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author Robert McIntyre <rlm@mit.edu>
date Mon, 10 Mar 2014 12:59:38 -0400
parents 79d17299ada0
children 09d093d9b61f
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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@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@87 34 - suicide parasite :: sometimes, people kill themselves for no good
rlm@87 35 reason. We often explain this with things like "hidden
rlm@87 36 depression" or we say that they had something like chronic jaw or
rlm@87 37 back pain. I think that smells of rationalization. I don't buy
rlm@87 38 it. I propose that in many suicide cases there is a disease that
rlm@88 39 causes the suicidal behavior. We already know that certain
rlm@87 40 parasites have mind-bending properties in other animals, even
rlm@87 41 mammals like mice. It's not much of a stretch to imagine a
rlm@88 42 parasite that causes suicides in humans. Some problems:
rlm@87 43 - What does the suicide parasite get out of it? :: This might be
rlm@87 44 answered by the whole thing being a glitch caused by
rlm@87 45 cross-species contamination. Toxoplasma works this way.
rlm@88 46 - What predictions does a disease model make :: suicide should
rlm@88 47 be more common among people who share a contagion
rlm@88 48 vector. There should be suicides that don't make any
rlm@87 49 sense : people who weren't really depressed, who had no
rlm@87 50 reason to kill themselves. People who have killed themselves
rlm@87 51 should have a higher incidence of some unknown parasite in
rlm@87 52 their brains.
rlm@87 53
rlm@87 54 - domestic insects :: People should eat more bugs, but why not do some
rlm@87 55 major domestication research to make very appealing bugs?
rlm@87 56
rlm@87 57 - birth-clones :: What if each person was intentionally split at birth
rlm@87 58 into a normal embryo and a few "backup" cells which
rlm@87 59 is then frozen. The backup cells are created just
rlm@87 60 the same way as natural identical twins. The backups
rlm@88 61 can be used to regenerate organs. etc. Also, it
rlm@87 62 would be a good sci fi concept, because you could
rlm@87 63 have a culture where people reward people who were
rlm@87 64 especially awesome are "reborn" from their
rlm@88 65 backups. Imagine having a young Bach every
rlm@87 66 generation, etc.
rlm@87 67
rlm@87 68 - cortex-search :: use the repertoire of actions learned to limit the
rlm@87 69 search space of possible actions.
rlm@87 70
rlm@87 71 - no-float-ice :: cup that has cross beams at the bottom where ice
rlm@87 72 forms. Then when you drink liquid from the glass,
rlm@87 73 the ice stays at the bottom and doesn't hit your
rlm@87 74 lips. For bars and fancy things.
rlm@87 75
rlm@82 76 - bitcoins for immigrants :: A common case with Mexican immigrants
rlm@82 77 (illegal or not) is that they want to send money they've earned
rlm@82 78 in the US back to their families in Mexico. They currently do this
rlm@82 79 through things like Money Gram or Western Union, and they get
rlm@82 80 fleeced in the process with fees. Bitcoin could greatly reduce
rlm@82 81 the cost of sending money from America to Mexico, but I don't
rlm@82 82 believe that it's currently used for that among Mexican
rlm@82 83 immigrants currently due to lack of knowledge. I bet you could
rlm@82 84 set up physical locations like those obnoxious Western Union huts
rlm@82 85 in places like Texas, Arizona, etc, and greatly undercut
rlm@82 86 them. Or, perhaps some educational seminars about bitcoin might
rlm@82 87 be in order. There's some money to be made there because there is
rlm@82 88 great demand, and it's a good thing to boot!
rlm@82 89
rlm@81 90 - reverse eye-tracking :: A painting that is actually a digital screen
rlm@82 91 with a camera. It records people's eye tracks permanently. It's
rlm@81 92 "artistic" because paintings are normally these things that you
rlm@81 93 look at without changing, but this one is changed the second you
rlm@81 94 look at it, recording where /you/ looked forever for others to
rlm@81 95 see. Make it be a painting of a woman and see the trolling as the
rlm@81 96 breasts and groin area light up with interest from all the males
rlm@81 97 passing by.
rlm@81 98
rlm@80 99 - smart toilets :: Instead of using indirect measures like infrared
rlm@80 100 detectors of the presence of a person, use computer
rlm@80 101 vision to directly measure whether the toilet needs
rlm@80 102 to be flushed. I think a lot of things will end up
rlm@80 103 going this way as we get better computer vision.
rlm@80 104
rlm@77 105 - validate chemopreservation :: chemopreservation is difficult to
rlm@77 106 validate because it destroys the functionality of a brain, and
rlm@77 107 brain simulation will take a long time to mature as a
rlm@77 108 technology. However, one very powerful way to validate
rlm@77 109 chemopreservation would be to have a person/animal learn
rlm@77 110 something with high complexity such as a number or the solution
rlm@80 111 to a maze, or a flashbulb memory. Then you preserve their brain
rlm@80 112 chemically, slice it up, and read /that specific memory/ from the
rlm@77 113 detailed brain scan. Much more difficult, but much more doable.
rlm@77 114
rlm@75 115 - candy screw :: edible candy screw with candy nuts that you can screw
rlm@75 116 as well.
rlm@76 117
rlm@74 118 - better bibliography :: when writing a thesis or paper, have the
rlm@80 119 bibliography not just be an opaque list of resources, but have it
rlm@74 120 be a list of /summaries/ and /qualities/ that each paper has in
rlm@80 121 the context of the paper being written. When examining a
rlm@80 122 bibliography, I want to know if reading the papers in the
rlm@74 123 bibliography are worth my time, and I also am probably also
rlm@74 124 interested in exactly the things that are being discussed in the
rlm@74 125 paper I'm reading. The bibliography is the perfect place to
rlm@74 126 provide information about the referenced papers from the
rlm@80 127 author's perspective. I will use this biographic form in my own
rlm@74 128 thesis.
rlm@74 129
rlm@73 130 - digital inter-library loan :: libraries at universities already do
rlm@80 131 inter-library loans for books, so why not do the same for access
rlm@73 132 to stupid paywalled digital papers? All the universities could
rlm@73 133 allow access to articles for registered students to all the files
rlm@73 134 available through any participating university. This could be
rlm@73 135 achieved by sending requests through proxies at participating
rlm@73 136 universities. Each university would decide who at the university
rlm@73 137 can access the proxy network. Access to the proxy network could
rlm@73 138 be made easy using something like http://libx.org/.
rlm@73 139
rlm@72 140 - chess visual :: to show the vast size of the game trees considered
rlm@72 141 by computers, show two people playing chess in a
rlm@72 142 void. They are floating in space, and there is a
rlm@72 143 simple chess board between them. Then, as they play,
rlm@72 144 the game tree's they are considering are drawn
rlm@72 145 behind him. The root of the tree starts centered in
rlm@72 146 their heads or whatever they use to think, and the
rlm@72 147 tree grows out from behind, never crossing the
rlm@72 148 dividing plane between the two players. Each
rlm@72 149 player's tree is a different color. As they grow,
rlm@72 150 there are animations for pruning, etc. Eventually,
rlm@72 151 they look like the hemispheres of a brain, wings,
rlm@72 152 etc. A human's tree might occasionally have a long
rlm@72 153 chain, while the computer tree would be more
rlm@72 154 uniform. You could compare deep blue and a modern
rlm@72 155 laptop. Use actual data when fighting two computers!
rlm@72 156
rlm@71 157 - time verification :: some standard way to verify that some piece of
rlm@71 158 data was recorded at a specific time. Might involve a time
rlm@73 159 server, a key for each time period, something like that.
rlm@71 160
rlm@70 161 - tamper proof gold bars :: [[http://www.tungsten-alloy.com/gold-plated-tungsten-alloy-bar.html][this site]] offers gold plated tungsten bars
rlm@70 162 as "novelty" items. One reason to prefer coins is because they
rlm@70 163 are much harder to counterfeit because there is less surface area
rlm@70 164 to mass ratio. However, gold bars are still a great design
rlm@70 165 because they can hold a lot of value in a small space. A gold bar
rlm@70 166 could be given the same protections (and more) that gold coins
rlm@70 167 have to offer by changing it into a "gold book", which would have
rlm@70 168 hundreds of "pages" of gold bound together. This could be
rlm@70 169 implemented with multiple steel rods going through the book which
rlm@70 170 can be removed, or some more classier mechanism for holding the
rlm@70 171 pages. The point is that the bar can be EASILY subdivided (and
rlm@70 172 people would perform this test before buying), thus guaranteeing
rlm@70 173 it's authenticity.
rlm@70 174
rlm@68 175 - aurellem shirt :: I should make an aurellem star symbol tee-shirt.
rlm@68 176
rlm@67 177 - high school science :: this is a lesson in scientific ethics. The
rlm@67 178 goal is to calculate /g/, the local gravitational
rlm@67 179 acceleration. The students are told that the textbook says it's
rlm@67 180 /exactly/ 9.81 before they start the experiment. See how they
rlm@67 181 doctor their results to get closer to the textbook value. It's
rlm@67 182 neat because for any given school, /g/ is probably *not* exactly
rlm@67 183 equal to 9.81, because that is just an average!
rlm@67 184
rlm@67 185 - opencourseware subtitles :: there are ladies who type up lectures
rlm@67 186 while they are being given. These recordings should be kept and
rlm@67 187 given to OCW for subtitles. If the timestamps of keys are
rlm@67 188 recorded, then it is easy to make subtitles.
rlm@67 189
rlm@66 190 - screen locking timing :: you use your computer camera to see if you
rlm@66 191 are sitting in front of the computer. If you are, then the screen
rlm@66 192 will never lock. If you are, then the screen will lock with a
rlm@67 193 30-40 second timeout. It's an extension of using inactivity to
rlm@66 194 initiate the countdown, just with more information.
rlm@66 195
rlm@66 196 - mirror toilet :: a toilet with a square basin made or mirror instead
rlm@67 197 or porcelain. That way, you can see how good of a
rlm@66 198 wipe job you have done / watch how your excretion
rlm@66 199 system works.
rlm@66 200
rlm@80 201 - test dummies :: why don't we clone anencephalic humans and use then to
rlm@62 202 test /in vivo/ human organ systems and drugs? It
rlm@62 203 would be ethical as long as there are women who are
rlm@62 204 willing to host the clones, and it would be a
rlm@67 205 tremendous resource for studying the human body. I
rlm@62 206 see nothing wrong with it morally, since no one is
rlm@67 207 suffering, and it stands to save many lives throughout
rlm@62 208 more advanced technology.
rlm@62 209
rlm@62 210 - X-ray telepresence :: given that a doctor is operating on a patient
rlm@62 211 via telepresence, one cool things you can do is shine X-rays into
rlm@62 212 the patient to view the insides during real time. If the system
rlm@80 213 was coupled with a Bayesian model of the layout of the structure,
rlm@67 214 and the x-rays were only fired whenever the uncertainty of the
rlm@62 215 model reached a certain threshold, then the radiation damage
rlm@62 216 and surgery risk could be minimized.
rlm@62 217
rlm@62 218 - superfluid vascular system :: I wonder what would happen if you
rlm@62 219 replaced the blood in a human with a superfluid. What would the
rlm@62 220 physical dynamics be? Would the superfluid flow through the
rlm@62 221 vasculature, or would it ignore it and travel through the cells,
rlm@62 222 or something else entirely. Since superfluids need to be cold to
rlm@62 223 retain their superfluidity, how would the dynamics change during
rlm@62 224 perfusion of a superfluid, where the fluid gains and looses
rlm@62 225 superfluidity as it goes deeper into the body and is cooled by
rlm@67 226 superfluid from upstream. In summary there are two things to
rlm@62 227 simulate 1.) replace all blood in human with superfluid
rlm@62 228 instantly. 2.) perfuse superfluid into human.
rlm@51 229
rlm@59 230 - projective guessing :: I think that we read and see things by
rlm@67 231 making a really good guess about what we're expecting to see,
rlm@59 232 and then searching for our guess in what we see. If it really
rlm@59 233 doesn't match, then we start to make more guesses / analyze the
rlm@59 234 image from first principles, but most stuff is projective
rlm@59 235 guessing.
rlm@59 236
rlm@67 237 - Intestinal flora maintenance :: why not inoculate babies at birth
rlm@59 238 with "ideal" gut flora instead of whatever bullshit they
rlm@59 239 naturally get, thus giving them optimal digestive/nutrient
rlm@67 240 extraction capabilities. Might also be able to make their farts
rlm@59 241 not stink for life, too.
rlm@59 242
rlm@56 243 - server culture : mirrors :: make a distributed system where people
rlm@56 244 can mirror the websites of people they like -- essentially cover
rlm@56 245 the server costs of favored websites. This could make popular
rlm@56 246 websites run at no cost. The system would require that the
rlm@56 247 mirrored content be the same as the official source. Sort of like
rlm@67 248 bit-torrent for websites.
rlm@56 249
rlm@56 250 - map programming :: one problem with functional programming is that
rlm@56 251 in order to remain functional, you have to pass up arguments up
rlm@67 252 into each calling function to get the full range of behavior
rlm@56 253 from the lower level functions. Normally people come to a
rlm@67 254 compromise involving abstraction and sparing use of dynamic
rlm@67 255 variables to configure runtime behavior. What would be the
rlm@56 256 advantages of making a programming language where every function
rlm@67 257 receives one argument, a map, which contains all the symbol
rlm@56 258 bindings it would ever need? This map is passed on to all
rlm@56 259 subordinate functions. This way, you could replace functions on
rlm@56 260 the fly, and arrange for there to be sensible defaults,
rlm@56 261 etc. Might cause more harm than good but is an interesting idea.
rlm@56 262
rlm@55 263 - rest nest :: a small EEG device you would attach to your head when
rlm@55 264 you go to sleep at night. ML algorithms would determine
rlm@55 265 your particular sleep cycles. This would mostly be an
rlm@55 266 alarm clock that you could give a time range, say
rlm@55 267 7:00AM - 7:15AM, and it would wake you up during an
rlm@55 268 ideal time corresponding to then end of one of your 90
rlm@55 269 min sleep cycles. You would feel much more rested upon
rlm@55 270 waking up, and would wake up faster. There might be
rlm@55 271 some other uses for the EEG data as well.
rlm@55 272
rlm@50 273 - image compression :: use a library like gimp or opencv to process an
rlm@50 274 image to make it have less entropy, then store the reverse of
rlm@50 275 those operations along with the compressed simpler image as a
rlm@80 276 super-compressed image file (possibly accepting some
rlm@80 277 losses). Trades file size for decompression time, and allows one
rlm@50 278 to cheat by using information in gimp/opencv to compress the
rlm@50 279 image.
rlm@50 280
rlm@47 281 - fixed cryopreservation :: why not use a fixative to buy enough time
rlm@42 282 to ramp up cryoprotectants to an acceptable level at room
rlm@42 283 temperature? Then, the whole system can be rapidly cooled and
rlm@42 284 vitrified. This method "severs the biological link" in that the
rlm@47 285 fixatives are highly toxic, but current vitrification procedures
rlm@42 286 do this anyway since there can be a lot of freezing damage.
rlm@38 287
rlm@67 288 - dilated security camera :: a security camera that would capture
rlm@58 289 full video footage of everything at 60fps but then decide to keep
rlm@58 290 only every 1 frame every 5 seconds unless there's something
rlm@58 291 "interesting" happening.
rlm@58 292
rlm@40 293 - bitcoin wallet :: Part of "server culture", this would be something
rlm@40 294 like "coin.your-domain.com" which would serve as
rlm@40 295 your personal trusted access to your own bitcoins
rlm@40 296 from anywhere.
rlm@40 297
rlm@40 298 - libpay :: this would be a free library which would enable
rlm@40 299 micro-donations to software projects and other projects,
rlm@47 300 so that you could donate a penny to "emacs" and it would
rlm@47 301 be automatically split up to every person who has ever
rlm@40 302 contributed to emacs in proportion to the amount of
rlm@40 303 community esteem, code quantity, bugs fixed, whatever the
rlm@47 304 community decides. This might make it possible for
rlm@40 305 programmers to live entirely off of free programming.
rlm@40 306
rlm@45 307 - distributed graphics :: Browser based graphics-card accelerated
rlm@45 308 distributed computing API.
rlm@41 309
rlm@40 310 - pronouns :: use capital letters A-Z instead of pronouns. They solve
rlm@40 311 pronoun referents and gender neutrality, are short to
rlm@40 312 say, and you can encode useful information into the
rlm@40 313 choice of letter. For example, instead of "Meetings
rlm@40 314 shall be presided over by the president, unless she is
rlm@42 315 absent." USE "Meetings shall be presided over by the
rlm@40 316 president, unless P is absent." We already use this a
rlm@40 317 little, since I and U are reserved for the subject and
rlm@40 318 object respectively.
rlm@40 319
rlm@40 320 - phone DSP :: software app that inserts an audio DSP between the
rlm@40 321 input to a phone and the output. The DSP is delicious
rlm@40 322 and configurable, and can allow men to make their
rlm@40 323 voices deeper, etc. The app would allow you to hear
rlm@40 324 your own voice as others hear it. Most people hate how
rlm@40 325 their own voice sounds. The app would also allow one to
rlm@47 326 immediately change the parameters of the DSP using good
rlm@40 327 presets.
rlm@40 328
rlm@47 329 - predestined body learning :: a good example of predestined learning
rlm@40 330 might be the mirror neurons.
rlm@40 331
rlm@47 332 - restaurant receipt :: use a carbon copy receipt instead of two stupid
rlm@40 333 copies.
rlm@40 334
rlm@41 335 - anti google glass :: glasses with mounted lasers and computer vision
rlm@41 336 that targets the cameras in google glass and destroy them.
rlm@41 337
rlm@40 338 - wearable towel :: towel with clasp, velcro, whatever, that allows
rlm@40 339 one to wear the towel more securely than just
rlm@40 340 wrapping it tightly and hoping for the best.
rlm@40 341
rlm@47 342 - crossdressing :: Easiest way to disguise oneself as a woman is to
rlm@44 343 wear a burka.
rlm@41 344
rlm@40 345 - book-mode :: intelligent color highlighting for books and
rlm@40 346 articles. It would disambiguate pronouns and involved
rlm@40 347 references. For example, if "Rachael" as red, and "the
rlm@40 348 blonde haired girl" refers to "Rachael", then "the
rlm@40 349 blonde haired girl" would he colored red. Also, you
rlm@47 350 could disambiguate multi part run-on sentences by
rlm@40 351 highlighting each subcomponent. Maybe would also have
rlm@47 352 applications to scientific reading.
rlm@40 353
rlm@40 354 - Handheld light Rain measurement :: this would be a clear, teflon
rlm@47 355 coated plastic disk with a camera underneath the disk. You would
rlm@40 356 be able to hold the device out and it would measure the rate of
rlm@40 357 accumulation of water droplets from fine mists and light rain by
rlm@40 358 using computer vision to measure the diameters of the drops.
rlm@40 359
rlm@40 360 - Big Brother Farming :: This would be a vision system that would
rlm@40 361 individually monitor each plant and turn on water, etc to ensure
rlm@40 362 maximum/uniform growth for each plant.
rlm@40 363
rlm@40 364 - Discrete Faucet :: A faucet with discrete ticks instead of
rlm@47 365 continuous.
rlm@40 366
rlm@40 367 - Laser Circle :: take a glass microfiliment and shine a laser at one
rlm@40 368 end at an oblique angle. It will make a perfect,
rlm@40 369 large circle on the wall, converting a laser beam
rlm@47 370 into a laser cone, preserving most of the energy of
rlm@40 371 the laser.
rlm@40 372
rlm@40 373 - Invisible Glass :: Take a container of liquid and embed a
rlm@40 374 glass sculpture made out of glass that has exactly the same index
rlm@40 375 of refraction and color of the liquid. Then the sculpture will be
rlm@40 376 totally invisible in the container, and will only be revealed
rlm@40 377 when the liquid is drained. The container might be a fancy
rlm@40 378 wine/spirit bottle or an hourglass.
rlm@40 379
rlm@47 380 - Caterpillar people :: A race of caterpillar like creatures gains
rlm@40 381 intelligence after eons of predation by birds, etc. These
rlm@47 382 caterpillar creatures still undergo metamorphosis into a large
rlm@40 383 butterfly-like creature. The metamorphosis process turns the
rlm@40 384 caterpillar's brain into mush and reforms it into a minimal,
rlm@40 385 dumb, truly insect-like mind, completely destroying the person
rlm@47 386 the caterpillar was. The society develops all sorts of customs and
rlm@40 387 religious interpretations of the metamorphosis. It is viewed as
rlm@40 388 good and natural by some since it is part of their life cycle and
rlm@47 389 necessary to propagate the species, as only the butterflies can
rlm@40 390 mate. Some think that the butterflies are still the same person
rlm@47 391 because they have the same soul, even they no longer posses the
rlm@47 392 memories or personality of the original caterpillar. Some see the
rlm@40 393 butterfly form as the "true form" of the species, since the
rlm@40 394 butterflies can fly, mate, and are beautiful. Many make a big
rlm@47 395 deal out of the fact that 1-2% of the caterpillar's mind is
rlm@40 396 actually preserved in the butterfly. Some see it as a terrible
rlm@47 397 tragedy and argue that the caterpillars should try to stop the
rlm@40 398 metamorphosis by technology. Practically, some very important
rlm@40 399 members of society undergo hormone therapy and/or surgery to
rlm@40 400 prevent metamorphosis so that they can live longer as themselves.
rlm@40 401
rlm@40 402 This is a continuation of Marvin Minsky's ideas about pain being
rlm@40 403 something that preserves our bodies while destroying our minds,
rlm@40 404 something that is a remnant from our too harsh animal days that
rlm@40 405 hasn't caught up to the fact that we have very complex brains
rlm@40 406 now. It's a worst-case scenario about a maladaptive genetic
rlm@40 407 legacy. Also, it's inspired by "There She Is!!!", which makes a
rlm@40 408 compelling point about homosexuality by introducing a second
rlm@40 409 gender characteristic (bunny/cat, male/female), which makes
rlm@40 410 homophobia look very silly. Here, our own biological legacy of
rlm@47 411 pain and death is made to look like the tragedy it is through the
rlm@47 412 lens of the the caterpillar people.
rlm@40 413
rlm@46 414 - relationships as a business :: [[http://thedailywtf.com/Articles/Up-or-Out-Solving-the-IT-Turnover-Crisis.aspx][Turnover-Crisis]] is an excellent talk
rlm@46 415 about the "culture of quitting," which is about better business
rlm@46 416 by letting people go instead of keeping them around past their
rlm@47 417 "apex". Focuses on information transfer. Cool idea of an alumni
rlm@46 418 network, which for relationships would be a group of satisfied
rlm@46 419 ex-lovers, who would recommend new people your way, and who might
rlm@46 420 consider coming to you again, refreshed from their time away with
rlm@46 421 new stories/experiences. I should look for examples of this and
rlm@46 422 how they worked out.
rlm@43 423
rlm@47 424 - coffee with tea :: /rlm-tea/ contains 2% sugar, 10% cream, and 20%
rlm@43 425 dylan coffee. /dylan coffee/ contains 5% sugar,
rlm@43 426 20% cream, and 10% rlm-tea. Start your mornings
rlm@43 427 with recursion!
rlm@43 428
rlm@43 429 - psychic crystal :: in a science fiction story, this would be an
rlm@43 430 object that is very easy to move physically but is extremely
rlm@43 431 difficult to move with telekinesis.
rlm@43 432
rlm@40 433 - http://betsofbitco.in/ :: what a great place for an AI/person to
rlm@40 434 prove themselves as a good predictor. I wish this could be
rlm@40 435 automated.
rlm@40 436
rlm@44 437 - true reflection :: don't forget about that mirror in the student
rlm@44 438 center!, it's two mirrors at right angles, like staring at a
rlm@44 439 corner of a room. The light reflects so that it shows you what
rlm@44 440 you actually look like, instead of your mirror image.
rlm@33 441
rlm@33 442 - remote control wasp :: use computer to drive wings with remote
rlm@32 443 power/logic.
rlm@32 444
rlm@47 445 - encrypted email phone book :: public (distributed?) database of
rlm@44 446 email->private-key pairs, to enable automatic encryption.
rlm@32 447
rlm@44 448 - universal eye color :: every equivalent creature will see each
rlm@44 449 others' eyes as black -- it's universal. Even if the creatures
rlm@44 450 see in radio waves, and their eyes are 2m long pieces of jagged
rlm@44 451 metal, when those creatures look at each other, they will see
rlm@44 452 black, the absence of light and color (since it's being absorbed
rlm@44 453 by the sensor array).
rlm@32 454
rlm@33 455 - intelligent microwave :: it learns where the hot nodes of its fields
rlm@32 456 are, and uses them to evenly heat any food item. It has an infared
rlm@32 457 camera or something to keep track of how hot the food is. That way,
rlm@32 458 you don't get bowls where the edges are boiling, while the center is
rlm@32 459 still frozen. Requires a little bit of intelligence/vision, since
rlm@32 460 the exact pattern of heating totally depends on the exact shape of
rlm@47 461 the food. Wouldn't need a carousel, and wouldn't need a timer,
rlm@47 462 just a desired temperature. Could also detect ice, and automatically
rlm@32 463 defrost the parts which are frozen. Might be able to work much
rlm@47 464 faster since it can avoid overheating; might have problems with
rlm@32 465 heating the insides of thick things, might need a weight sensor too.
rlm@32 466
rlm@39 467 + Would be much cleaner than other microwaves, since food would
rlm@39 468 "sputter" and splash liquid much less.
rlm@32 469
rlm@39 470 + Throw in some SIFT+R processing to match previously cooked foods
rlm@39 471 and learn the exact heating profiles for things that have been
rlm@54 472 cooked before -- it can get faster the more it's used.
rlm@32 473
rlm@47 474 - compression :: brain-aware image compression algorithm
rlm@32 475
rlm@44 476 - Credit card proxy :: would be a company which works like paypal
rlm@44 477 except for real world transactions
rlm@32 478
rlm@33 479 - Flesh pillow :: a pillow like the arm or torso of a human, complete
rlm@33 480 with simulated temperature, bones, and heartbeat.
rlm@33 481
rlm@47 482 - super screw :: a screw which has only one or two threads and instead
rlm@47 483 uses compression to fit into a hole (the whole shank
rlm@33 484 of the screw is split into multiple pieces to
rlm@33 485 accomplish this; the tip is a point, then the middle
rlm@33 486 bulges out and gets compressed when screwed in.
rlm@33 487
rlm@47 488 - light filter :: (like light tweezers) to mechanically separate
rlm@33 489 fluids with different index of refraction
rlm@33 490
rlm@33 491 - chalk eraser project :: maybe make a directional eraser, for easy
rlm@33 492 release of chalk dust, like fur, and how it likes to rest in a
rlm@33 493 certain direction.
rlm@33 494
rlm@44 495 - silver socks :: socks laced with silver for the antimicrobial
rlm@44 496 properties.
rlm@32 497
rlm@53 498 - UROP :: magnet gear/metal teeth tape
rlm@53 499
rlm@82 500 - Rod of Moses :: device to distill urine through evaporation and
rlm@53 501 easily dispose of urea crystals for use in desert --
rlm@53 502 produce drinkable water.
rlm@32 503
rlm@47 504 - UROP :: Make the LED in line with the flow for the micro injector, so
rlm@44 505 that it may transmit maximum flow. Motor that changes
rlm@44 506 distance of internal magnet from windings depending on
rlm@44 507 desired speed so as to obtain maximum power efficiency.
rlm@32 508
rlm@47 509 - lottery scraper :: web scraper which monitors various lotteries,
rlm@44 510 looking for "special" gimmick changes in the rules (like 4x
rlm@44 511 winnings on Wednesdays) and computes expected value...
rlm@34 512
rlm@34 513 - Memristiors novel design :: make an evolutionary algorithm to make
rlm@34 514 old stuff using all four basic circuit elements.
rlm@34 515
rlm@44 516 - Conductive concrete :: concrete that has embedded metal fibers so
rlm@44 517 that it can conduct electricity.
rlm@34 518
rlm@44 519 - little bitty melting pot :: might be useful for some types of
rlm@44 520 manufacturing/3D printing -- how small can an induction melter be
rlm@44 521 made, for example.
rlm@34 522
rlm@44 523 - power strip/timer programmable combination :: meh
rlm@34 524
rlm@47 525 - algorithms :: which learn what their inputs are and in what order,
rlm@44 526 and can adapt to changing circumstances -- they
rlm@44 527 remember previous arguments and adapt so as to respond
rlm@44 528 to different connections.
rlm@34 529
rlm@47 530 - true pure tones :: hear a true pure tone by direct stimulation of the
rlm@44 531 nerves of the ear
rlm@43 532
rlm@43 533 - mechanical analogue to the electrical op-amp :: would be an object
rlm@43 534 with two levers -- you pull on one lever and the other moves the
rlm@43 535 same way, no matter what's in the way or what it is driving. This
rlm@47 536 analogy could be useful to teach op amps to people.
rlm@34 537
rlm@47 538 - paper folding device :: make it convenient to fold lots of papers in
rlm@34 539 various ways.
rlm@34 540
rlm@34 541 - concrete epoxy :: epoxy with sand/ some other solid material.
rlm@34 542
rlm@47 543 - light capacitor :: suspend some ball of material with a high index
rlm@43 544 of refraction and shine light into it so it gets stuck -- would
rlm@43 545 the light stay trapped forever? Could you build up unlimited
rlm@43 546 quantities of light inside the sphere (which could then be
rlm@43 547 released slowly by frustrated internal reflection?
rlm@34 548
rlm@40 549 - movie screening :: Movies always are too long at first. One way to
rlm@34 550 shorten them ``scientifically" is to record blink rate during the
rlm@34 551 move and then remove / shorten the frames of the parts in which
rlm@34 552 there are a lot of blinking (average this over multiple people)
rlm@34 553 better yet, put it online and do it across thousands of people. I
rlm@34 554 got this from youtube in which there is an episode of kill bill
rlm@47 555 which is composed entirely of the parts in which people had their
rlm@34 556 eyes closed. slogan: want to make a movie people can't take their
rlm@34 557 eyes off of? Just take those parts out!
rlm@34 558
rlm@47 559 - optimize an article :: capture reading of a scientific article via
rlm@44 560 screen capture while people read it, then use it to make the
rlm@44 561 article better. like the movie-pruning idea.
rlm@35 562
rlm@44 563 - super reading program :: teaches people the ideal mental mask to
rlm@44 564 apply during reading so as to read very fast.
rlm@35 565
rlm@44 566 - explosive thermite epoxy putty :: one part would contain the rust,
rlm@47 567 one part the aluminum.
rlm@34 568
rlm@44 569 - reading comprehension :: use the above screen capture routine to
rlm@44 570 make a quiz program that constructs questions about the content
rlm@44 571 you seemed to gloss over while reading. could be easy if the pdf
rlm@44 572 came with embedded questions. Dylan: automatically generate
rlm@44 573 word-cloud about the parts you found most interesting; help
rlm@44 574 others who read the same stuff by drawing attention to the
rlm@44 575 interesting parts.
rlm@34 576
rlm@44 577 - hard sword :: make a samurai sword, but use osmiridum instead of
rlm@44 578 martensite for the cutting part; it should be a better
rlm@44 579 sword.
rlm@32 580
rlm@44 581 - close range wireless :: use the induction technology used to
rlm@44 582 recharge electric toothbrushes with no metal links to send data
rlm@44 583 without any metal at all!
rlm@32 584
rlm@44 585 - reading :: is a form of synsethesia
rlm@32 586
rlm@44 587 - DNA printer :: A machine which translates the text eg, "ACTGAC" into
rlm@44 588 actual DNA
rlm@32 589
rlm@44 590 - black generator :: ferro-fluid magnetic field suspended micro
rlm@44 591 generator to make electricity
rlm@32 592
rlm@44 593 - alcohol battery :: alcohol/fluid flow powered battery
rlm@32 594
rlm@44 595 - folding razor blade sword ::
rlm@32 596
rlm@44 597 - perfect pitch :: learn perfect pitch using another sense in
rlm@44 598 combination (sight or touch)
rlm@32 599
rlm@44 600 - kaleidoscope projector ::
rlm@32 601
rlm@44 602 - razor blade de-sharpener :: for guilt free disposal
rlm@32 603
rlm@44 604 - bricks :: filled with luminescent plant material
rlm@32 605
rlm@47 606 - bio metallic structure :: metal grids with seeds inside, which grow
rlm@44 607 together and form a durable biological matrix. The metal
rlm@44 608 substrate delivers water. (maybe use plastic instead of metal?)
rlm@44 609 Dylan: enrich plants with inorganic compounds; electrical
rlm@44 610 interfaces in cellular plant matter => remote-controlled
rlm@44 611 photosynthetic/bioluminescent structures.
rlm@32 612
rlm@44 613 - conducting extracellular matrix :: to allow better control of
rlm@44 614 organic systems and an enhanced nervous system.
rlm@32 615
rlm@44 616 - cross-modal memory hashing :: a way to retrieve memories more
rlm@44 617 robustly.
rlm@32 618
rlm@47 619 - flossing thimble-guards :: (these actually exist)
rlm@32 620
rlm@44 621 - rules + lattice learning :: integrate lattice learning with rules by
rlm@44 622 generating hypothetical examples
rlm@32 623
rlm@47 624 - wooden refrigerator :: to give food a better taste Dylan: like
rlm@44 625 barrels for wine, or planks for salmon. Maybe just have "flavor
rlm@44 626 planks" for your pre-existing fridge. Need to mitigate effect of
rlm@44 627 temperature on volatility?
rlm@32 628
rlm@35 629 - radioactive transmutation molecule by molecule :: create precious
rlm@35 630 metals or something else economically advantageous.
rlm@32 631
rlm@47 632 - crowd preservation :: inoculate food with tons of harmless
rlm@44 633 bacteria so that there's no room for bad bacteria as a method of
rlm@44 634 preservation
rlm@32 635
rlm@47 636 - old school preservation :: Pasteur - style holding jar with siphon
rlm@47 637 as a way to store liquids at room temperature indefinitely w/o
rlm@47 638 refrigeration.
rlm@32 639
rlm@47 640 - restaurant policy :: Throw rude people out of restaurant as a matter
rlm@44 641 of course -- make ambiance much better.
rlm@32 642
rlm@47 643 - clean windows :: make something that mixes soap with fire hydrant
rlm@44 644 water (and reduces the pressure a bit) and use it
rlm@44 645 to clean windows of buildings.
rlm@32 646
rlm@44 647 - ocarina :: make an ocarina out of pure silver
rlm@32 648
rlm@35 649 - fire pen :: pen which burns words on to the page, thus never needing
rlm@47 650 any ink. Is there a way to make it runnable from the
rlm@35 651 human's energy?
rlm@32 652
rlm@44 653 - website to design your own soda :: and label, and have it mailed to
rlm@44 654 you / sell it from your own online store.
rlm@35 655
rlm@44 656 - solar panels :: that float on the ocean
rlm@43 657
rlm@35 658 - handcuffs with more than two cuffs (3?) :: great for daisy chaining
rlm@43 659 people, binding them to environment, etc.
rlm@35 660
rlm@35 661 - vector based SOUND files :: like the pictures but with SOUND. codify
rlm@35 662 sound in a language with enough symbols so that it can describe
rlm@35 663 everything and encode it in that. would be like going from speech
rlm@43 664 to text or smtg. Could also store sound as an image of the
rlm@35 665 wavefront encoded as a vector image.
rlm@32 666
rlm@44 667 - Mouse :: with a horizontal scroll wheel in addition to the vertical
rlm@44 668 scroll wheel
rlm@32 669
rlm@47 670 - logic maintenance system for big institutions :: to make sure the
rlm@44 671 things they are thinking about doing are not retarded
rlm@32 672
rlm@47 673 - http://www.regulations.gov/ :: cool site
rlm@32 674
rlm@44 675 - genetically engineered glowing fruit :: sell seeds?
rlm@32 676
rlm@36 677 - memory slide :: IF memories are encoded using particular sensory
rlm@36 678 impressions, what happens if the sensory organ
rlm@36 679 itself changes? those memories would become
rlm@47 680 inaccessible. maybe this is why we can't remember
rlm@36 681 much from our childhoods. also, could this happen
rlm@47 682 throughout life as well? Could S remember stuff from
rlm@36 683 his childhood?
rlm@32 684
rlm@47 685 - make a completely indestructible phone :: no moving parts or display
rlm@36 686 you should be able to slam it around all you want, and it will
rlm@36 687 just work. brutally simple. aerogel around the battery, minimal
rlm@36 688 interface - never gets too hot, and can be dropped into water. no
rlm@36 689 holes -- uses field effects for everything from the buttons to
rlm@36 690 inductive charging and data transfer.
rlm@32 691
rlm@44 692 - midi to ocarina "tabs" program :: (online website? buy ocarinas from
rlm@44 693 it too)
rlm@32 694
rlm@44 695 - 3d printing with sound pulses (or just patterns) :: like the 8.03
rlm@44 696 lecture
rlm@32 697
rlm@40 698 - lighter flint on spring :: make hot, throw it at something, and it
rlm@40 699 makes sparkles!
rlm@32 700
rlm@44 701 - nuclear energy :: Rebranding New+Clear Energy with informational
rlm@44 702 campaign and public debate forum to enforce its
rlm@44 703 transparent and open nature. France needn't be the
rlm@44 704 world leader in nuclear energy. (Dylan)
rlm@32 705
rlm@44 706 - bubbles :: Engineer a material which has both ductility and high
rlm@44 707 surface tension to make the "third"
rlm@44 708 minimal-surface-energy solution to a bubble suspended
rlm@44 709 between two equal-diameter rings. (Solutions are
rlm@44 710 cylindrical catenary curve, two separated half-bubbles,
rlm@44 711 and a double-cone)
rlm@38 712
rlm@38 713 - Textbook whose content can be varied continuously :: alter level of
rlm@38 714 difficulty, rigor, diction, emphasize crossover with certain
rlm@38 715 other discipline, etc. Content generated dynamically from
rlm@38 716 knowledge base, along with questions that are moreover altered to
rlm@38 717 guide knowledge acquisition. Motivation: One book of
rlm@40 718 knowledge. /One./
rlm@87 719 - * Invalid capture template
rlm@40 720
rlm@40 721 ** From Jacob's idea list
rlm@40 722
rlm@47 723 - Roommate-canceling headphones: uses roommate's laptop mic to seed
rlm@43 724 noise cancellation alg in your headphones (would this
rlm@40 725 work?). -Update on sound canceling headphones that take feed from
rlm@40 726 tv: how about ones that cancel people talking on the phone by
rlm@40 727 receiving the phone signals and playing inverse sound
rlm@40 728 waves. #signalprocessing ~jcole@mit.edu
rlm@40 729
rlm@40 730 - ClackerAlert -- tells if you slam the keys too hard using sound data
rlm@40 731 (and speed/jerkiness data)!.Prevents RSI ~jcole@mit.e
rlm@40 732
rlm@40 733 - Panic Pin :: separate pin that you can tell someone if forced to
rlm@41 734 identify your PIN (idea from idea about credit cards)