annotate org/ideas.org @ 62:b838bd76b081

add new ideas.
author Robert McIntyre <rlm@mit.edu>
date Sat, 07 Sep 2013 13:57:14 -0400
parents 600bd4667993
children eae81fa3a8e0 86b9eb9afc3e
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@62 34 - test dummies :: why don't we clone encephalic humans and use then to
rlm@62 35 test /in vivo/ human organ systems and drugs? It
rlm@62 36 would be ethical as long as there are women who are
rlm@62 37 willing to host the clones, and it would be a
rlm@62 38 trememdous resource for studying the human body. I
rlm@62 39 see nothing wrong with it morally, since no one is
rlm@62 40 suffering, and it stands to save many lives throught
rlm@62 41 more advanced technology.
rlm@62 42
rlm@62 43 - X-ray telepresence :: given that a doctor is operating on a patient
rlm@62 44 via telepresence, one cool things you can do is shine X-rays into
rlm@62 45 the patient to view the insides during real time. If the system
rlm@62 46 was coupled with a baysean model of the layout of the structure,
rlm@62 47 and the x-rays were only fired whenever the uncertaintity of the
rlm@62 48 model reached a certain threshold, then the radiation damage
rlm@62 49 and surgery risk could be minimized.
rlm@62 50
rlm@62 51 - superfluid vascular system :: I wonder what would happen if you
rlm@62 52 replaced the blood in a human with a superfluid. What would the
rlm@62 53 physical dynamics be? Would the superfluid flow through the
rlm@62 54 vasculature, or would it ignore it and travel through the cells,
rlm@62 55 or something else entirely. Since superfluids need to be cold to
rlm@62 56 retain their superfluidity, how would the dynamics change during
rlm@62 57 perfusion of a superfluid, where the fluid gains and looses
rlm@62 58 superfluidity as it goes deeper into the body and is cooled by
rlm@62 59 superfluid from upstresm. In summary there are two things to
rlm@62 60 simulate 1.) replace all blood in human with superfluid
rlm@62 61 instantly. 2.) perfuse superfluid into human.
rlm@51 62
rlm@59 63 - projective guessing :: I think that we read and see things by
rlm@59 64 makeing a really good guess about what we're expecting to see,
rlm@59 65 and then searching for our guess in what we see. If it really
rlm@59 66 doesn't match, then we start to make more guesses / analyze the
rlm@59 67 image from first principles, but most stuff is projective
rlm@59 68 guessing.
rlm@59 69
rlm@59 70 - Intestinal flora maintainence :: why not innoculate babies at birth
rlm@59 71 with "ideal" gut flora instead of whatever bullshit they
rlm@59 72 naturally get, thus giving them optimal digestive/nutrient
rlm@59 73 extraction capabilities. Might also be abot to make their farts
rlm@59 74 not stink for life, too.
rlm@59 75
rlm@56 76 - server culture : mirrors :: make a distributed system where people
rlm@56 77 can mirror the websites of people they like -- essentially cover
rlm@56 78 the server costs of favored websites. This could make popular
rlm@56 79 websites run at no cost. The system would require that the
rlm@56 80 mirrored content be the same as the official source. Sort of like
rlm@56 81 bittorrent for websites.
rlm@56 82
rlm@56 83 - map programming :: one problem with functional programming is that
rlm@56 84 in order to remain functional, you have to pass up arguments up
rlm@56 85 into each calling function to get the full range of behaviour
rlm@56 86 from the lower level functions. Normally people come to a
rlm@56 87 compromize involving abstraction and sparing use of dynamic
rlm@56 88 variables to configure runtime behaviour. What would be the
rlm@56 89 advantages of making a programming language where every function
rlm@56 90 recieves one argument, a map, which contains all the symbol
rlm@56 91 bindings it would ever need? This map is passed on to all
rlm@56 92 subordinate functions. This way, you could replace functions on
rlm@56 93 the fly, and arrange for there to be sensible defaults,
rlm@56 94 etc. Might cause more harm than good but is an interesting idea.
rlm@56 95
rlm@55 96 - rest nest :: a small EEG device you would attach to your head when
rlm@55 97 you go to sleep at night. ML algorithms would determine
rlm@55 98 your particular sleep cycles. This would mostly be an
rlm@55 99 alarm clock that you could give a time range, say
rlm@55 100 7:00AM - 7:15AM, and it would wake you up during an
rlm@55 101 ideal time corresponding to then end of one of your 90
rlm@55 102 min sleep cycles. You would feel much more rested upon
rlm@55 103 waking up, and would wake up faster. There might be
rlm@55 104 some other uses for the EEG data as well.
rlm@55 105
rlm@50 106 - image compression :: use a library like gimp or opencv to process an
rlm@50 107 image to make it have less entropy, then store the reverse of
rlm@50 108 those operations along with the compressed simpler image as a
rlm@50 109 super-compressed image file (possibly sccapting some
rlm@50 110 lesses). Trades file size for decompression time, and allows one
rlm@50 111 to cheat by using information in gimp/opencv to compress the
rlm@50 112 image.
rlm@50 113
rlm@47 114 - fixed cryopreservation :: why not use a fixative to buy enough time
rlm@42 115 to ramp up cryoprotectants to an acceptable level at room
rlm@42 116 temperature? Then, the whole system can be rapidly cooled and
rlm@42 117 vitrified. This method "severs the biological link" in that the
rlm@47 118 fixatives are highly toxic, but current vitrification procedures
rlm@42 119 do this anyway since there can be a lot of freezing damage.
rlm@38 120
rlm@58 121 - dialated security cmaera :: a security camera that would capture
rlm@58 122 full video footage of everything at 60fps but then decide to keep
rlm@58 123 only every 1 frame every 5 seconds unless there's something
rlm@58 124 "interesting" happening.
rlm@58 125
rlm@40 126 - bitcoin wallet :: Part of "server culture", this would be something
rlm@40 127 like "coin.your-domain.com" which would serve as
rlm@40 128 your personal trusted access to your own bitcoins
rlm@40 129 from anywhere.
rlm@40 130
rlm@40 131 - libpay :: this would be a free library which would enable
rlm@40 132 micro-donations to software projects and other projects,
rlm@47 133 so that you could donate a penny to "emacs" and it would
rlm@47 134 be automatically split up to every person who has ever
rlm@40 135 contributed to emacs in proportion to the amount of
rlm@40 136 community esteem, code quantity, bugs fixed, whatever the
rlm@47 137 community decides. This might make it possible for
rlm@40 138 programmers to live entirely off of free programming.
rlm@40 139
rlm@45 140 - distributed graphics :: Browser based graphics-card accelerated
rlm@45 141 distributed computing API.
rlm@41 142
rlm@40 143 - pronouns :: use capital letters A-Z instead of pronouns. They solve
rlm@40 144 pronoun referents and gender neutrality, are short to
rlm@40 145 say, and you can encode useful information into the
rlm@40 146 choice of letter. For example, instead of "Meetings
rlm@40 147 shall be presided over by the president, unless she is
rlm@42 148 absent." USE "Meetings shall be presided over by the
rlm@40 149 president, unless P is absent." We already use this a
rlm@40 150 little, since I and U are reserved for the subject and
rlm@40 151 object respectively.
rlm@40 152
rlm@40 153 - phone DSP :: software app that inserts an audio DSP between the
rlm@40 154 input to a phone and the output. The DSP is delicious
rlm@40 155 and configurable, and can allow men to make their
rlm@40 156 voices deeper, etc. The app would allow you to hear
rlm@40 157 your own voice as others hear it. Most people hate how
rlm@40 158 their own voice sounds. The app would also allow one to
rlm@47 159 immediately change the parameters of the DSP using good
rlm@40 160 presets.
rlm@40 161
rlm@47 162 - predestined body learning :: a good example of predestined learning
rlm@40 163 might be the mirror neurons.
rlm@40 164
rlm@47 165 - restaurant receipt :: use a carbon copy receipt instead of two stupid
rlm@40 166 copies.
rlm@40 167
rlm@41 168 - anti google glass :: glasses with mounted lasers and computer vision
rlm@41 169 that targets the cameras in google glass and destroy them.
rlm@41 170
rlm@40 171 - wearable towel :: towel with clasp, velcro, whatever, that allows
rlm@40 172 one to wear the towel more securely than just
rlm@40 173 wrapping it tightly and hoping for the best.
rlm@40 174
rlm@47 175 - crossdressing :: Easiest way to disguise oneself as a woman is to
rlm@44 176 wear a burka.
rlm@41 177
rlm@40 178 - book-mode :: intelligent color highlighting for books and
rlm@40 179 articles. It would disambiguate pronouns and involved
rlm@40 180 references. For example, if "Rachael" as red, and "the
rlm@40 181 blonde haired girl" refers to "Rachael", then "the
rlm@40 182 blonde haired girl" would he colored red. Also, you
rlm@47 183 could disambiguate multi part run-on sentences by
rlm@40 184 highlighting each subcomponent. Maybe would also have
rlm@47 185 applications to scientific reading.
rlm@40 186
rlm@40 187 - Handheld light Rain measurement :: this would be a clear, teflon
rlm@47 188 coated plastic disk with a camera underneath the disk. You would
rlm@40 189 be able to hold the device out and it would measure the rate of
rlm@40 190 accumulation of water droplets from fine mists and light rain by
rlm@40 191 using computer vision to measure the diameters of the drops.
rlm@40 192
rlm@40 193 - Big Brother Farming :: This would be a vision system that would
rlm@40 194 individually monitor each plant and turn on water, etc to ensure
rlm@40 195 maximum/uniform growth for each plant.
rlm@40 196
rlm@40 197 - Discrete Faucet :: A faucet with discrete ticks instead of
rlm@47 198 continuous.
rlm@40 199
rlm@40 200 - Laser Circle :: take a glass microfiliment and shine a laser at one
rlm@40 201 end at an oblique angle. It will make a perfect,
rlm@40 202 large circle on the wall, converting a laser beam
rlm@47 203 into a laser cone, preserving most of the energy of
rlm@40 204 the laser.
rlm@40 205
rlm@40 206 - Invisible Glass :: Take a container of liquid and embed a
rlm@40 207 glass sculpture made out of glass that has exactly the same index
rlm@40 208 of refraction and color of the liquid. Then the sculpture will be
rlm@40 209 totally invisible in the container, and will only be revealed
rlm@40 210 when the liquid is drained. The container might be a fancy
rlm@40 211 wine/spirit bottle or an hourglass.
rlm@40 212
rlm@47 213 - Caterpillar people :: A race of caterpillar like creatures gains
rlm@40 214 intelligence after eons of predation by birds, etc. These
rlm@47 215 caterpillar creatures still undergo metamorphosis into a large
rlm@40 216 butterfly-like creature. The metamorphosis process turns the
rlm@40 217 caterpillar's brain into mush and reforms it into a minimal,
rlm@40 218 dumb, truly insect-like mind, completely destroying the person
rlm@47 219 the caterpillar was. The society develops all sorts of customs and
rlm@40 220 religious interpretations of the metamorphosis. It is viewed as
rlm@40 221 good and natural by some since it is part of their life cycle and
rlm@47 222 necessary to propagate the species, as only the butterflies can
rlm@40 223 mate. Some think that the butterflies are still the same person
rlm@47 224 because they have the same soul, even they no longer posses the
rlm@47 225 memories or personality of the original caterpillar. Some see the
rlm@40 226 butterfly form as the "true form" of the species, since the
rlm@40 227 butterflies can fly, mate, and are beautiful. Many make a big
rlm@47 228 deal out of the fact that 1-2% of the caterpillar's mind is
rlm@40 229 actually preserved in the butterfly. Some see it as a terrible
rlm@47 230 tragedy and argue that the caterpillars should try to stop the
rlm@40 231 metamorphosis by technology. Practically, some very important
rlm@40 232 members of society undergo hormone therapy and/or surgery to
rlm@40 233 prevent metamorphosis so that they can live longer as themselves.
rlm@40 234
rlm@40 235 This is a continuation of Marvin Minsky's ideas about pain being
rlm@40 236 something that preserves our bodies while destroying our minds,
rlm@40 237 something that is a remnant from our too harsh animal days that
rlm@40 238 hasn't caught up to the fact that we have very complex brains
rlm@40 239 now. It's a worst-case scenario about a maladaptive genetic
rlm@40 240 legacy. Also, it's inspired by "There She Is!!!", which makes a
rlm@40 241 compelling point about homosexuality by introducing a second
rlm@40 242 gender characteristic (bunny/cat, male/female), which makes
rlm@40 243 homophobia look very silly. Here, our own biological legacy of
rlm@47 244 pain and death is made to look like the tragedy it is through the
rlm@47 245 lens of the the caterpillar people.
rlm@40 246
rlm@46 247 - relationships as a business :: [[http://thedailywtf.com/Articles/Up-or-Out-Solving-the-IT-Turnover-Crisis.aspx][Turnover-Crisis]] is an excellent talk
rlm@46 248 about the "culture of quitting," which is about better business
rlm@46 249 by letting people go instead of keeping them around past their
rlm@47 250 "apex". Focuses on information transfer. Cool idea of an alumni
rlm@46 251 network, which for relationships would be a group of satisfied
rlm@46 252 ex-lovers, who would recommend new people your way, and who might
rlm@46 253 consider coming to you again, refreshed from their time away with
rlm@46 254 new stories/experiences. I should look for examples of this and
rlm@46 255 how they worked out.
rlm@43 256
rlm@47 257 - coffee with tea :: /rlm-tea/ contains 2% sugar, 10% cream, and 20%
rlm@43 258 dylan coffee. /dylan coffee/ contains 5% sugar,
rlm@43 259 20% cream, and 10% rlm-tea. Start your mornings
rlm@43 260 with recursion!
rlm@43 261
rlm@43 262 - psychic crystal :: in a science fiction story, this would be an
rlm@43 263 object that is very easy to move physically but is extremely
rlm@43 264 difficult to move with telekinesis.
rlm@43 265
rlm@40 266 - http://betsofbitco.in/ :: what a great place for an AI/person to
rlm@40 267 prove themselves as a good predictor. I wish this could be
rlm@40 268 automated.
rlm@40 269
rlm@44 270 - true reflection :: don't forget about that mirror in the student
rlm@44 271 center!, it's two mirrors at right angles, like staring at a
rlm@44 272 corner of a room. The light reflects so that it shows you what
rlm@44 273 you actually look like, instead of your mirror image.
rlm@33 274
rlm@33 275 - remote control wasp :: use computer to drive wings with remote
rlm@32 276 power/logic.
rlm@32 277
rlm@47 278 - encrypted email phone book :: public (distributed?) database of
rlm@44 279 email->private-key pairs, to enable automatic encryption.
rlm@32 280
rlm@44 281 - universal eye color :: every equivalent creature will see each
rlm@44 282 others' eyes as black -- it's universal. Even if the creatures
rlm@44 283 see in radio waves, and their eyes are 2m long pieces of jagged
rlm@44 284 metal, when those creatures look at each other, they will see
rlm@44 285 black, the absence of light and color (since it's being absorbed
rlm@44 286 by the sensor array).
rlm@32 287
rlm@33 288 - intelligent microwave :: it learns where the hot nodes of its fields
rlm@32 289 are, and uses them to evenly heat any food item. It has an infared
rlm@32 290 camera or something to keep track of how hot the food is. That way,
rlm@32 291 you don't get bowls where the edges are boiling, while the center is
rlm@32 292 still frozen. Requires a little bit of intelligence/vision, since
rlm@32 293 the exact pattern of heating totally depends on the exact shape of
rlm@47 294 the food. Wouldn't need a carousel, and wouldn't need a timer,
rlm@47 295 just a desired temperature. Could also detect ice, and automatically
rlm@32 296 defrost the parts which are frozen. Might be able to work much
rlm@47 297 faster since it can avoid overheating; might have problems with
rlm@32 298 heating the insides of thick things, might need a weight sensor too.
rlm@32 299
rlm@39 300 + Would be much cleaner than other microwaves, since food would
rlm@39 301 "sputter" and splash liquid much less.
rlm@32 302
rlm@39 303 + Throw in some SIFT+R processing to match previously cooked foods
rlm@39 304 and learn the exact heating profiles for things that have been
rlm@54 305 cooked before -- it can get faster the more it's used.
rlm@32 306
rlm@47 307 - compression :: brain-aware image compression algorithm
rlm@32 308
rlm@44 309 - Credit card proxy :: would be a company which works like paypal
rlm@44 310 except for real world transactions
rlm@32 311
rlm@33 312 - Flesh pillow :: a pillow like the arm or torso of a human, complete
rlm@33 313 with simulated temperature, bones, and heartbeat.
rlm@33 314
rlm@47 315 - super screw :: a screw which has only one or two threads and instead
rlm@47 316 uses compression to fit into a hole (the whole shank
rlm@33 317 of the screw is split into multiple pieces to
rlm@33 318 accomplish this; the tip is a point, then the middle
rlm@33 319 bulges out and gets compressed when screwed in.
rlm@33 320
rlm@47 321 - light filter :: (like light tweezers) to mechanically separate
rlm@33 322 fluids with different index of refraction
rlm@33 323
rlm@33 324 - chalk eraser project :: maybe make a directional eraser, for easy
rlm@33 325 release of chalk dust, like fur, and how it likes to rest in a
rlm@33 326 certain direction.
rlm@33 327
rlm@44 328 - silver socks :: socks laced with silver for the antimicrobial
rlm@44 329 properties.
rlm@32 330
rlm@53 331 - UROP :: magnet gear/metal teeth tape
rlm@53 332
rlm@53 333 - rod of moses :: device to distill urine through evaporation and
rlm@53 334 easily dispose of urea crystals for use in desert --
rlm@53 335 produce drinkable water.
rlm@32 336
rlm@47 337 - UROP :: Make the LED in line with the flow for the micro injector, so
rlm@44 338 that it may transmit maximum flow. Motor that changes
rlm@44 339 distance of internal magnet from windings depending on
rlm@44 340 desired speed so as to obtain maximum power efficiency.
rlm@32 341
rlm@47 342 - lottery scraper :: web scraper which monitors various lotteries,
rlm@44 343 looking for "special" gimmick changes in the rules (like 4x
rlm@44 344 winnings on Wednesdays) and computes expected value...
rlm@34 345
rlm@34 346 - Memristiors novel design :: make an evolutionary algorithm to make
rlm@34 347 old stuff using all four basic circuit elements.
rlm@34 348
rlm@44 349 - Conductive concrete :: concrete that has embedded metal fibers so
rlm@44 350 that it can conduct electricity.
rlm@34 351
rlm@44 352 - little bitty melting pot :: might be useful for some types of
rlm@44 353 manufacturing/3D printing -- how small can an induction melter be
rlm@44 354 made, for example.
rlm@34 355
rlm@44 356 - power strip/timer programmable combination :: meh
rlm@34 357
rlm@47 358 - algorithms :: which learn what their inputs are and in what order,
rlm@44 359 and can adapt to changing circumstances -- they
rlm@44 360 remember previous arguments and adapt so as to respond
rlm@44 361 to different connections.
rlm@34 362
rlm@47 363 - true pure tones :: hear a true pure tone by direct stimulation of the
rlm@44 364 nerves of the ear
rlm@43 365
rlm@43 366 - mechanical analogue to the electrical op-amp :: would be an object
rlm@43 367 with two levers -- you pull on one lever and the other moves the
rlm@43 368 same way, no matter what's in the way or what it is driving. This
rlm@47 369 analogy could be useful to teach op amps to people.
rlm@34 370
rlm@47 371 - paper folding device :: make it convenient to fold lots of papers in
rlm@34 372 various ways.
rlm@34 373
rlm@34 374 - concrete epoxy :: epoxy with sand/ some other solid material.
rlm@34 375
rlm@47 376 - light capacitor :: suspend some ball of material with a high index
rlm@43 377 of refraction and shine light into it so it gets stuck -- would
rlm@43 378 the light stay trapped forever? Could you build up unlimited
rlm@43 379 quantities of light inside the sphere (which could then be
rlm@43 380 released slowly by frustrated internal reflection?
rlm@34 381
rlm@40 382 - movie screening :: Movies always are too long at first. One way to
rlm@34 383 shorten them ``scientifically" is to record blink rate during the
rlm@34 384 move and then remove / shorten the frames of the parts in which
rlm@34 385 there are a lot of blinking (average this over multiple people)
rlm@34 386 better yet, put it online and do it across thousands of people. I
rlm@34 387 got this from youtube in which there is an episode of kill bill
rlm@47 388 which is composed entirely of the parts in which people had their
rlm@34 389 eyes closed. slogan: want to make a movie people can't take their
rlm@34 390 eyes off of? Just take those parts out!
rlm@34 391
rlm@47 392 - optimize an article :: capture reading of a scientific article via
rlm@44 393 screen capture while people read it, then use it to make the
rlm@44 394 article better. like the movie-pruning idea.
rlm@35 395
rlm@44 396 - super reading program :: teaches people the ideal mental mask to
rlm@44 397 apply during reading so as to read very fast.
rlm@35 398
rlm@44 399 - explosive thermite epoxy putty :: one part would contain the rust,
rlm@47 400 one part the aluminum.
rlm@34 401
rlm@44 402 - reading comprehension :: use the above screen capture routine to
rlm@44 403 make a quiz program that constructs questions about the content
rlm@44 404 you seemed to gloss over while reading. could be easy if the pdf
rlm@44 405 came with embedded questions. Dylan: automatically generate
rlm@44 406 word-cloud about the parts you found most interesting; help
rlm@44 407 others who read the same stuff by drawing attention to the
rlm@44 408 interesting parts.
rlm@34 409
rlm@44 410 - hard sword :: make a samurai sword, but use osmiridum instead of
rlm@44 411 martensite for the cutting part; it should be a better
rlm@44 412 sword.
rlm@32 413
rlm@44 414 - close range wireless :: use the induction technology used to
rlm@44 415 recharge electric toothbrushes with no metal links to send data
rlm@44 416 without any metal at all!
rlm@32 417
rlm@44 418 - reading :: is a form of synsethesia
rlm@32 419
rlm@44 420 - DNA printer :: A machine which translates the text eg, "ACTGAC" into
rlm@44 421 actual DNA
rlm@32 422
rlm@44 423 - black generator :: ferro-fluid magnetic field suspended micro
rlm@44 424 generator to make electricity
rlm@32 425
rlm@44 426 - alcohol battery :: alcohol/fluid flow powered battery
rlm@32 427
rlm@44 428 - folding razor blade sword ::
rlm@32 429
rlm@44 430 - perfect pitch :: learn perfect pitch using another sense in
rlm@44 431 combination (sight or touch)
rlm@32 432
rlm@44 433 - kaleidoscope projector ::
rlm@32 434
rlm@44 435 - razor blade de-sharpener :: for guilt free disposal
rlm@32 436
rlm@44 437 - bricks :: filled with luminescent plant material
rlm@32 438
rlm@47 439 - bio metallic structure :: metal grids with seeds inside, which grow
rlm@44 440 together and form a durable biological matrix. The metal
rlm@44 441 substrate delivers water. (maybe use plastic instead of metal?)
rlm@44 442 Dylan: enrich plants with inorganic compounds; electrical
rlm@44 443 interfaces in cellular plant matter => remote-controlled
rlm@44 444 photosynthetic/bioluminescent structures.
rlm@32 445
rlm@44 446 - conducting extracellular matrix :: to allow better control of
rlm@44 447 organic systems and an enhanced nervous system.
rlm@32 448
rlm@44 449 - cross-modal memory hashing :: a way to retrieve memories more
rlm@44 450 robustly.
rlm@32 451
rlm@47 452 - flossing thimble-guards :: (these actually exist)
rlm@32 453
rlm@44 454 - rules + lattice learning :: integrate lattice learning with rules by
rlm@44 455 generating hypothetical examples
rlm@32 456
rlm@47 457 - wooden refrigerator :: to give food a better taste Dylan: like
rlm@44 458 barrels for wine, or planks for salmon. Maybe just have "flavor
rlm@44 459 planks" for your pre-existing fridge. Need to mitigate effect of
rlm@44 460 temperature on volatility?
rlm@32 461
rlm@35 462 - radioactive transmutation molecule by molecule :: create precious
rlm@35 463 metals or something else economically advantageous.
rlm@32 464
rlm@47 465 - crowd preservation :: inoculate food with tons of harmless
rlm@44 466 bacteria so that there's no room for bad bacteria as a method of
rlm@44 467 preservation
rlm@32 468
rlm@47 469 - old school preservation :: Pasteur - style holding jar with siphon
rlm@47 470 as a way to store liquids at room temperature indefinitely w/o
rlm@47 471 refrigeration.
rlm@32 472
rlm@47 473 - restaurant policy :: Throw rude people out of restaurant as a matter
rlm@44 474 of course -- make ambiance much better.
rlm@32 475
rlm@47 476 - clean windows :: make something that mixes soap with fire hydrant
rlm@44 477 water (and reduces the pressure a bit) and use it
rlm@44 478 to clean windows of buildings.
rlm@32 479
rlm@44 480 - ocarina :: make an ocarina out of pure silver
rlm@32 481
rlm@35 482 - fire pen :: pen which burns words on to the page, thus never needing
rlm@47 483 any ink. Is there a way to make it runnable from the
rlm@35 484 human's energy?
rlm@32 485
rlm@44 486 - website to design your own soda :: and label, and have it mailed to
rlm@44 487 you / sell it from your own online store.
rlm@35 488
rlm@44 489 - solar panels :: that float on the ocean
rlm@43 490
rlm@35 491 - handcuffs with more than two cuffs (3?) :: great for daisy chaining
rlm@43 492 people, binding them to environment, etc.
rlm@35 493
rlm@35 494 - vector based SOUND files :: like the pictures but with SOUND. codify
rlm@35 495 sound in a language with enough symbols so that it can describe
rlm@35 496 everything and encode it in that. would be like going from speech
rlm@43 497 to text or smtg. Could also store sound as an image of the
rlm@35 498 wavefront encoded as a vector image.
rlm@32 499
rlm@44 500 - Mouse :: with a horizontal scroll wheel in addition to the vertical
rlm@44 501 scroll wheel
rlm@32 502
rlm@47 503 - logic maintenance system for big institutions :: to make sure the
rlm@44 504 things they are thinking about doing are not retarded
rlm@32 505
rlm@47 506 - http://www.regulations.gov/ :: cool site
rlm@32 507
rlm@44 508 - genetically engineered glowing fruit :: sell seeds?
rlm@32 509
rlm@36 510 - memory slide :: IF memories are encoded using particular sensory
rlm@36 511 impressions, what happens if the sensory organ
rlm@36 512 itself changes? those memories would become
rlm@47 513 inaccessible. maybe this is why we can't remember
rlm@36 514 much from our childhoods. also, could this happen
rlm@47 515 throughout life as well? Could S remember stuff from
rlm@36 516 his childhood?
rlm@32 517
rlm@47 518 - make a completely indestructible phone :: no moving parts or display
rlm@36 519 you should be able to slam it around all you want, and it will
rlm@36 520 just work. brutally simple. aerogel around the battery, minimal
rlm@36 521 interface - never gets too hot, and can be dropped into water. no
rlm@36 522 holes -- uses field effects for everything from the buttons to
rlm@36 523 inductive charging and data transfer.
rlm@32 524
rlm@44 525 - midi to ocarina "tabs" program :: (online website? buy ocarinas from
rlm@44 526 it too)
rlm@32 527
rlm@44 528 - 3d printing with sound pulses (or just patterns) :: like the 8.03
rlm@44 529 lecture
rlm@32 530
rlm@40 531 - lighter flint on spring :: make hot, throw it at something, and it
rlm@40 532 makes sparkles!
rlm@32 533
rlm@44 534 - nuclear energy :: Rebranding New+Clear Energy with informational
rlm@44 535 campaign and public debate forum to enforce its
rlm@44 536 transparent and open nature. France needn't be the
rlm@44 537 world leader in nuclear energy. (Dylan)
rlm@32 538
rlm@44 539 - bubbles :: Engineer a material which has both ductility and high
rlm@44 540 surface tension to make the "third"
rlm@44 541 minimal-surface-energy solution to a bubble suspended
rlm@44 542 between two equal-diameter rings. (Solutions are
rlm@44 543 cylindrical catenary curve, two separated half-bubbles,
rlm@44 544 and a double-cone)
rlm@38 545
rlm@38 546 - Textbook whose content can be varied continuously :: alter level of
rlm@38 547 difficulty, rigor, diction, emphasize crossover with certain
rlm@38 548 other discipline, etc. Content generated dynamically from
rlm@38 549 knowledge base, along with questions that are moreover altered to
rlm@38 550 guide knowledge acquisition. Motivation: One book of
rlm@40 551 knowledge. /One./
rlm@40 552
rlm@40 553
rlm@40 554 ** From Jacob's idea list
rlm@40 555
rlm@47 556 - Roommate-canceling headphones: uses roommate's laptop mic to seed
rlm@43 557 noise cancellation alg in your headphones (would this
rlm@40 558 work?). -Update on sound canceling headphones that take feed from
rlm@40 559 tv: how about ones that cancel people talking on the phone by
rlm@40 560 receiving the phone signals and playing inverse sound
rlm@40 561 waves. #signalprocessing ~jcole@mit.edu
rlm@40 562
rlm@40 563 - ClackerAlert -- tells if you slam the keys too hard using sound data
rlm@40 564 (and speed/jerkiness data)!.Prevents RSI ~jcole@mit.e
rlm@40 565
rlm@40 566 - Panic Pin :: separate pin that you can tell someone if forced to
rlm@41 567 identify your PIN (idea from idea about credit cards)