob's idea list
rlm@40 706
rlm@47 707 - Roommate-canceling headphones: uses roommate's laptop mic to seed
rlm@43 708 noise cancellation alg in your headphones (would this
rlm@40 709 work?). -Update on sound canceling headphones that take feed from
rlm@40 710 tv: how about ones that cancel people talking on the phone by
rlm@40 711 receiving the phone signals and playing inverse sound
rlm@40 712 waves. #signalprocessing ~jcole@mit.edu
rlm@40 713
rlm@40 714 - ClackerAlert -- tells if you slam the keys too hard using sound data
rlm@40 715 (and speed/jerkiness data)!.Prevents RSI ~jcole@mit.e
rlm@40 716
rlm@40 717 - Panic Pin :: separate pin that you can tell someone if forced to
rlm@41 718 identify your PIN (idea from idea about credit cards)