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author Robert McIntyre <rlm@mit.edu>
date Mon, 14 Apr 2014 13:09:20 -0400
parents 0ca6c9f0da01
children 7f5ec998409f
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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@91 34 - cryonics middle ages :: some people say that cryonics is an
rlm@91 35 experiment and that it is foolish to wait until we have revived a
rlm@91 36 human. There is a middle ground where the procedure has a dismal
rlm@91 37 success rate on humans, say 1 in 20, so that you'd be a fool to
rlm@91 38 try revival. Nonetheless, this very risky procedure could be the
rlm@91 39 legal proof of concept needed to create a new class of life
rlm@91 40 between "living" and "dead": "stasis".
rlm@91 41
rlm@91 42 - philosophy of the mirror :: neat thought experiment -- if you take a
rlm@91 43 mirror of someone by actually reversing a person's chirality
rlm@94 44 molecule by molecule, then will the only be able to read mirror
rlm@91 45 writing? The answer is yes, by analogy to a purely mechanical
rlm@94 46 scan-tron device. This is one of the only interesting transforms I
rlm@91 47 know that can take a human brain and change it in subtle,
rlm@91 48 non-destructive ways. It's also an argument against dualism.
rlm@91 49
rlm@91 50 - biosphere in a bottle :: There are around 15 million species. 15
rlm@91 51 million stem cells will fill only a tiny size, far less than a cubic
rlm@91 52 inch. Preserve a single cell from every species on earth in this
rlm@91 53 small space, and you will have a record of our current biosphere
rlm@91 54 that can be protected. "Hold the genetic data of all species in
rlm@92 55 your hand!"
rlm@91 56
rlm@90 57 - chaos lock :: The "arrow of time" points in the direction of
rlm@90 58 increasing entropy. The time evolution of chaotic
rlm@90 59 systems depend exquisitely on their initial state. If
rlm@90 60 you take a measurement of a chaotic system at any
rlm@90 61 given point of time, you can evolve that system
rlm@90 62 backwards or forwards based on your measurement. So
rlm@90 63 let's say you start the chaotic system in a VERY low
rlm@90 64 entropy state, then let it run for a while, then take
rlm@90 65 a measurement with some uncertainty. Your
rlm@90 66 measurement is pretty good, but obviously not
rlm@90 67 PERFECT. If you evolve the chaotic system back in
rlm@90 68 time, then you will see that you don't really reach
rlm@90 69 a state with low entropy an hour before (the entropy
rlm@90 70 is easy to measure with surrogates like alignment,
rlm@90 71 etc). So use this technique to SEARCH for a more
rlm@90 72 accurate measurement! This potentially can give you
rlm@90 73 many more orders of magnitude than you could get alone
rlm@90 74 just using an instrument. Sometimes it will give you
rlm@90 75 bad results, the the odds of it doing that are
rlm@90 76 infinitesimal, and you can just measure a couple of
rlm@90 77 times.
rlm@90 78
rlm@90 79 - cryo-evolution :: perhaps there would be a way to rapidly evolve a
rlm@90 80 symbiotic bacterial organism that could protect
rlm@90 81 human tissues from freezing damage.
rlm@90 82
rlm@87 83 - suicide parasite :: sometimes, people kill themselves for no good
rlm@87 84 reason. We often explain this with things like "hidden
rlm@87 85 depression" or we say that they had something like chronic jaw or
rlm@87 86 back pain. I think that smells of rationalization. I don't buy
rlm@87 87 it. I propose that in many suicide cases there is a disease that
rlm@88 88 causes the suicidal behavior. We already know that certain
rlm@87 89 parasites have mind-bending properties in other animals, even
rlm@87 90 mammals like mice. It's not much of a stretch to imagine a
rlm@88 91 parasite that causes suicides in humans. Some problems:
rlm@87 92 - What does the suicide parasite get out of it? :: This might be
rlm@87 93 answered by the whole thing being a glitch caused by
rlm@87 94 cross-species contamination. Toxoplasma works this way.
rlm@88 95 - What predictions does a disease model make :: suicide should
rlm@88 96 be more common among people who share a contagion
rlm@88 97 vector. There should be suicides that don't make any
rlm@87 98 sense : people who weren't really depressed, who had no
rlm@87 99 reason to kill themselves. People who have killed themselves
rlm@87 100 should have a higher incidence of some unknown parasite in
rlm@87 101 their brains.
rlm@86 102
rlm@89 103 - domestic insects :: People should eat more bugs because they're much
rlm@89 104 more efficient, so why not do some major domestication research
rlm@94 105 to make very appealing bugs? Beetles, in particular, seem to be
rlm@94 106 excellent targets for domestication because they have extreme
rlm@94 107 levels of genetic malleability.
rlm@87 108
rlm@87 109 - birth-clones :: What if each person was intentionally split at birth
rlm@87 110 into a normal embryo and a few "backup" cells which
rlm@87 111 is then frozen. The backup cells are created just
rlm@87 112 the same way as natural identical twins. The backups
rlm@88 113 can be used to regenerate organs. etc. Also, it
rlm@87 114 would be a good sci fi concept, because you could
rlm@87 115 have a culture where people reward people who were
rlm@87 116 especially awesome are "reborn" from their
rlm@88 117 backups. Imagine having a young Bach every
rlm@87 118 generation, etc.
rlm@86 119
rlm@94 120 - pronunciation guide :: a simple webpage where you type in a word and
rlm@94 121 it returns a simple, English sentence describing exactly how to
rlm@84 122 pronounce the word. For people who don't want to learn IPA.
rlm@86 123
rlm@87 124 - cortex-search :: use the repertoire of actions learned to limit the
rlm@87 125 search space of possible actions.
rlm@87 126
rlm@83 127 - learning to teleport :: scifi idea, this is a story about a person
rlm@83 128 who is struggling with his/her society's ideas about
rlm@83 129 teleportation. It's considered a fundamental part of being a
rlm@83 130 member of that society (after all, the difference between animals
rlm@83 131 and humans is that humans are creatures of pure information while
rlm@83 132 animals are burdened with base matter, "that's how you travel the
rlm@83 133 stars, etc") Humans are born normally, grow up, and then
rlm@83 134 eventually transcend via destructive upload. Analogies to jumping
rlm@83 135 off a diving board into a pool (which I simply /could not do/ for
rlm@83 136 a long time), etc.
rlm@83 137
rlm@87 138 - no-float-ice :: cup that has cross beams at the bottom where ice
rlm@87 139 forms. Then when you drink liquid from the glass,
rlm@87 140 the ice stays at the bottom and doesn't hit your
rlm@87 141 lips. For bars and fancy things.
rlm@87 142
rlm@82 143 - bitcoins for immigrants :: A common case with Mexican immigrants
rlm@82 144 (illegal or not) is that they want to send money they've earned
rlm@82 145 in the US back to their families in Mexico. They currently do this
rlm@82 146 through things like Money Gram or Western Union, and they get
rlm@82 147 fleeced in the process with fees. Bitcoin could greatly reduce
rlm@82 148 the cost of sending money from America to Mexico, but I don't
rlm@82 149 believe that it's currently used for that among Mexican
rlm@82 150 immigrants currently due to lack of knowledge. I bet you could
rlm@82 151 set up physical locations like those obnoxious Western Union huts
rlm@82 152 in places like Texas, Arizona, etc, and greatly undercut
rlm@82 153 them. Or, perhaps some educational seminars about bitcoin might
rlm@82 154 be in order. There's some money to be made there because there is
rlm@82 155 great demand, and it's a good thing to boot!
rlm@82 156
rlm@81 157 - reverse eye-tracking :: A painting that is actually a digital screen
rlm@82 158 with a camera. It records people's eye tracks permanently. It's
rlm@81 159 "artistic" because paintings are normally these things that you
rlm@81 160 look at without changing, but this one is changed the second you
rlm@81 161 look at it, recording where /you/ looked forever for others to
rlm@81 162 see. Make it be a painting of a woman and see the trolling as the
rlm@81 163 breasts and groin area light up with interest from all the males
rlm@81 164 passing by.
rlm@81 165
rlm@80 166 - smart toilets :: Instead of using indirect measures like infrared
rlm@80 167 detectors of the presence of a person, use computer
rlm@80 168 vision to directly measure whether the toilet needs
rlm@80 169 to be flushed. I think a lot of things will end up
rlm@80 170 going this way as we get better computer vision.
rlm@80 171
rlm@77 172 - validate chemopreservation :: chemopreservation is difficult to
rlm@77 173 validate because it destroys the functionality of a brain, and
rlm@77 174 brain simulation will take a long time to mature as a
rlm@77 175 technology. However, one very powerful way to validate
rlm@77 176 chemopreservation would be to have a person/animal learn
rlm@77 177 something with high complexity such as a number or the solution
rlm@80 178 to a maze, or a flashbulb memory. Then you preserve their brain
rlm@80 179 chemically, slice it up, and read /that specific memory/ from the
rlm@77 180 detailed brain scan. Much more difficult, but much more doable.
rlm@77 181
rlm@75 182 - candy screw :: edible candy screw with candy nuts that you can screw
rlm@75 183 as well.
rlm@76 184
rlm@74 185 - better bibliography :: when writing a thesis or paper, have the
rlm@80 186 bibliography not just be an opaque list of resources, but have it
rlm@74 187 be a list of /summaries/ and /qualities/ that each paper has in
rlm@80 188 the context of the paper being written. When examining a
rlm@80 189 bibliography, I want to know if reading the papers in the
rlm@74 190 bibliography are worth my time, and I also am probably also
rlm@74 191 interested in exactly the things that are being discussed in the
rlm@74 192 paper I'm reading. The bibliography is the perfect place to
rlm@74 193 provide information about the referenced papers from the
rlm@80 194 author's perspective. I will use this biographic form in my own
rlm@74 195 thesis.
rlm@74 196
rlm@73 197 - digital inter-library loan :: libraries at universities already do
rlm@80 198 inter-library loans for books, so why not do the same for access
rlm@73 199 to stupid paywalled digital papers? All the universities could
rlm@73 200 allow access to articles for registered students to all the files
rlm@73 201 available through any participating university. This could be
rlm@73 202 achieved by sending requests through proxies at participating
rlm@73 203 universities. Each university would decide who at the university
rlm@73 204 can access the proxy network. Access to the proxy network could
rlm@73 205 be made easy using something like http://libx.org/.
rlm@73 206
rlm@72 207 - chess visual :: to show the vast size of the game trees considered
rlm@72 208 by computers, show two people playing chess in a
rlm@72 209 void. They are floating in space, and there is a
rlm@72 210 simple chess board between them. Then, as they play,
rlm@72 211 the game tree's they are considering are drawn
rlm@72 212 behind him. The root of the tree starts centered in
rlm@72 213 their heads or whatever they use to think, and the
rlm@72 214 tree grows out from behind, never crossing the
rlm@72 215 dividing plane between the two players. Each
rlm@72 216 player's tree is a different color. As they grow,
rlm@72 217 there are animations for pruning, etc. Eventually,
rlm@72 218 they look like the hemispheres of a brain, wings,
rlm@72 219 etc. A human's tree might occasionally have a long
rlm@72 220 chain, while the computer tree would be more
rlm@72 221 uniform. You could compare deep blue and a modern
rlm@72 222 laptop. Use actual data when fighting two computers!
rlm@72 223
rlm@71 224 - time verification :: some standard way to verify that some piece of
rlm@71 225 data was recorded at a specific time. Might involve a time
rlm@73 226 server, a key for each time period, something like that.
rlm@71 227
rlm@70 228 - tamper proof gold bars :: [[http://www.tungsten-alloy.com/gold-plated-tungsten-alloy-bar.html][this site]] offers gold plated tungsten bars
rlm@70 229 as "novelty" items. One reason to prefer coins is because they
rlm@70 230 are much harder to counterfeit because there is less surface area
rlm@70 231 to mass ratio. However, gold bars are still a great design
rlm@70 232 because they can hold a lot of value in a small space. A gold bar
rlm@70 233 could be given the same protections (and more) that gold coins
rlm@70 234 have to offer by changing it into a "gold book", which would have
rlm@70 235 hundreds of "pages" of gold bound together. This could be
rlm@70 236 implemented with multiple steel rods going through the book which
rlm@70 237 can be removed, or some more classier mechanism for holding the
rlm@70 238 pages. The point is that the bar can be EASILY subdivided (and
rlm@70 239 people would perform this test before buying), thus guaranteeing
rlm@70 240 it's authenticity.
rlm@70 241
rlm@68 242 - aurellem shirt :: I should make an aurellem star symbol tee-shirt.
rlm@68 243
rlm@86 244 - touch vision :: inspired by GelSight, I want to reexamine cortex and
rlm@86 245 see if I could implement touch as a very low range
rlm@86 246 form of vision.
rlm@86 247
rlm@67 248 - high school science :: this is a lesson in scientific ethics. The
rlm@67 249 goal is to calculate /g/, the local gravitational
rlm@67 250 acceleration. The students are told that the textbook says it's
rlm@67 251 /exactly/ 9.81 before they start the experiment. See how they
rlm@67 252 doctor their results to get closer to the textbook value. It's
rlm@67 253 neat because for any given school, /g/ is probably *not* exactly
rlm@67 254 equal to 9.81, because that is just an average!
rlm@67 255
rlm@67 256 - opencourseware subtitles :: there are ladies who type up lectures
rlm@67 257 while they are being given. These recordings should be kept and
rlm@67 258 given to OCW for subtitles. If the timestamps of keys are
rlm@67 259 recorded, then it is easy to make subtitles.
rlm@67 260
rlm@66 261 - screen locking timing :: you use your computer camera to see if you
rlm@66 262 are sitting in front of the computer. If you are, then the screen
rlm@66 263 will never lock. If you are, then the screen will lock with a
rlm@67 264 30-40 second timeout. It's an extension of using inactivity to
rlm@66 265 initiate the countdown, just with more information.
rlm@66 266
rlm@66 267 - mirror toilet :: a toilet with a square basin made or mirror instead
rlm@67 268 or porcelain. That way, you can see how good of a
rlm@66 269 wipe job you have done / watch how your excretion
rlm@66 270 system works.
rlm@66 271
rlm@80 272 - test dummies :: why don't we clone anencephalic humans and use then to
rlm@62 273 test /in vivo/ human organ systems and drugs? It
rlm@62 274 would be ethical as long as there are women who are
rlm@62 275 willing to host the clones, and it would be a
rlm@67 276 tremendous resource for studying the human body. I
rlm@62 277 see nothing wrong with it morally, since no one is
rlm@67 278 suffering, and it stands to save many lives throughout
rlm@62 279 more advanced technology.
rlm@62 280
rlm@62 281 - X-ray telepresence :: given that a doctor is operating on a patient
rlm@62 282 via telepresence, one cool things you can do is shine X-rays into
rlm@62 283 the patient to view the insides during real time. If the system
rlm@80 284 was coupled with a Bayesian model of the layout of the structure,
rlm@67 285 and the x-rays were only fired whenever the uncertainty of the
rlm@62 286 model reached a certain threshold, then the radiation damage
rlm@62 287 and surgery risk could be minimized.
rlm@62 288
rlm@62 289 - superfluid vascular system :: I wonder what would happen if you
rlm@62 290 replaced the blood in a human with a superfluid. What would the
rlm@62 291 physical dynamics be? Would the superfluid flow through the
rlm@62 292 vasculature, or would it ignore it and travel through the cells,
rlm@62 293 or something else entirely. Since superfluids need to be cold to
rlm@62 294 retain their superfluidity, how would the dynamics change during
rlm@62 295 perfusion of a superfluid, where the fluid gains and looses
rlm@62 296 superfluidity as it goes deeper into the body and is cooled by
rlm@67 297 superfluid from upstream. In summary there are two things to
rlm@62 298 simulate 1.) replace all blood in human with superfluid
rlm@62 299 instantly. 2.) perfuse superfluid into human.
rlm@51 300
rlm@59 301 - projective guessing :: I think that we read and see things by
rlm@67 302 making a really good guess about what we're expecting to see,
rlm@59 303 and then searching for our guess in what we see. If it really
rlm@59 304 doesn't match, then we start to make more guesses / analyze the
rlm@59 305 image from first principles, but most stuff is projective
rlm@59 306 guessing.
rlm@59 307
rlm@67 308 - Intestinal flora maintenance :: why not inoculate babies at birth
rlm@59 309 with "ideal" gut flora instead of whatever bullshit they
rlm@59 310 naturally get, thus giving them optimal digestive/nutrient
rlm@67 311 extraction capabilities. Might also be able to make their farts
rlm@94 312 not stink for life, too. MORE IMPORTANTLY, might help to
rlm@91 313 preventatively stop some forms of /colic/, which affects 1 in 5
rlm@94 314 babies and causes constant screaming and pain for about 5 weeks.
rlm@59 315
rlm@56 316 - server culture : mirrors :: make a distributed system where people
rlm@56 317 can mirror the websites of people they like -- essentially cover
rlm@56 318 the server costs of favored websites. This could make popular
rlm@56 319 websites run at no cost. The system would require that the
rlm@56 320 mirrored content be the same as the official source. Sort of like
rlm@67 321 bit-torrent for websites.
rlm@56 322
rlm@56 323 - map programming :: one problem with functional programming is that
rlm@56 324 in order to remain functional, you have to pass up arguments up
rlm@67 325 into each calling function to get the full range of behavior
rlm@56 326 from the lower level functions. Normally people come to a
rlm@67 327 compromise involving abstraction and sparing use of dynamic
rlm@67 328 variables to configure runtime behavior. What would be the
rlm@56 329 advantages of making a programming language where every function
rlm@67 330 receives one argument, a map, which contains all the symbol
rlm@56 331 bindings it would ever need? This map is passed on to all
rlm@56 332 subordinate functions. This way, you could replace functions on
rlm@56 333 the fly, and arrange for there to be sensible defaults,
rlm@56 334 etc. Might cause more harm than good but is an interesting idea.
rlm@56 335
rlm@55 336 - rest nest :: a small EEG device you would attach to your head when
rlm@55 337 you go to sleep at night. ML algorithms would determine
rlm@55 338 your particular sleep cycles. This would mostly be an
rlm@55 339 alarm clock that you could give a time range, say
rlm@55 340 7:00AM - 7:15AM, and it would wake you up during an
rlm@55 341 ideal time corresponding to then end of one of your 90
rlm@55 342 min sleep cycles. You would feel much more rested upon
rlm@55 343 waking up, and would wake up faster. There might be
rlm@55 344 some other uses for the EEG data as well.
rlm@55 345
rlm@50 346 - image compression :: use a library like gimp or opencv to process an
rlm@50 347 image to make it have less entropy, then store the reverse of
rlm@50 348 those operations along with the compressed simpler image as a
rlm@80 349 super-compressed image file (possibly accepting some
rlm@80 350 losses). Trades file size for decompression time, and allows one
rlm@50 351 to cheat by using information in gimp/opencv to compress the
rlm@50 352 image.
rlm@50 353
rlm@47 354 - fixed cryopreservation :: why not use a fixative to buy enough time
rlm@42 355 to ramp up cryoprotectants to an acceptable level at room
rlm@42 356 temperature? Then, the whole system can be rapidly cooled and
rlm@42 357 vitrified. This method "severs the biological link" in that the
rlm@47 358 fixatives are highly toxic, but current vitrification procedures
rlm@42 359 do this anyway since there can be a lot of freezing damage.
rlm@38 360
rlm@67 361 - dilated security camera :: a security camera that would capture
rlm@58 362 full video footage of everything at 60fps but then decide to keep
rlm@58 363 only every 1 frame every 5 seconds unless there's something
rlm@58 364 "interesting" happening.
rlm@58 365
rlm@40 366 - bitcoin wallet :: Part of "server culture", this would be something
rlm@40 367 like "coin.your-domain.com" which would serve as
rlm@40 368 your personal trusted access to your own bitcoins
rlm@40 369 from anywhere.
rlm@40 370
rlm@40 371 - libpay :: this would be a free library which would enable
rlm@40 372 micro-donations to software projects and other projects,
rlm@47 373 so that you could donate a penny to "emacs" and it would
rlm@47 374 be automatically split up to every person who has ever
rlm@40 375 contributed to emacs in proportion to the amount of
rlm@40 376 community esteem, code quantity, bugs fixed, whatever the
rlm@47 377 community decides. This might make it possible for
rlm@40 378 programmers to live entirely off of free programming.
rlm@40 379
rlm@45 380 - distributed graphics :: Browser based graphics-card accelerated
rlm@45 381 distributed computing API.
rlm@41 382
rlm@40 383 - pronouns :: use capital letters A-Z instead of pronouns. They solve
rlm@40 384 pronoun referents and gender neutrality, are short to
rlm@40 385 say, and you can encode useful information into the
rlm@40 386 choice of letter. For example, instead of "Meetings
rlm@40 387 shall be presided over by the president, unless she is
rlm@42 388 absent." USE "Meetings shall be presided over by the
rlm@40 389 president, unless P is absent." We already use this a
rlm@40 390 little, since I and U are reserved for the subject and
rlm@40 391 object respectively.
rlm@40 392
rlm@40 393 - phone DSP :: software app that inserts an audio DSP between the
rlm@40 394 input to a phone and the output. The DSP is delicious
rlm@40 395 and configurable, and can allow men to make their
rlm@40 396 voices deeper, etc. The app would allow you to hear
rlm@40 397 your own voice as others hear it. Most people hate how
rlm@40 398 their own voice sounds. The app would also allow one to
rlm@47 399 immediately change the parameters of the DSP using good
rlm@40 400 presets.
rlm@40 401
rlm@47 402 - predestined body learning :: a good example of predestined learning
rlm@40 403 might be the mirror neurons.
rlm@40 404
rlm@47 405 - restaurant receipt :: use a carbon copy receipt instead of two stupid
rlm@40 406 copies.
rlm@40 407
rlm@41 408 - anti google glass :: glasses with mounted lasers and computer vision
rlm@41 409 that targets the cameras in google glass and destroy them.
rlm@41 410
rlm@40 411 - wearable towel :: towel with clasp, velcro, whatever, that allows
rlm@40 412 one to wear the towel more securely than just
rlm@40 413 wrapping it tightly and hoping for the best.
rlm@40 414
rlm@47 415 - crossdressing :: Easiest way to disguise oneself as a woman is to
rlm@44 416 wear a burka.
rlm@41 417
rlm@40 418 - book-mode :: intelligent color highlighting for books and
rlm@40 419 articles. It would disambiguate pronouns and involved
rlm@93 420 references. For example, if "Rachael" was assigned the
rlm@93 421 color red, and "the blonde haired girl" refers to
rlm@93 422 "Rachael", then "the blonde haired girl" would be
rlm@93 423 colored red. Also, you could disambiguate multi part
rlm@93 424 run-on sentences by highlighting each
rlm@93 425 subcomponent. Maybe would also have applications to
rlm@93 426 scientific reading.
rlm@40 427
rlm@40 428 - Handheld light Rain measurement :: this would be a clear, teflon
rlm@47 429 coated plastic disk with a camera underneath the disk. You would
rlm@40 430 be able to hold the device out and it would measure the rate of
rlm@40 431 accumulation of water droplets from fine mists and light rain by
rlm@40 432 using computer vision to measure the diameters of the drops.
rlm@40 433
rlm@40 434 - Big Brother Farming :: This would be a vision system that would
rlm@40 435 individually monitor each plant and turn on water, etc to ensure
rlm@40 436 maximum/uniform growth for each plant.
rlm@40 437
rlm@40 438 - Discrete Faucet :: A faucet with discrete ticks instead of
rlm@47 439 continuous.
rlm@40 440
rlm@40 441 - Laser Circle :: take a glass microfiliment and shine a laser at one
rlm@40 442 end at an oblique angle. It will make a perfect,
rlm@40 443 large circle on the wall, converting a laser beam
rlm@47 444 into a laser cone, preserving most of the energy of
rlm@40 445 the laser.
rlm@40 446
rlm@40 447 - Invisible Glass :: Take a container of liquid and embed a
rlm@40 448 glass sculpture made out of glass that has exactly the same index
rlm@40 449 of refraction and color of the liquid. Then the sculpture will be
rlm@40 450 totally invisible in the container, and will only be revealed
rlm@40 451 when the liquid is drained. The container might be a fancy
rlm@40 452 wine/spirit bottle or an hourglass.
rlm@40 453
rlm@47 454 - Caterpillar people :: A race of caterpillar like creatures gains
rlm@40 455 intelligence after eons of predation by birds, etc. These
rlm@47 456 caterpillar creatures still undergo metamorphosis into a large
rlm@40 457 butterfly-like creature. The metamorphosis process turns the
rlm@40 458 caterpillar's brain into mush and reforms it into a minimal,
rlm@40 459 dumb, truly insect-like mind, completely destroying the person
rlm@47 460 the caterpillar was. The society develops all sorts of customs and
rlm@40 461 religious interpretations of the metamorphosis. It is viewed as
rlm@40 462 good and natural by some since it is part of their life cycle and
rlm@47 463 necessary to propagate the species, as only the butterflies can
rlm@40 464 mate. Some think that the butterflies are still the same person
rlm@47 465 because they have the same soul, even they no longer posses the
rlm@47 466 memories or personality of the original caterpillar. Some see the
rlm@40 467 butterfly form as the "true form" of the species, since the
rlm@40 468 butterflies can fly, mate, and are beautiful. Many make a big
rlm@47 469 deal out of the fact that 1-2% of the caterpillar's mind is
rlm@40 470 actually preserved in the butterfly. Some see it as a terrible
rlm@47 471 tragedy and argue that the caterpillars should try to stop the
rlm@40 472 metamorphosis by technology. Practically, some very important
rlm@40 473 members of society undergo hormone therapy and/or surgery to
rlm@40 474 prevent metamorphosis so that they can live longer as themselves.
rlm@40 475
rlm@40 476 This is a continuation of Marvin Minsky's ideas about pain being
rlm@40 477 something that preserves our bodies while destroying our minds,
rlm@40 478 something that is a remnant from our too harsh animal days that
rlm@40 479 hasn't caught up to the fact that we have very complex brains
rlm@40 480 now. It's a worst-case scenario about a maladaptive genetic
rlm@40 481 legacy. Also, it's inspired by "There She Is!!!", which makes a
rlm@40 482 compelling point about homosexuality by introducing a second
rlm@40 483 gender characteristic (bunny/cat, male/female), which makes
rlm@40 484 homophobia look very silly. Here, our own biological legacy of
rlm@47 485 pain and death is made to look like the tragedy it is through the
rlm@47 486 lens of the the caterpillar people.
rlm@40 487
rlm@46 488 - relationships as a business :: [[http://thedailywtf.com/Articles/Up-or-Out-Solving-the-IT-Turnover-Crisis.aspx][Turnover-Crisis]] is an excellent talk
rlm@46 489 about the "culture of quitting," which is about better business
rlm@46 490 by letting people go instead of keeping them around past their
rlm@47 491 "apex". Focuses on information transfer. Cool idea of an alumni
rlm@46 492 network, which for relationships would be a group of satisfied
rlm@46 493 ex-lovers, who would recommend new people your way, and who might
rlm@46 494 consider coming to you again, refreshed from their time away with
rlm@46 495 new stories/experiences. I should look for examples of this and
rlm@46 496 how they worked out.
rlm@43 497
rlm@47 498 - coffee with tea :: /rlm-tea/ contains 2% sugar, 10% cream, and 20%
rlm@43 499 dylan coffee. /dylan coffee/ contains 5% sugar,
rlm@43 500 20% cream, and 10% rlm-tea. Start your mornings
rlm@43 501 with recursion!
rlm@43 502
rlm@43 503 - psychic crystal :: in a science fiction story, this would be an
rlm@43 504 object that is very easy to move physically but is extremely
rlm@43 505 difficult to move with telekinesis.
rlm@43 506
rlm@40 507 - http://betsofbitco.in/ :: what a great place for an AI/person to
rlm@40 508 prove themselves as a good predictor. I wish this could be
rlm@40 509 automated.
rlm@40 510
rlm@44 511 - true reflection :: don't forget about that mirror in the student
rlm@44 512 center!, it's two mirrors at right angles, like staring at a
rlm@44 513 corner of a room. The light reflects so that it shows you what
rlm@44 514 you actually look like, instead of your mirror image.
rlm@33 515
rlm@33 516 - remote control wasp :: use computer to drive wings with remote
rlm@32 517 power/logic.
rlm@32 518
rlm@47 519 - encrypted email phone book :: public (distributed?) database of
rlm@44 520 email->private-key pairs, to enable automatic encryption.
rlm@32 521
rlm@44 522 - universal eye color :: every equivalent creature will see each
rlm@44 523 others' eyes as black -- it's universal. Even if the creatures
rlm@44 524 see in radio waves, and their eyes are 2m long pieces of jagged
rlm@44 525 metal, when those creatures look at each other, they will see
rlm@44 526 black, the absence of light and color (since it's being absorbed
rlm@44 527 by the sensor array).
rlm@32 528
rlm@33 529 - intelligent microwave :: it learns where the hot nodes of its fields
rlm@83 530 are, and uses them to evenly heat any food item. It has an infrared
rlm@32 531 camera or something to keep track of how hot the food is. That way,
rlm@32 532 you don't get bowls where the edges are boiling, while the center is
rlm@32 533 still frozen. Requires a little bit of intelligence/vision, since
rlm@32 534 the exact pattern of heating totally depends on the exact shape of
rlm@47 535 the food. Wouldn't need a carousel, and wouldn't need a timer,
rlm@47 536 just a desired temperature. Could also detect ice, and automatically
rlm@32 537 defrost the parts which are frozen. Might be able to work much
rlm@47 538 faster since it can avoid overheating; might have problems with
rlm@32 539 heating the insides of thick things, might need a weight sensor too.
rlm@32 540
rlm@39 541 + Would be much cleaner than other microwaves, since food would
rlm@39 542 "sputter" and splash liquid much less.
rlm@32 543
rlm@39 544 + Throw in some SIFT+R processing to match previously cooked foods
rlm@39 545 and learn the exact heating profiles for things that have been
rlm@54 546 cooked before -- it can get faster the more it's used.
rlm@32 547
rlm@47 548 - compression :: brain-aware image compression algorithm
rlm@32 549
rlm@44 550 - Credit card proxy :: would be a company which works like paypal
rlm@44 551 except for real world transactions
rlm@32 552
rlm@33 553 - Flesh pillow :: a pillow like the arm or torso of a human, complete
rlm@33 554 with simulated temperature, bones, and heartbeat.
rlm@33 555
rlm@47 556 - super screw :: a screw which has only one or two threads and instead
rlm@47 557 uses compression to fit into a hole (the whole shank
rlm@33 558 of the screw is split into multiple pieces to
rlm@33 559 accomplish this; the tip is a point, then the middle
rlm@33 560 bulges out and gets compressed when screwed in.
rlm@33 561
rlm@47 562 - light filter :: (like light tweezers) to mechanically separate
rlm@33 563 fluids with different index of refraction
rlm@33 564
rlm@33 565 - chalk eraser project :: maybe make a directional eraser, for easy
rlm@33 566 release of chalk dust, like fur, and how it likes to rest in a
rlm@33 567 certain direction.
rlm@33 568
rlm@44 569 - silver socks :: socks laced with silver for the antimicrobial
rlm@44 570 properties.
rlm@32 571
rlm@53 572 - UROP :: magnet gear/metal teeth tape
rlm@53 573
rlm@82 574 - Rod of Moses :: device to distill urine through evaporation and
rlm@53 575 easily dispose of urea crystals for use in desert --
rlm@53 576 produce drinkable water.
rlm@32 577
rlm@47 578 - UROP :: Make the LED in line with the flow for the micro injector, so
rlm@44 579 that it may transmit maximum flow. Motor that changes
rlm@44 580 distance of internal magnet from windings depending on
rlm@44 581 desired speed so as to obtain maximum power efficiency.
rlm@32 582
rlm@47 583 - lottery scraper :: web scraper which monitors various lotteries,
rlm@44 584 looking for "special" gimmick changes in the rules (like 4x
rlm@44 585 winnings on Wednesdays) and computes expected value...
rlm@34 586
rlm@34 587 - Memristiors novel design :: make an evolutionary algorithm to make
rlm@34 588 old stuff using all four basic circuit elements.
rlm@34 589
rlm@44 590 - Conductive concrete :: concrete that has embedded metal fibers so
rlm@44 591 that it can conduct electricity.
rlm@34 592
rlm@44 593 - little bitty melting pot :: might be useful for some types of
rlm@44 594 manufacturing/3D printing -- how small can an induction melter be
rlm@44 595 made, for example.
rlm@34 596
rlm@44 597 - power strip/timer programmable combination :: meh
rlm@34 598
rlm@47 599 - algorithms :: which learn what their inputs are and in what order,
rlm@44 600 and can adapt to changing circumstances -- they
rlm@44 601 remember previous arguments and adapt so as to respond
rlm@44 602 to different connections.
rlm@34 603
rlm@47 604 - true pure tones :: hear a true pure tone by direct stimulation of the
rlm@44 605 nerves of the ear
rlm@43 606
rlm@43 607 - mechanical analogue to the electrical op-amp :: would be an object
rlm@43 608 with two levers -- you pull on one lever and the other moves the
rlm@43 609 same way, no matter what's in the way or what it is driving. This
rlm@47 610 analogy could be useful to teach op amps to people.
rlm@34 611
rlm@47 612 - paper folding device :: make it convenient to fold lots of papers in
rlm@34 613 various ways.
rlm@34 614
rlm@34 615 - concrete epoxy :: epoxy with sand/ some other solid material.
rlm@34 616
rlm@47 617 - light capacitor :: suspend some ball of material with a high index
rlm@43 618 of refraction and shine light into it so it gets stuck -- would
rlm@43 619 the light stay trapped forever? Could you build up unlimited
rlm@43 620 quantities of light inside the sphere (which could then be
rlm@43 621 released slowly by frustrated internal reflection?
rlm@34 622
rlm@40 623 - movie screening :: Movies always are too long at first. One way to
rlm@34 624 shorten them ``scientifically" is to record blink rate during the
rlm@34 625 move and then remove / shorten the frames of the parts in which
rlm@34 626 there are a lot of blinking (average this over multiple people)
rlm@34 627 better yet, put it online and do it across thousands of people. I
rlm@34 628 got this from youtube in which there is an episode of kill bill
rlm@47 629 which is composed entirely of the parts in which people had their
rlm@34 630 eyes closed. slogan: want to make a movie people can't take their
rlm@34 631 eyes off of? Just take those parts out!
rlm@34 632
rlm@47 633 - optimize an article :: capture reading of a scientific article via
rlm@44 634 screen capture while people read it, then use it to make the
rlm@44 635 article better. like the movie-pruning idea.
rlm@35 636
rlm@44 637 - super reading program :: teaches people the ideal mental mask to
rlm@44 638 apply during reading so as to read very fast.
rlm@35 639
rlm@44 640 - explosive thermite epoxy putty :: one part would contain the rust,
rlm@47 641 one part the aluminum.
rlm@34 642
rlm@44 643 - reading comprehension :: use the above screen capture routine to
rlm@44 644 make a quiz program that constructs questions about the content
rlm@44 645 you seemed to gloss over while reading. could be easy if the pdf
rlm@44 646 came with embedded questions. Dylan: automatically generate
rlm@44 647 word-cloud about the parts you found most interesting; help
rlm@44 648 others who read the same stuff by drawing attention to the
rlm@44 649 interesting parts.
rlm@34 650
rlm@44 651 - hard sword :: make a samurai sword, but use osmiridum instead of
rlm@44 652 martensite for the cutting part; it should be a better
rlm@44 653 sword.
rlm@32 654
rlm@44 655 - close range wireless :: use the induction technology used to
rlm@44 656 recharge electric toothbrushes with no metal links to send data
rlm@44 657 without any metal at all!
rlm@32 658
rlm@44 659 - reading :: is a form of synsethesia
rlm@32 660
rlm@44 661 - DNA printer :: A machine which translates the text eg, "ACTGAC" into
rlm@44 662 actual DNA
rlm@32 663
rlm@44 664 - black generator :: ferro-fluid magnetic field suspended micro
rlm@44 665 generator to make electricity
rlm@32 666
rlm@44 667 - alcohol battery :: alcohol/fluid flow powered battery
rlm@32 668
rlm@44 669 - folding razor blade sword ::
rlm@32 670
rlm@44 671 - perfect pitch :: learn perfect pitch using another sense in
rlm@44 672 combination (sight or touch)
rlm@32 673
rlm@44 674 - kaleidoscope projector ::
rlm@32 675
rlm@44 676 - razor blade de-sharpener :: for guilt free disposal
rlm@32 677
rlm@44 678 - bricks :: filled with luminescent plant material
rlm@32 679
rlm@47 680 - bio metallic structure :: metal grids with seeds inside, which grow
rlm@44 681 together and form a durable biological matrix. The metal
rlm@44 682 substrate delivers water. (maybe use plastic instead of metal?)
rlm@44 683 Dylan: enrich plants with inorganic compounds; electrical
rlm@44 684 interfaces in cellular plant matter => remote-controlled
rlm@44 685 photosynthetic/bioluminescent structures.
rlm@32 686
rlm@44 687 - conducting extracellular matrix :: to allow better control of
rlm@44 688 organic systems and an enhanced nervous system.
rlm@32 689
rlm@44 690 - cross-modal memory hashing :: a way to retrieve memories more
rlm@44 691 robustly.
rlm@32 692
rlm@47 693 - flossing thimble-guards :: (these actually exist)
rlm@32 694
rlm@44 695 - rules + lattice learning :: integrate lattice learning with rules by
rlm@44 696 generating hypothetical examples
rlm@32 697
rlm@47 698 - wooden refrigerator :: to give food a better taste Dylan: like
rlm@44 699 barrels for wine, or planks for salmon. Maybe just have "flavor
rlm@44 700 planks" for your pre-existing fridge. Need to mitigate effect of
rlm@44 701 temperature on volatility?
rlm@32 702
rlm@35 703 - radioactive transmutation molecule by molecule :: create precious
rlm@35 704 metals or something else economically advantageous.
rlm@32 705
rlm@47 706 - crowd preservation :: inoculate food with tons of harmless
rlm@44 707 bacteria so that there's no room for bad bacteria as a method of
rlm@44 708 preservation
rlm@32 709
rlm@47 710 - old school preservation :: Pasteur - style holding jar with siphon
rlm@47 711 as a way to store liquids at room temperature indefinitely w/o
rlm@47 712 refrigeration.
rlm@32 713
rlm@47 714 - restaurant policy :: Throw rude people out of restaurant as a matter
rlm@44 715 of course -- make ambiance much better.
rlm@32 716
rlm@47 717 - clean windows :: make something that mixes soap with fire hydrant
rlm@44 718 water (and reduces the pressure a bit) and use it
rlm@44 719 to clean windows of buildings.
rlm@32 720
rlm@44 721 - ocarina :: make an ocarina out of pure silver
rlm@32 722
rlm@35 723 - fire pen :: pen which burns words on to the page, thus never needing
rlm@47 724 any ink. Is there a way to make it runnable from the
rlm@35 725 human's energy?
rlm@32 726
rlm@44 727 - website to design your own soda :: and label, and have it mailed to
rlm@44 728 you / sell it from your own online store.
rlm@35 729
rlm@44 730 - solar panels :: that float on the ocean
rlm@43 731
rlm@35 732 - handcuffs with more than two cuffs (3?) :: great for daisy chaining
rlm@43 733 people, binding them to environment, etc.
rlm@35 734
rlm@35 735 - vector based SOUND files :: like the pictures but with SOUND. codify
rlm@35 736 sound in a language with enough symbols so that it can describe
rlm@35 737 everything and encode it in that. would be like going from speech
rlm@43 738 to text or smtg. Could also store sound as an image of the
rlm@35 739 wavefront encoded as a vector image.
rlm@32 740
rlm@44 741 - Mouse :: with a horizontal scroll wheel in addition to the vertical
rlm@44 742 scroll wheel
rlm@32 743
rlm@47 744 - logic maintenance system for big institutions :: to make sure the
rlm@44 745 things they are thinking about doing are not retarded
rlm@32 746
rlm@47 747 - http://www.regulations.gov/ :: cool site
rlm@32 748
rlm@44 749 - genetically engineered glowing fruit :: sell seeds?
rlm@32 750
rlm@36 751 - memory slide :: IF memories are encoded using particular sensory
rlm@36 752 impressions, what happens if the sensory organ
rlm@36 753 itself changes? those memories would become
rlm@47 754 inaccessible. maybe this is why we can't remember
rlm@36 755 much from our childhoods. also, could this happen
rlm@47 756 throughout life as well? Could S remember stuff from
rlm@36 757 his childhood?
rlm@32 758
rlm@47 759 - make a completely indestructible phone :: no moving parts or display
rlm@36 760 you should be able to slam it around all you want, and it will
rlm@36 761 just work. brutally simple. aerogel around the battery, minimal
rlm@36 762 interface - never gets too hot, and can be dropped into water. no
rlm@36 763 holes -- uses field effects for everything from the buttons to
rlm@36 764 inductive charging and data transfer.
rlm@32 765
rlm@44 766 - midi to ocarina "tabs" program :: (online website? buy ocarinas from
rlm@44 767 it too)
rlm@32 768
rlm@44 769 - 3d printing with sound pulses (or just patterns) :: like the 8.03
rlm@44 770 lecture
rlm@32 771
rlm@40 772 - lighter flint on spring :: make hot, throw it at something, and it
rlm@40 773 makes sparkles!
rlm@32 774
rlm@44 775 - nuclear energy :: Rebranding New+Clear Energy with informational
rlm@44 776 campaign and public debate forum to enforce its
rlm@44 777 transparent and open nature. France needn't be the
rlm@44 778 world leader in nuclear energy. (Dylan)
rlm@32 779
rlm@44 780 - bubbles :: Engineer a material which has both ductility and high
rlm@44 781 surface tension to make the "third"
rlm@44 782 minimal-surface-energy solution to a bubble suspended
rlm@44 783 between two equal-diameter rings. (Solutions are
rlm@44 784 cylindrical catenary curve, two separated half-bubbles,
rlm@44 785 and a double-cone)
rlm@38 786
rlm@38 787 - Textbook whose content can be varied continuously :: alter level of
rlm@38 788 difficulty, rigor, diction, emphasize crossover with certain
rlm@38 789 other discipline, etc. Content generated dynamically from
rlm@38 790 knowledge base, along with questions that are moreover altered to
rlm@38 791 guide knowledge acquisition. Motivation: One book of
rlm@40 792 knowledge. /One./
rlm@40 793
rlm@40 794 ** From Jacob's idea list
rlm@40 795
rlm@47 796 - Roommate-canceling headphones: uses roommate's laptop mic to seed
rlm@43 797 noise cancellation alg in your headphones (would this
rlm@40 798 work?). -Update on sound canceling headphones that take feed from
rlm@40 799 tv: how about ones that cancel people talking on the phone by
rlm@40 800 receiving the phone signals and playing inverse sound
rlm@40 801 waves. #signalprocessing ~jcole@mit.edu
rlm@40 802
rlm@40 803 - ClackerAlert -- tells if you slam the keys too hard using sound data
rlm@40 804 (and speed/jerkiness data)!.Prevents RSI ~jcole@mit.e
rlm@40 805
rlm@40 806 - Panic Pin :: separate pin that you can tell someone if forced to
rlm@41 807 identify your PIN (idea from idea about credit cards)