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     1.6  
     1.7 -** The Ocean becomes a Drop 
     1.8 +** The Ocean Becomes a Drop 
     1.9     Upload faces challenges to grow into they type of person that can
    1.10     join the greater society -- a god. They have to go though quests
    1.11     that replicate all the things that humanity had to accomplish, like
    1.12 @@ -289,804 +289,865 @@
    1.13     is that it's a very minor effect -- you can only get about 0.1C
    1.14     with most systems that have been studied so far.
    1.15  
    1.16 -- room temp noodles :: how does the physics of cooking noodles work?
    1.17 -     Could you use a vacuum instead of heat to force water into the
    1.18 -     noodle?
    1.19 +** Room Temp Ramen
    1.20 +   How does the physics of cooking noodles work?  Could you use a
    1.21 +   vacuum instead of heat to force water into the noodle?
    1.22  
    1.23 -- personal carbon offset :: feel bad about contribuiting to global
    1.24 -     warming by using electricity / driving a car? Forget trying to
    1.25 -     "conserve" or "minimize your carbon footprint". Follow the
    1.26 -     Platinum rule -- make the world BETTER off than you found it!
    1.27 -     This would be a small, self contained system that sucks C02 out
    1.28 -     of the air. It uses electricity, but it's so efficient at
    1.29 -     removing CO2 that it more than offsets the CO2 produced by even a
    1.30 -     coal plant to produce that electricity. This way, you can still
    1.31 -     drive even a gas guzzler, but have a net negative carbon
    1.32 -     footprint! Maybe something cool could be done with the carbon as
    1.33 -     well. Use as much electricity as you want, but negate the damage
    1.34 -     to the enviroment with more technology. 
    1.35 +** Personal Carbon Offset
    1.36 +   Feel bad about contribuiting to global warming by using electricity
    1.37 +   / driving a car? Forget trying to "conserve" or "minimize your
    1.38 +   carbon footprint". Follow the Platinum rule -- make the world
    1.39 +   BETTER off than you found it!  This would be a small, self
    1.40 +   contained system that sucks C02 out of the air. It uses
    1.41 +   electricity, but it's so efficient at removing CO2 that it more
    1.42 +   than offsets the CO2 produced by even a coal plant to produce that
    1.43 +   electricity. This way, you can still drive even a gas guzzler, but
    1.44 +   have a net negative carbon footprint! Maybe something cool could be
    1.45 +   done with the carbon as well. Use as much electricity as you want,
    1.46 +   but negate the damage to the enviroment with more technology.
    1.47  
    1.48 -- undoing spermogenesis :: with enough sperm, you can derive the
    1.49 -     donor's entire genome. You gain more confidence in the alleles
    1.50 -     for a particular gene the more sperm you have. Each additional
    1.51 -     sperm gives you the same sort of information you'd get flipping a
    1.52 -     coin and trying to decide whether the coin is H/T of H/H. Is
    1.53 -     there enough sperm in the the average load for you to be as
    1.54 -     confident as mitosis?
    1.55 +** Undoing Spermogenesis
    1.56 +   With enough sperm, you can derive the donor's entire genome. You
    1.57 +   gain more confidence in the alleles for a particular gene the more
    1.58 +   sperm you have. Each additional sperm gives you the same sort of
    1.59 +   information you'd get flipping a coin and trying to decide whether
    1.60 +   the coin is H/T of H/H. Is there enough sperm in the the average
    1.61 +   load for you to be as confident as mitosis?
    1.62  
    1.63 -- mars life :: we could engineer life that could survive on mars
    1.64 -     (probably some non-vascular photosynthetic poikilohydric creature
    1.65 -     like a lichen) by taking an extremophile from Antarctica and
    1.66 -     evolving it in increasingly Martian conditions. This could be an
    1.67 -     easy start to a terraforming process.
    1.68 +** Mars Life
    1.69 +   We could engineer life that could survive on mars (probably some
    1.70 +   non-vascular photosynthetic poikilohydric creature like a lichen)
    1.71 +   by taking an extremophile from Antarctica and evolving it in
    1.72 +   increasingly Martian conditions. This could be an easy start to a
    1.73 +   terraforming process.
    1.74  
    1.75 -- problem with Aubrey de Grey's ideas :: Aubrey de Grey says that we
    1.76 -     might be able to live forever by continually repairing our bodies
    1.77 -     at the cellular level -- he details 7 different mechanisms of
    1.78 -     damage and says that if all of them are dealt with /together/
    1.79 -     that it would stop aging. (You can't miss even one because
    1.80 -     they're all fatal.)  However, it doesn't take into account that
    1.81 -     we are also beings of information and that there is a very real
    1.82 -     software component to our existence. Even if our biological
    1.83 -     chassies can be maintained forever, I think it is unlikely that
    1.84 -     our minds will operate well far outside of the design constraints
    1.85 -     that we've evolved to handle. Say I programmed a webserver with
    1.86 -     the express goal of it being able to serve webpages for month on
    1.87 -     some stock server. I'll do fairly rigorous testing to make sure
    1.88 -     that it can handle the expected load then then some. Now say that
    1.89 -     you want to keep a particular instance of this webserver running
    1.90 -     indefinitely. (The program instance is like your mind and the
    1.91 -     computer it's running on is like your body). You might very well
    1.92 -     be able to keep the physical computer infrastructure running for
    1.93 -     forever by replacing hard drives / ram / CPUs, etc. However,
    1.94 -     since I designed the webserver to work for a month, it probably
    1.95 -     has memory leaks, rare stochastic bugs, or other built in limits
    1.96 -     / constraints (think log files or some date rollover shenanigans)
    1.97 -     that will ultimately kill the webserver even with eternally
    1.98 -     perfect hardware. Do you really expect that a webserver
    1.99 -     engineered to work for 1 month will run for 10 years without
   1.100 -     catastrophically crashing? Not even Apache can do this! In fact,
   1.101 -     if I put in the extreme effort to make it that robust, I've
   1.102 -     wasted time that I could have spent on other projects by pursuing
   1.103 -     an unnecessary engineering goal. Likewise, human minds have only
   1.104 -     ever run for at most 122 years before they are destroyed due to
   1.105 -     hardware degradation. Fixing the hardware doesn't change any
   1.106 -     software bugs that are almost certainly present in the human
   1.107 -     mind. Think of all the pathological things that can go wrong with
   1.108 -     a webserver, multiply it by a million, and that likely how
   1.109 -     evolution has designed our minds. For example, consider memory :
   1.110 -     why should you expect that we have evolved the ability to
   1.111 -     coherently organize memories past say 150 years? There's been
   1.112 -     absolutely no selective pressure for this ability, so you can bet
   1.113 -     that if there's any fitness to be gained from not having
   1.114 -     unlimited memory potential (such as better metabolic efficiency),
   1.115 -     we have it! You might think that maybe we would just forget
   1.116 -     things the same way that we sort of forget things that happen
   1.117 -     earlier in our lives, but complicated information processing
   1.118 -     systems don't have to fail gracefully when they're pushed far
   1.119 -     past their design constraints. A 150 year old person is just as
   1.120 -     likely to suffer a catastrophic psychosis due to software
   1.121 -     limitations associated with memory as he is to do something with
   1.122 -     all those memories we might consider reasonable. More likely, in
   1.123 -     fact, since there are so very many ways for a complicated
   1.124 -     software system to break and so few ways for it to run
   1.125 -     successfully. Therefore, I think Aubrey de Grey's "hardware-only"
   1.126 -     approach is missing a very important component of longevity
   1.127 -     science, and any successful effort to make people live orders of
   1.128 -     magnitude longer than they do naturally will need to deal with
   1.129 -     people's software as well as their hardware.
   1.130 +** Problem with Aubrey de Grey's Ideas
   1.131 +   Aubrey de Grey says that we might be able to live forever by
   1.132 +   continually repairing our bodies at the cellular level -- he
   1.133 +   details 7 different mechanisms of damage and says that if all of
   1.134 +   them are dealt with /together/ that it would stop aging. (You can't
   1.135 +   miss even one because they're all fatal.)  However, it doesn't take
   1.136 +   into account that we are also beings of information and that there
   1.137 +   is a very real software component to our existence. Even if our
   1.138 +   biological chassies can be maintained forever, I think it is
   1.139 +   unlikely that our minds will operate well far outside of the design
   1.140 +   constraints that we've evolved to handle. Say I programmed a
   1.141 +   webserver with the express goal of it being able to serve webpages
   1.142 +   for month on some stock server. I'll do fairly rigorous testing to
   1.143 +   make sure that it can handle the expected load then then some. Now
   1.144 +   say that you want to keep a particular instance of this webserver
   1.145 +   running indefinitely. (The program instance is like your mind and
   1.146 +   the computer it's running on is like your body). You might very
   1.147 +   well be able to keep the physical computer infrastructure running
   1.148 +   for forever by replacing hard drives / ram / CPUs, etc. However,
   1.149 +   since I designed the webserver to work for a month, it probably has
   1.150 +   memory leaks, rare stochastic bugs, or other built in limits /
   1.151 +   constraints (think log files or some date rollover shenanigans)
   1.152 +   that will ultimately kill the webserver even with eternally perfect
   1.153 +   hardware. Do you really expect that a webserver engineered to work
   1.154 +   for 1 month will run for 10 years without catastrophically
   1.155 +   crashing? Not even Apache can do this! In fact, if I put in the
   1.156 +   extreme effort to make it that robust, I've wasted time that I
   1.157 +   could have spent on other projects by pursuing an unnecessary
   1.158 +   engineering goal. Likewise, human minds have only ever run for at
   1.159 +   most 122 years before they are destroyed due to hardware
   1.160 +   degradation. Fixing the hardware doesn't change any software bugs
   1.161 +   that are almost certainly present in the human mind. Think of all
   1.162 +   the pathological things that can go wrong with a webserver,
   1.163 +   multiply it by a million, and that likely how evolution has
   1.164 +   designed our minds. For example, consider memory : why should you
   1.165 +   expect that we have evolved the ability to coherently organize
   1.166 +   memories past say 150 years? There's been absolutely no selective
   1.167 +   pressure for this ability, so you can bet that if there's any
   1.168 +   fitness to be gained from not having unlimited memory potential
   1.169 +   (such as better metabolic efficiency), we have it! You might think
   1.170 +   that maybe we would just forget things the same way that we sort of
   1.171 +   forget things that happen earlier in our lives, but complicated
   1.172 +   information processing systems don't have to fail gracefully when
   1.173 +   they're pushed far past their design constraints. A 150 year old
   1.174 +   person is just as likely to suffer a catastrophic psychosis due to
   1.175 +   software limitations associated with memory as he is to do
   1.176 +   something with all those memories we might consider
   1.177 +   reasonable. More likely, in fact, since there are so very many ways
   1.178 +   for a complicated software system to break and so few ways for it
   1.179 +   to run successfully. Therefore, I think Aubrey de Grey's
   1.180 +   "hardware-only" approach is missing a very important component of
   1.181 +   longevity science, and any successful effort to make people live
   1.182 +   orders of magnitude longer than they do naturally will need to deal
   1.183 +   with people's software as well as their hardware.
   1.184  
   1.185 -- validating neurocryopreservation :: Problem : you want to test
   1.186 -     whether a brain is functionally preserved through vitrification,
   1.187 -     but you don't want to figure out how to preserve all the other
   1.188 -     organs in the animal. It might be possible to keep the rest of
   1.189 -     the body at almost 0C and vitrify just the head for only a few
   1.190 -     minutes. Induce hypothermia, then separate out the head's blood
   1.191 -     supply from the rest of the body, then just cryoptotect and
   1.192 -     vitrify the head. Might need some sort of thermal guard to keep
   1.193 -     the outer head / neck from becoming too cold. You leave the
   1.194 -     spinal cord intact! Then you devitrify to 0C, remove
   1.195 -     cryoprotectant, and then reattach the blood supply. You can
   1.196 -     determine brain preservation using behavioral assays!
   1.197 +** Validating Neurocryopreservation
   1.198 +   Problem : you want to test whether a brain is functionally
   1.199 +   preserved through vitrification, but you don't want to figure out
   1.200 +   how to preserve all the other organs in the animal. It might be
   1.201 +   possible to keep the rest of the body at almost 0C and vitrify just
   1.202 +   the head for only a few minutes. Induce hypothermia, then separate
   1.203 +   out the head's blood supply from the rest of the body, then just
   1.204 +   cryoptotect and vitrify the head. Might need some sort of thermal
   1.205 +   guard to keep the outer head / neck from becoming too cold. You
   1.206 +   leave the spinal cord intact! Then you devitrify to 0C, remove
   1.207 +   cryoprotectant, and then reattach the blood supply. You can
   1.208 +   determine brain preservation using behavioral assays!
   1.209  
   1.210 -- freezing water purifier :: you slowly freeze water, but also run
   1.211 -     liquid water over the frozen mass. This takes away basically all
   1.212 -     impurities and creates "washed ice" then you melt the ice. Maybe
   1.213 -     you could re-use the heat from creating the ice to melt the ice?
   1.214 +** Freezing Water Purifier
   1.215 +   You slowly freeze water, but also run liquid water over the frozen
   1.216 +   mass. This takes away basically all impurities and creates "washed
   1.217 +   ice" then you melt the ice. Maybe you could re-use the heat from
   1.218 +   creating the ice to melt the ice?
   1.219  
   1.220 -- ultra strength :: allow a person to visualize their muscle
   1.221 -     recruitment patterns. Give them adrenaline and let them feel what
   1.222 -     it's like to have the normal limits removed. See if they can
   1.223 -     replicate the effects.
   1.224 +** Ultra Strength
   1.225 +   Allow a person to visualize their muscle recruitment patterns. Give
   1.226 +   them adrenaline and let them feel what it's like to have the normal
   1.227 +   limits removed. See if they can replicate the effects.
   1.228  
   1.229 -- phone names :: make a PX record for domain names that's like the MX
   1.230 -     record, except that it is a phone number instead of an IP
   1.231 -     address. That way, you can use the domain name registration
   1.232 -     system to provide names for phone numbers. Then, as long as you
   1.233 -     control the domain, you can point people to your current phone
   1.234 -     number by updating that record.
   1.235 +** Phone Names
   1.236 +   Make a PX record for domain names that's like the MX record, except
   1.237 +   that it is a phone number instead of an IP address. That way, you
   1.238 +   can use the domain name registration system to provide names for
   1.239 +   phone numbers. Then, as long as you control the domain, you can
   1.240 +   point people to your current phone number by updating that record.
   1.241  
   1.242 -- edible flowers :: Edible white flowers that you put in a colored
   1.243 -     solution with flavor. When the flower turns the right color, it
   1.244 -     is also flavored and ready to eat!
   1.245 +** Edible Flowers
   1.246 +   Edible white flowers that you put in a colored solution with
   1.247 +   flavor. When the flower turns the right color, it is also flavored
   1.248 +   and ready to eat!
   1.249  
   1.250 -- lead bone :: Could you fill in all the empty spaces in a bone with
   1.251 -     lead? Might be cool!
   1.252 +** Lead Bone
   1.253 +   Could you fill in all the empty spaces in a bone with lead? Might
   1.254 +   be cool!
   1.255  
   1.256 -- the quest for life  :: Many stories that have immortal characters
   1.257 -     have the "immortal who wants to become mortal" trope. I want to
   1.258 -     story where the protagonist loses their immortality and feels
   1.259 -     /angry/ and ashamed about losing something that's so absolutely
   1.260 -     crucial to their identity. A reverse of "death makes life worth
   1.261 -     living", they feel that living forever is what makes life worth
   1.262 -     living. Now they've "lost their sunrise" or their "connection to
   1.263 -     the timeless universe" or something. So they go on a quest to get
   1.264 -     it back, learning about themselves along the way, and regaining
   1.265 -     the precious thing they lost in the beginning. Which, it they can
   1.266 -     actually gain their immortality back, means that they never lost
   1.267 -     it in the first place!
   1.268 +** The Quest for Life 
   1.269 +   Many stories that have immortal characters have the "immortal who
   1.270 +   wants to become mortal" trope. I want to story where the
   1.271 +   protagonist loses their immortality and feels /angry/ and ashamed
   1.272 +   about losing something that's so absolutely crucial to their
   1.273 +   identity. A reverse of "death makes life worth living", they feel
   1.274 +   that living forever is what makes life worth living. Now they've
   1.275 +   "lost their sunrise" or their "connection to the timeless universe"
   1.276 +   or something. So they go on a quest to get it back, learning about
   1.277 +   themselves along the way, and regaining the precious thing they
   1.278 +   lost in the beginning. Which, it they can actually gain their
   1.279 +   immortality back, means that they never lost it in the first place!
   1.280  
   1.281 -- world-map :: take a small table and paint the continents in
   1.282 -     toothpaste on the table. Make a slightly raised barrier around
   1.283 -     the table. Slowly pour water onto the table, and it will form the
   1.284 -     oceans!
   1.285 +** World Map
   1.286 +   Take a small table and paint the continents in toothpaste on the
   1.287 +   table. Make a slightly raised barrier around the table. Slowly pour
   1.288 +   water onto the table, and it will form the oceans!
   1.289  
   1.290 -- stage magic rituals :: rituals should incorporate elements of stage
   1.291 -     magic. For example in Teller's rendition of Shakespeare's
   1.292 -     Tempest, they have a scene where they levitate a crown in front
   1.293 -     of someone, then put it on his head. They also have a wedding
   1.294 -     ceremony where they levitated the bride as well. Actual weddings
   1.295 -     and other ceremonies should incorporate stage magic as an
   1.296 -     enhancement to the gravitas!
   1.297 +** Stage Magic Rituals
   1.298 +   Rituals should incorporate elements of stage magic. For example in
   1.299 +   Teller's rendition of Shakespeare's Tempest, they have a scene
   1.300 +   where they levitate a crown in front of someone, then put it on his
   1.301 +   head. They also have a wedding ceremony where they levitated the
   1.302 +   bride as well. Actual weddings and other ceremonies should
   1.303 +   incorporate stage magic as an enhancement to the gravitas!
   1.304  
   1.305 -- isotope time dilation :: use a cyclotron to speed up rare isotopes
   1.306 -     developed in nuclear fusion experiments. The relativistic time
   1.307 -     dilation will stop the isotopes from decaying, and allow time to
   1.308 -     study them. This is based on radioactive isotopes that fall
   1.309 -     through the earth's atmosphere that take hundreds of times longer
   1.310 -     to decay than normal.
   1.311 +** Isotope Time Dilation
   1.312 +   Use a cyclotron to speed up rare isotopes developed in nuclear
   1.313 +   fusion experiments. The relativistic time dilation will stop the
   1.314 +   isotopes from decaying, and allow time to study them. This is based
   1.315 +   on radioactive isotopes that fall through the earth's atmosphere
   1.316 +   that take hundreds of times longer to decay than normal.
   1.317  
   1.318 -- marsupial stimulation :: You take a freshly pouched marsupial baby,
   1.319 -     and show it videos and other interactive things while it matures
   1.320 -     in the pouch. What mental effects would this have?
   1.321 +** Marsupial Stimulation
   1.322 +   You take a freshly pouched marsupial baby, and show it videos and
   1.323 +   other interactive things while it matures in the pouch. What mental
   1.324 +   effects would this have?
   1.325  
   1.326 -- The dynamically well tempered clavier :: Some older ways of tuning
   1.327 -     instruments sound better, but we use the even-tempered scale
   1.328 -     today because it makes it easier to switch keys. With electronic
   1.329 -     music, why not make key-annotations and dynamically re-tune the
   1.330 -     piece to sound good in the current key? Could be done as a
   1.331 -     midi+annotation -> midi compiler for initial experimentation.
   1.332 +** The Dynamically Well-Tempered Clavier
   1.333 +   Some older ways of tuning instruments sound better, but we use the
   1.334 +   even-tempered scale today because it makes it easier to switch
   1.335 +   keys. With electronic music, why not make key-annotations and
   1.336 +   dynamically re-tune the piece to sound good in the current key?
   1.337 +   Could be done as a midi+annotation -> midi compiler for initial
   1.338 +   experimentation.
   1.339  
   1.340 -- death always implies damage :: is is possible for a corpse to differ
   1.341 -     from a living person only in the fact that one is dead and the
   1.342 -     other is alive? NO! A corpse must always have some sort of
   1.343 -     molecular damage which causes the loss of function!
   1.344 +** Death Always Implies Damage
   1.345 +   is is possible for a corpse to differ from a living person only in
   1.346 +   the fact that one is dead and the other is alive? NO! A corpse must
   1.347 +   always have some sort of molecular damage which causes the loss of
   1.348 +   function!
   1.349  
   1.350 -- inner eye :: Surgically install a bunch of tiny cameras inside a
   1.351 -     person. Then, you can activate them all and get a picture of your
   1.352 -     internal organs for diagnostic purposes.
   1.353 +** Inner Eye
   1.354 +   Surgically install a bunch of tiny cameras inside a person. Then,
   1.355 +   you can activate them all and get a picture of your internal organs
   1.356 +   for diagnostic purposes.
   1.357  
   1.358 -- chaos rails :: The homoclinic tangle (which I call the "rails of
   1.359 -     chaos") is very beautiful. We couldn't even visualize it before
   1.360 -     computers because it's so complicated! Someone should make a
   1.361 -     visualization of it. Here's my inital [[/thoughts/images/rails-of-chaos.png][The Rails of Chaos]]
   1.362 +** Chaos Rails
   1.363 +   The homoclinic tangle (which I call the "rails of chaos") is very
   1.364 +   beautiful. We couldn't even visualize it before computers because
   1.365 +   it's so complicated! Someone should make a visualization of
   1.366 +   it. Here's my inital stab at it:  [[../images/rails-of-chaos.png][The Rails of Chaos]]
   1.367  
   1.368 -- cryonics middle ages :: some people say that cryonics is an
   1.369 -     experiment and that it is foolish to wait until we have revived a
   1.370 -     human. There is a middle ground where the procedure has a dismal
   1.371 -     success rate on humans, say 1 in 20, so that you'd be a fool to
   1.372 -     try revival. Nonetheless, this very risky procedure could be the
   1.373 -     legal proof of concept needed to create a new class of life
   1.374 -     between "living" and "dead": "stasis".
   1.375 +** Cryonics Middle Ages
   1.376 +   Some people say that cryonics is an experiment and that it is
   1.377 +   foolish to wait until we have revived a human. There is a middle
   1.378 +   ground where the procedure has a dismal success rate on humans, say
   1.379 +   1 in 20, so that you'd be a fool to try revival. Nonetheless, this
   1.380 +   very risky procedure could be the legal proof of concept needed to
   1.381 +   create a new class of life between "living" and "dead": "stasis".
   1.382  
   1.383 -- Minds and Mirrors :: neat thought experiment -- if you take a mirror
   1.384 -     of someone by actually reversing a person's chirality molecule by
   1.385 -     molecule, then will the only be able to read mirror writing? The
   1.386 -     answer is yes, by analogy to a purely mechanical scan-tron
   1.387 -     device. This is one of the only interesting transforms I know
   1.388 -     that can take a human brain and change it in subtle,
   1.389 -     non-destructive ways. It's also an argument against dualism.
   1.390 +** Minds and Mirrors
   1.391 +   Neat thought experiment -- if you take a mirror of someone by
   1.392 +   actually reversing a person's chirality molecule by molecule, then
   1.393 +   will the only be able to read mirror writing? The answer is yes, by
   1.394 +   analogy to a purely mechanical scan-tron device. This is one of the
   1.395 +   only interesting transforms I know that can take a human brain and
   1.396 +   change it in subtle, non-destructive ways. It's also an argument
   1.397 +   against dualism.
   1.398  
   1.399 -- biosphere in a bottle :: There are around 15 million species. 15
   1.400 -     million stem cells will fill only a tiny size, far less than a cubic
   1.401 -     inch. Preserve a single cell from every species on earth in this
   1.402 -     small space, and you will have a record of our current biosphere
   1.403 -     that can be protected. "Hold the genetic data of all species in
   1.404 -     your hand!"
   1.405 +** Biosphere in a Bottle
   1.406 +   There are around 15 million species. 15 million stem cells will
   1.407 +   fill only a tiny size, far less than a cubic inch. Preserve a
   1.408 +   single cell from every species on earth in this small space, and
   1.409 +   you will have a record of our current biosphere that can be
   1.410 +   protected. "Hold the genetic data of all species in your hand!"
   1.411  
   1.412 -- chaos lock :: The "arrow of time" points in the direction of
   1.413 -     increasing entropy. The time evolution of chaotic systems depend
   1.414 -     exquisitely on their initial state. If you take a measurement of
   1.415 -     a chaotic system at any given point of time, you can evolve that
   1.416 -     system backwards or forwards based on your measurement. So let's
   1.417 -     say you start the chaotic system in a VERY low entropy state,
   1.418 -     then let it run for a while, then take a measurement with some
   1.419 -     uncertainty. Your measurement is pretty good, but obviously not
   1.420 -     PERFECT. If you evolve the chaotic system back in time, then you
   1.421 -     will see that you don't really reach a state with low entropy an
   1.422 -     hour before (the entropy is easy to measure with surrogates like
   1.423 -     alignment, etc). So use this technique to SEARCH for a more
   1.424 -     accurate measurement! This potentially can give you many more
   1.425 -     orders of magnitude than you could get alone just using an
   1.426 -     instrument. Sometimes it will give you bad results, the the odds
   1.427 -     of it doing that are infinitesimal, and you can just measure a
   1.428 -     couple of times.
   1.429 +** Chaos Lock
   1.430 +   The "arrow of time" points in the direction of increasing
   1.431 +   entropy. The time evolution of chaotic systems depend exquisitely
   1.432 +   on their initial state. If you take a measurement of a chaotic
   1.433 +   system at any given point of time, you can evolve that system
   1.434 +   backwards or forwards based on your measurement. So let's say you
   1.435 +   start the chaotic system in a VERY low entropy state, then let it
   1.436 +   run for a while, then take a measurement with some
   1.437 +   uncertainty. Your measurement is pretty good, but obviously not
   1.438 +   PERFECT. If you evolve the chaotic system back in time, then you
   1.439 +   will see that you don't really reach a state with low entropy an
   1.440 +   hour before (the entropy is easy to measure with surrogates like
   1.441 +   alignment, etc). So use this technique to SEARCH for a more
   1.442 +   accurate measurement! This potentially can give you many more
   1.443 +   orders of magnitude than you could get alone just using an
   1.444 +   instrument. Sometimes it will give you bad results, the the odds of
   1.445 +   it doing that are infinitesimal, and you can just measure a couple
   1.446 +   of times.
   1.447  
   1.448 -- cryo-evolution :: perhaps there would be a way to rapidly evolve a
   1.449 -     symbiotic bacterial organism that could protect human tissues
   1.450 -     from freezing damage.
   1.451 +** Cryo Evolution
   1.452 +   Perhaps there would be a way to rapidly evolve a symbiotic
   1.453 +   bacterial organism that could protect human tissues from freezing
   1.454 +   damage.
   1.455  
   1.456 -- suicide parasite :: sometimes, people kill themselves for no good
   1.457 -     reason. We often explain this with things like "hidden
   1.458 -     depression" or we say that they had something like chronic jaw or
   1.459 -     back pain. I think that smells of rationalization. I don't buy
   1.460 -     it. I propose that in many suicide cases there is a disease that
   1.461 -     causes the suicidal behavior. We already know that certain
   1.462 -     parasites have mind-bending properties in other animals, even
   1.463 -     mammals like mice. It's not much of a stretch to imagine a
   1.464 -     parasite that causes suicides in humans. Some problems:
   1.465 -     - What does the suicide parasite get out of it? :: This might be
   1.466 -          answered by the whole thing being a glitch caused by
   1.467 -          cross-species contamination. Toxoplasma works this way.
   1.468 -     - What predictions does a disease model make :: suicide should
   1.469 -          be more common among people who share a contagion
   1.470 -          vector. There should be suicides that don't make any
   1.471 -          sense : people who weren't really depressed, who had no
   1.472 -          reason to kill themselves. People who have killed themselves
   1.473 -          should have a higher incidence of some unknown parasite in
   1.474 -          their brains. 
   1.475 +** Suicide Parasite
   1.476 +   Sometimes, people kill themselves for no good reason. We often
   1.477 +   explain this with things like "hidden depression" or we say that
   1.478 +   they had something like chronic jaw or back pain. I think that
   1.479 +   smells of rationalization. I don't buy it. I propose that in many
   1.480 +   suicide cases there is a disease that causes the suicidal
   1.481 +   behavior. We already know that certain parasites have mind-bending
   1.482 +   properties in other animals, even mammals like mice. It's not much
   1.483 +   of a stretch to imagine a parasite that causes suicides in
   1.484 +   humans. Some problems:
   1.485  
   1.486 -- domestic insects :: People should eat more bugs because they're much
   1.487 -     more efficient, so why not do some major domestication research
   1.488 -     to make very appealing bugs? Beetles, in particular, seem to be
   1.489 -     excellent targets for domestication because they have extreme
   1.490 -     levels of genetic malleability. Remember that lobster was once
   1.491 -     seen as an animal only fit for prisoners to consume!
   1.492 +   *What does the suicide parasite get out of it?* : This might be
   1.493 +   answered by the whole thing being a glitch caused by cross-species
   1.494 +   contamination. Toxoplasma works this way.
   1.495  
   1.496 -- birth-clones :: What if each person was intentionally split at birth
   1.497 -     into a normal embryo and a few "backup" cells which are then
   1.498 -     frozen. The backup cells are created just the same way as natural
   1.499 -     identical twins. The backups can be used to regenerate
   1.500 -     organs. etc. Also, it would be a good sci-fi concept, because you
   1.501 -     could have a culture where people reward people who were
   1.502 -     especially awesome are "reborn" from their backups. Imagine
   1.503 -     having a young Bach every generation, etc.
   1.504 +   *What predictions does a disease model make* : suicide should be
   1.505 +   more common among people who share a contagion vector. There should
   1.506 +   be suicides that don't make any sense : people who weren't really
   1.507 +   depressed, who had no reason to kill themselves. People who have
   1.508 +   killed themselves should have a higher incidence of some unknown
   1.509 +   parasite in their brains.
   1.510  
   1.511 -- pronunciation guide :: a simple webpage where you type in a word and
   1.512 -     it returns a simple, English sentence describing exactly how to
   1.513 -     pronounce the word. For people who don't want to learn IPA.
   1.514 +** Domestic Insects
   1.515 +   People should eat more bugs because they're much more efficient, so
   1.516 +   why not do some major domestication research to make very appealing
   1.517 +   bugs? Beetles, in particular, seem to be excellent targets for
   1.518 +   domestication because they have extreme levels of genetic
   1.519 +   malleability. Remember that lobster was once seen as an animal only
   1.520 +   fit for prisoners to consume!
   1.521  
   1.522 -- Learning to Teleport :: This is a story about a person who is
   1.523 -     struggling with his/her society's ideas about teleportation. It's
   1.524 -     considered a fundamental part of being a member of that society
   1.525 -     (after all, the difference between animals and humans is that
   1.526 -     humans are creatures of pure information while animals are
   1.527 -     burdened with base matter, "that's how you travel the stars,
   1.528 -     etc") Humans are born normally, grow up, and then eventually
   1.529 -     transcend via destructive upload. Analogies to jumping off a
   1.530 -     diving board into a pool (which I simply /could not do/ for a
   1.531 -     long time), etc.
   1.532 +** Birth-Clones
   1.533 +   What if each person was intentionally split at birth into a normal
   1.534 +   embryo and a few "backup" cells which are then frozen. The backup
   1.535 +   cells are created just the same way as natural identical twins. The
   1.536 +   backups can be used to regenerate organs. etc. Also, it would be a
   1.537 +   good sci-fi concept, because you could have a culture where people
   1.538 +   reward people who were especially awesome are "reborn" from their
   1.539 +   backups. Imagine having a young Bach every generation, etc.
   1.540  
   1.541 -- no-float-ice :: cup that has cross beams at the bottom where ice
   1.542 -     forms. Then when you drink liquid from the glass, the ice stays
   1.543 -     at the bottom and doesn't hit your lips. For bars and fancy
   1.544 -     things.
   1.545 +** Pronunciation Guide
   1.546 +   A simple webpage where you type in a word and it returns a simple,
   1.547 +   English sentence describing exactly how to pronounce the word. For
   1.548 +   people who don't want to learn IPA.
   1.549  
   1.550 -- bitcoins for immigrants :: A common case with Mexican immigrants
   1.551 -     (illegal or not) is that they want to send money they've earned
   1.552 -     in the US back to their families in Mexico. They currently do
   1.553 -     this through things like Money Gram or Western Union, and they
   1.554 -     get fleeced in the process with fees. Bitcoin could greatly
   1.555 -     reduce the cost of sending money from America to Mexico, but I
   1.556 -     don't believe that it's currently used for that among Mexican
   1.557 -     immigrants currently due to lack of knowledge. I bet you could
   1.558 -     set up physical locations like those obnoxious Western Union huts
   1.559 -     in places like Texas, Arizona, etc, and greatly undercut
   1.560 -     them. Or, perhaps some educational seminars about bitcoin might
   1.561 -     be in order. There's some money to be made there because there is
   1.562 -     great demand, and it's a good thing to boot!
   1.563 +** Learning to Teleport
   1.564 +   This is a story about a person who is struggling with his/her
   1.565 +   society's ideas about teleportation. It's considered a fundamental
   1.566 +   part of being a member of that society (after all, the difference
   1.567 +   between animals and humans is that humans are creatures of pure
   1.568 +   information while animals are burdened with base matter, "that's
   1.569 +   how you travel the stars, etc") Humans are born normally, grow up,
   1.570 +   and then eventually transcend via destructive upload. Analogies to
   1.571 +   jumping off a diving board into a pool (which I simply /could not
   1.572 +   do/ for a long time), etc.
   1.573  
   1.574 -- reverse eye-tracking :: A painting that is actually a digital screen
   1.575 -     with a camera. It records people's eye tracks permanently. It's
   1.576 -     "artistic" because paintings are normally these things that you
   1.577 -     look at without changing, but this one is changed the second you
   1.578 -     look at it, recording where /you/ looked forever for others to
   1.579 -     see. Make it be a painting of a woman and see the trolling as the
   1.580 -     breasts and groin area light up with interest from all the males
   1.581 -     passing by.
   1.582 +** No-Float-Ice
   1.583 +   Cup that has cross beams at the bottom where ice forms. Then when
   1.584 +   you drink liquid from the glass, the ice stays at the bottom and
   1.585 +   doesn't hit your lips. For bars and fancy things.
   1.586  
   1.587 -- smart toilets :: Instead of using indirect measures like infrared
   1.588 -     detectors of the presence of a person, use computer vision to
   1.589 -     directly measure whether the toilet needs to be flushed. I think
   1.590 -     a lot of things will end up going this way as we get better
   1.591 -     computer vision.
   1.592 +** Bitcoins for Immigrants
   1.593 +   A common case with Mexican immigrants (illegal or not) is that they
   1.594 +   want to send money they've earned in the US back to their families
   1.595 +   in Mexico. They currently do this through things like Money Gram or
   1.596 +   Western Union, and they get fleeced in the process with
   1.597 +   fees. Bitcoin could greatly reduce the cost of sending money from
   1.598 +   America to Mexico, but I don't believe that it's currently used for
   1.599 +   that among Mexican immigrants currently due to lack of knowledge. I
   1.600 +   bet you could set up physical locations like those obnoxious
   1.601 +   Western Union huts in places like Texas, Arizona, etc, and greatly
   1.602 +   undercut them. Or, perhaps some educational seminars about bitcoin
   1.603 +   might be in order. There's some money to be made there because
   1.604 +   there is great demand, and it's a good thing to boot!
   1.605  
   1.606 -- validate chemopreservation :: chemopreservation is difficult to
   1.607 -     validate because it destroys the functionality of a brain, and
   1.608 -     brain simulation will take a long time to mature as a
   1.609 -     technology. However, one very powerful way to validate
   1.610 -     chemopreservation would be to have a person/animal learn
   1.611 -     something with high complexity such as a number or the solution
   1.612 -     to a maze, or a flashbulb memory. Then you preserve their brain
   1.613 -     chemically, slice it up, and read /that specific memory/ from the
   1.614 -     detailed brain scan. Much more difficult, but much more doable.
   1.615 +** Reverse Eye-Tracking
   1.616 +   A painting that is actually a digital screen with a camera. It
   1.617 +   records people's eye tracks permanently. It's "artistic" because
   1.618 +   paintings are normally these things that you look at without
   1.619 +   changing, but this one is changed the second you look at it,
   1.620 +   recording where /you/ looked forever for others to see. Make it be
   1.621 +   a painting of a woman and see the trolling as the breasts and groin
   1.622 +   area light up with interest from all the males passing by. Then
   1.623 +   watch as the painting turns into a commentary on perception and
   1.624 +   popularity -- a sort of eigenvector of perception! Will all
   1.625 +   paintings turn into the same thing eventually?
   1.626  
   1.627 -- candy screw :: edible candy screw with candy nuts that you can screw
   1.628 -     as well.
   1.629 +** Smart Toilets
   1.630 +   Instead of using indirect measures like infrared detectors of the
   1.631 +   presence of a person, use computer vision to directly measure
   1.632 +   whether the toilet needs to be flushed. I think a lot of things
   1.633 +   will end up going this way as we get better computer vision.
   1.634  
   1.635 -- better bibliography :: when writing a thesis or paper, have the
   1.636 -     bibliography not just be an opaque list of resources, but have it
   1.637 -     be a list of /summaries/ and /qualities/ that each paper has in
   1.638 -     the context of the paper being written. When examining a
   1.639 -     bibliography, I want to know if reading the papers in the
   1.640 -     bibliography are worth my time, and I also am probably also
   1.641 -     interested in exactly the things that are being discussed in the
   1.642 -     paper I'm reading. The bibliography is the perfect place to
   1.643 -     provide information about the referenced papers from the
   1.644 -     author's perspective. I will use this biographic form in my own
   1.645 -     thesis!
   1.646 +** Validate Chemopreservation
   1.647 +   Chemopreservation is difficult to validate because it destroys the
   1.648 +   functionality of a brain, and brain simulation will take a long
   1.649 +   time to mature as a technology. However, one very powerful way to
   1.650 +   validate chemopreservation would be to have a person/animal learn
   1.651 +   something with high complexity such as a number or the solution to
   1.652 +   a maze, or a flashbulb memory. Then you preserve their brain
   1.653 +   chemically, slice it up, and read /that specific memory/ from the
   1.654 +   detailed brain scan. Much more difficult, but much more doable.
   1.655  
   1.656 -- chess visual :: to show the vast size of the game trees considered
   1.657 -     by computers, show two people playing chess in a void. They are
   1.658 -     floating in space, and there is a simple chess board between
   1.659 -     them. Then, as they play, the game tree's they are considering
   1.660 -     are drawn behind him. The root of the tree starts centered in
   1.661 -     their heads or whatever they use to think, and the tree grows out
   1.662 -     from behind, never crossing the dividing plane between the two
   1.663 -     players. Each player's tree is a different color. As they grow,
   1.664 -     there are animations for pruning, etc. Eventually, they look like
   1.665 -     the hemispheres of a brain, wings, etc. A human's tree might
   1.666 -     occasionally have a long chain, while the computer tree would be
   1.667 -     more uniform. You could compare deep blue and a modern
   1.668 -     laptop. Use actual data when fighting two computers!
   1.669 +** Candy Screw
   1.670 +   Edible candy screw with candy nuts that you can screw as well.
   1.671  
   1.672 -- tamper proof gold bars :: [[http://www.tungsten-alloy.com/gold-plated-tungsten-alloy-bar.html][this site]] offers gold plated tungsten bars
   1.673 -     as "novelty" items. One reason to prefer coins is because they
   1.674 -     are much harder to counterfeit because there is less surface area
   1.675 -     to mass ratio. However, gold bars are still a great design
   1.676 -     because they can hold a lot of value in a small space. A gold bar
   1.677 -     could be given the same protections (and more) that gold coins
   1.678 -     have to offer by changing it into a "gold book", which would have
   1.679 -     hundreds of "pages" of gold bound together. This could be
   1.680 -     implemented with multiple steel rods going through the book which
   1.681 -     can be removed, or some more classier mechanism for holding the
   1.682 -     pages. The point is that the bar can be EASILY subdivided (and
   1.683 -     people would perform this test before buying), thus guaranteeing
   1.684 -     it's authenticity.
   1.685 +** Better Bibliography
   1.686 +   When writing a thesis or paper, have the bibliography not just be
   1.687 +   an opaque list of resources, but have it be a list of /summaries/
   1.688 +   and /qualities/ that each paper has in the context of the paper
   1.689 +   being written. When examining a bibliography, I want to know if
   1.690 +   reading the papers in the bibliography are worth my time, and I
   1.691 +   also am probably also interested in exactly the things that are
   1.692 +   being discussed in the paper I'm reading. The bibliography is the
   1.693 +   perfect place to provide information about the referenced papers
   1.694 +   from the author's perspective. I will use this biographic form in
   1.695 +   my own thesis!
   1.696  
   1.697 -- high school science :: this is a lesson in scientific ethics. The
   1.698 -     goal is to calculate /g/, the local gravitational
   1.699 -     acceleration. The students are told that the textbook says it's
   1.700 -     /exactly/ 9.81 before they start the experiment. See how they
   1.701 -     doctor their results to get closer to the textbook value. It's
   1.702 -     neat because for any given school, /g/ is probably *not* exactly
   1.703 -     equal to 9.81, because that is just an average!
   1.704 +** Chess Visual
   1.705 +   To show the vast size of the game trees considered by computers,
   1.706 +   show two people playing chess in a void. They are floating in
   1.707 +   space, and there is a simple chess board between them. Then, as
   1.708 +   they play, the game tree's they are considering are drawn behind
   1.709 +   him. The root of the tree starts centered in their heads or
   1.710 +   whatever they use to think, and the tree grows out from behind,
   1.711 +   never crossing the dividing plane between the two players. Each
   1.712 +   player's tree is a different color. As they grow, there are
   1.713 +   animations for pruning, etc. Eventually, they look like the
   1.714 +   hemispheres of a brain, wings, etc. A human's tree might
   1.715 +   occasionally have a long chain, while the computer tree would be
   1.716 +   more uniform. You could compare deep blue and a modern laptop. Use
   1.717 +   actual data when fighting two computers!
   1.718  
   1.719 -- opencourseware subtitles :: there are people who type up lectures at
   1.720 -     MIT while they are being given, so that hearing impared students
   1.721 -     can follow along. These recordings should be kept and given to
   1.722 -     OCW for subtitles. If the timestamps of keys are recorded, then
   1.723 -     it is easy to make subtitles.
   1.724 +** Tamper Proof Gold Bars
   1.725 +   [[Http://www.tungsten-alloy.com/gold-plated-tungsten-alloy-bar.html][This site]] offers gold plated tungsten bars as "novelty" items. One
   1.726 +   reason to prefer coins is because they are much harder to
   1.727 +   counterfeit because there is less surface area to mass
   1.728 +   ratio. However, gold bars are still a great design because they can
   1.729 +   hold a lot of value in a small space. A gold bar could be given the
   1.730 +   same protections (and more) that gold coins have to offer by
   1.731 +   changing it into a "gold book", which would have hundreds of
   1.732 +   "pages" of gold bound together. This could be implemented with
   1.733 +   multiple steel rods going through the book which can be removed, or
   1.734 +   some more classier mechanism for holding the pages. The point is
   1.735 +   that the bar can be EASILY subdivided (and people would perform
   1.736 +   this test before buying), thus guaranteeing it's authenticity.
   1.737  
   1.738 -- screen locking timing :: you use your computer camera to see if you
   1.739 -     are sitting in front of the computer. If you are, then the screen
   1.740 -     will never lock. If you are, then the screen will lock with a
   1.741 -     30-40 second timeout. It's an extension of using inactivity to
   1.742 -     initiate the countdown, just with more information.
   1.743 +** High School Science
   1.744 +   This is a lesson in scientific ethics. The goal is to calculate
   1.745 +   /g/, the local gravitational acceleration. The students are told
   1.746 +   that the textbook says it's /exactly/ 9.81 before they start the
   1.747 +   experiment. See how they doctor their results to get closer to the
   1.748 +   textbook value. It's neat because for any given school, /g/ is
   1.749 +   probably *not* exactly equal to 9.81, because that is just an
   1.750 +   average!
   1.751  
   1.752 -- mirror toilet :: a toilet with a square basin made of mirror instead
   1.753 -     of porcelain. That way, you can see how good of a wipe job you
   1.754 -     have done / watch how your excretion system works.
   1.755 +** Opencourseware Subtitles
   1.756 +   There are people who type up lectures at MIT while they are being
   1.757 +   given, so that hearing impared students can follow along. These
   1.758 +   recordings should be kept and given to OCW for subtitles. If the
   1.759 +   timestamps of keys are recorded, then it is easy to make subtitles.
   1.760  
   1.761 -- X-ray telepresence :: given that a doctor is operating on a patient
   1.762 -     via telepresence, one cool things you can do is shine X-rays into
   1.763 -     the patient to view the insides during real time. (This doesn't
   1.764 -     expose either the doctor or patient to chronically damaging
   1.765 -     amounts of X-rays) If the system was coupled with a Bayesian
   1.766 -     model of the layout of the structure, and the x-rays were only
   1.767 -     fired whenever the uncertainty of the model reached a certain
   1.768 -     threshold, then the radiation damage and surgery risk could be
   1.769 -     minimized.
   1.770 +** Screen Locking Timing
   1.771 +   You use your computer camera to see if you are sitting in front of
   1.772 +   the computer. If you are, then the screen will never lock. If you
   1.773 +   are, then the screen will lock with a 30-40 second timeout. It's an
   1.774 +   extension of using inactivity to initiate the countdown, just with
   1.775 +   more information.
   1.776  
   1.777 -- superfluid vascular system :: I wonder what would happen if you
   1.778 -     replaced the blood in a human with a superfluid. What would the
   1.779 -     physical dynamics be? Would the superfluid flow through the
   1.780 -     vasculature, or would it ignore it and travel through the cells,
   1.781 -     or something else entirely. Since superfluids need to be cold to
   1.782 -     retain their superfluidity, how would the dynamics change during
   1.783 -     perfusion of a superfluid, where the fluid gains and looses
   1.784 -     superfluidity as it goes deeper into the body and is cooled by
   1.785 -     superfluid from upstream. In summary there are two things to
   1.786 -     simulate 1.) replace all blood in human with superfluid
   1.787 -     instantly. 2.) perfuse superfluid into human.
   1.788 +** Mirror Toilet
   1.789 +   A toilet with a square basin made of mirror instead of
   1.790 +   porcelain. That way, you can see how good of a wipe job you have
   1.791 +   done / watch how your excretion system works.
   1.792  
   1.793 -- projective guessing :: I think that we read and see things by
   1.794 -     making a really good guess about what we're expecting to see,
   1.795 -     and then searching for our guess in what we see. If it really
   1.796 -     doesn't match, then we start to make more guesses / analyze the
   1.797 -     image from first principles, but most stuff is projective
   1.798 -     guessing.
   1.799 +** X-ray telepresence
   1.800 +   given that a doctor is operating on a patient via telepresence, one
   1.801 +   cool things you can do is shine X-rays into the patient to view the
   1.802 +   insides during real time. (This doesn't expose either the doctor or
   1.803 +   patient to chronically damaging amounts of X-rays) If the system
   1.804 +   was coupled with a Bayesian model of the layout of the structure,
   1.805 +   and the x-rays were only fired whenever the uncertainty of the
   1.806 +   model reached a certain threshold, then the radiation damage and
   1.807 +   surgery risk could be minimized.
   1.808  
   1.809 -- Intestinal flora maintenance :: why not inoculate babies at birth
   1.810 -     with "ideal" gut flora instead of whatever bullshit they
   1.811 -     naturally get, thus giving them optimal digestive/nutrient
   1.812 -     extraction capabilities. Might also be able to make their farts
   1.813 -     not stink for life, too. MORE IMPORTANTLY, might help to
   1.814 -     preventatively stop some forms of /colic/, which affects 1 in 5
   1.815 -     babies and causes constant screaming and pain for about 5 weeks.
   1.816 +** Superfluid Vascular System
   1.817 +   I wonder what would happen if you replaced the blood in a human
   1.818 +   with a superfluid. What would the physical dynamics be? Would the
   1.819 +   superfluid flow through the vasculature, or would it ignore it and
   1.820 +   travel through the cells, or something else entirely. Since
   1.821 +   superfluids need to be cold to retain their superfluidity, how
   1.822 +   would the dynamics change during perfusion of a superfluid, where
   1.823 +   the fluid gains and looses superfluidity as it goes deeper into the
   1.824 +   body and is cooled by superfluid from upstream. In summary there
   1.825 +   are two things to simulate 1.) replace all blood in human with
   1.826 +   superfluid instantly. 2.) perfuse superfluid into human.
   1.827  
   1.828 -- server culture -- mirrors :: make a distributed system where people
   1.829 -     can mirror the websites of people they like -- essentially cover
   1.830 -     the server costs of favored websites. This could make popular
   1.831 -     websites run at no cost. The system would require that the
   1.832 -     mirrored content be the same as the official source. Sort of like
   1.833 -     bit-torrent for websites.
   1.834 +** Projective Guessing
   1.835 +   I think that we read and see things by making a really good guess
   1.836 +   about what we're expecting to see, and then searching for our guess
   1.837 +   in what we see. If it really doesn't match, then we start to make
   1.838 +   more guesses / analyze the image from first principles, but most
   1.839 +   stuff is projective guessing.
   1.840  
   1.841 -- map programming :: one problem with functional programming is that
   1.842 -     in order to remain functional, you have to pass up arguments up
   1.843 -     into each calling function to get the full range of behavior
   1.844 -     from the lower level functions. Normally people come to a
   1.845 -     compromise involving abstraction and sparing use of dynamic
   1.846 -     variables to configure runtime behavior. What would be the
   1.847 -     advantages of making a programming language where every function
   1.848 -     receives one argument, a map, which contains all the symbol
   1.849 -     bindings it would ever need? This map is passed on to all
   1.850 -     subordinate functions. This way, you could replace functions on
   1.851 -     the fly, and arrange for there to be sensible defaults,
   1.852 -     etc. Might cause more harm than good but is an interesting idea.
   1.853 +** Intestinal Flora Maintenance
   1.854 +   Why not inoculate babies at birth with "ideal" gut flora instead of
   1.855 +   whatever bullshit they naturally get, thus giving them optimal
   1.856 +   digestive/nutrient extraction capabilities. Might also be able to
   1.857 +   make their farts not stink for life, too. MORE IMPORTANTLY, might
   1.858 +   help to preventatively stop some forms of /colic/, which affects 1
   1.859 +   in 5 babies and causes constant screaming and pain for about 5
   1.860 +   weeks.
   1.861  
   1.862 -- rest nest :: a small EEG device you would attach to your head when
   1.863 -     you go to sleep at night. ML algorithms would determine your
   1.864 -     particular sleep cycles. This would mostly be an alarm clock that
   1.865 -     you could give a time range, say 7:00AM - 7:15AM, and it would
   1.866 -     wake you up during an ideal time corresponding to then end of one
   1.867 -     of your 90 min sleep cycles. You would feel much more rested upon
   1.868 -     waking up, and would wake up faster. There might be some other
   1.869 -     uses for the EEG data as well.
   1.870 +** Server Culture -- Mirrors
   1.871 +   Make a distributed system where people can mirror the websites of
   1.872 +   people they like -- essentially cover the server costs of favored
   1.873 +   websites. This could make popular websites run at no cost. The
   1.874 +   system would require that the mirrored content be the same as the
   1.875 +   official source. Sort of like bit-torrent for websites.
   1.876  
   1.877 -- image compression :: use a library like gimp or opencv to process an
   1.878 -     image to make it have less entropy, then store the reverse of
   1.879 -     those operations along with the compressed simpler image as a
   1.880 -     super-compressed image file (possibly accepting some
   1.881 -     losses). Trades file size for decompression time, and allows one
   1.882 -     to cheat by using information in gimp/opencv to compress the
   1.883 -     image. 
   1.884 +** Map Programming
   1.885 +   One problem with functional programming is that in order to remain
   1.886 +   functional, you have to pass up arguments up into each calling
   1.887 +   function to get the full range of behavior from the lower level
   1.888 +   functions. Normally people come to a compromise involving
   1.889 +   abstraction and sparing use of dynamic variables to configure
   1.890 +   runtime behavior. What would be the advantages of making a
   1.891 +   programming language where every function receives one argument, a
   1.892 +   map, which contains all the symbol bindings it would ever need?
   1.893 +   This map is passed on to all subordinate functions. This way, you
   1.894 +   could replace functions on the fly, and arrange for there to be
   1.895 +   sensible defaults, etc. Might cause more harm than good but is an
   1.896 +   interesting idea.
   1.897  
   1.898 -- aldehyde-stabalized cryopreservation :: why not use a fixative to
   1.899 -     buy enough time to ramp up cryoprotectants to an acceptable level
   1.900 -     at room temperature? Then, the whole system can be rapidly cooled
   1.901 -     and vitrified. This method "severs the biological link" in that
   1.902 -     the fixatives are highly toxic, but current vitrification
   1.903 -     procedures do this anyway since there can be a lot of freezing
   1.904 -     damage.
   1.905 +** Rest Nest
   1.906 +   A small EEG device you would attach to your head when you go to
   1.907 +   sleep at night. ML algorithms would determine your particular sleep
   1.908 +   cycles. This would mostly be an alarm clock that you could give a
   1.909 +   time range, say 7:00AM - 7:15AM, and it would wake you up during an
   1.910 +   ideal time corresponding to then end of one of your 90 min sleep
   1.911 +   cycles. You would feel much more rested upon waking up, and would
   1.912 +   wake up faster. There might be some other uses for the EEG data as
   1.913 +   well.
   1.914  
   1.915 -- dilated security camera :: a security camera that would capture
   1.916 -     full video footage of everything at 60fps but then decide to keep
   1.917 -     only every 1 frame every 5 seconds unless there's something
   1.918 -     "interesting" happening.
   1.919 +** Image Compression
   1.920 +   Use a library like gimp or opencv to process an image to make it
   1.921 +   have less entropy, then store the reverse of those operations along
   1.922 +   with the compressed simpler image as a super-compressed image file
   1.923 +   (possibly accepting some losses). Trades file size for
   1.924 +   decompression time, and allows one to cheat by using information in
   1.925 +   gimp/opencv to compress the image.
   1.926  
   1.927 -- bitcoin wallet :: Part of "server culture", this would be something
   1.928 -                    like "coin.your-domain.com" which would serve as
   1.929 -                    your personal trusted access to your own bitcoins
   1.930 -                    from anywhere.
   1.931 +** Aldehyde-Stabalized Cryopreservation
   1.932 +   Why not use a fixative to buy enough time to ramp up
   1.933 +   cryoprotectants to an acceptable level at room temperature? Then,
   1.934 +   the whole system can be rapidly cooled and vitrified. This method
   1.935 +   "severs the biological link" in that the fixatives are highly
   1.936 +   toxic, but current vitrification procedures do this anyway since
   1.937 +   there can be a lot of freezing damage.
   1.938  
   1.939 -- libpay :: this would be a free library which would enable
   1.940 -            micro-donations to software projects and other projects,
   1.941 -            so that you could donate a penny to "emacs" and it would
   1.942 -            be automatically split up to every person who has ever
   1.943 -            contributed to emacs in proportion to the amount of
   1.944 -            community esteem, code quantity, bugs fixed, whatever the
   1.945 -            community decides. This might make it possible for
   1.946 -            programmers to live entirely off of free programming.
   1.947 +** Dilated Security Camera
   1.948 +   A security camera that would capture full video footage of
   1.949 +   everything at 60fps but then decide to keep only every 1 frame
   1.950 +   every 5 seconds unless there's something "interesting" happening.
   1.951  
   1.952 -- pronouns :: use capital letters A-Z instead of pronouns. They solve
   1.953 -              pronoun referents and gender neutrality, are short to
   1.954 -              say, and you can encode useful information into the
   1.955 -              choice of letter. For example, instead of "Meetings
   1.956 -              shall be presided over by the president, unless she is
   1.957 -              absent." USE "Meetings shall be presided over by the
   1.958 -              president, unless P is absent." We already use this a
   1.959 -              little, since I and U are reserved for the subject and
   1.960 -              object respectively.
   1.961 +** Bitcoin Wallet
   1.962 +   Part of "server culture", this would be something like
   1.963 +   "coin.your-domain.com" which would serve as your personal trusted
   1.964 +   access to your own bitcoins from anywhere.
   1.965  
   1.966 -- phone DSP :: software app that inserts an audio DSP between the
   1.967 -               input to a phone and the output. The DSP is delicious
   1.968 -               and configurable, and can allow men to make their
   1.969 -               voices deeper, etc. The app would allow you to hear
   1.970 -               your own voice as others hear it. Most people hate how
   1.971 -               their own voice sounds. The app would also allow one to
   1.972 -               immediately change the parameters of the DSP using good
   1.973 -               presets.
   1.974 +** Libpay
   1.975 +   This would be a free library which would enable micro-donations to
   1.976 +   software projects and other projects, so that you could donate a
   1.977 +   penny to "emacs" and it would be automatically split up to every
   1.978 +   person who has ever contributed to emacs in proportion to the
   1.979 +   amount of community esteem, code quantity, bugs fixed, whatever the
   1.980 +   community decides. This might make it possible for programmers to
   1.981 +   live entirely off of free programming.
   1.982  
   1.983 -- restaurant receipts :: use a carbon copy receipt instead of two stupid
   1.984 -     copies. 
   1.985 +** Pronouns
   1.986 +   Use capital letters A-Z instead of pronouns. They solve pronoun
   1.987 +   referents and gender neutrality, are short to say, and you can
   1.988 +   encode useful information into the choice of letter. For example,
   1.989 +   instead of "Meetings shall be presided over by the president,
   1.990 +   unless she is absent." USE "Meetings shall be presided over by the
   1.991 +   president, unless P is absent." We already use this a little, since
   1.992 +   I and U are reserved for the subject and object respectively.
   1.993  
   1.994 -- crossdressing :: Easiest way to disguise oneself as a woman is to
   1.995 -                   wear a burka.
   1.996 +** Phone DSP
   1.997 +   Software app that inserts an audio DSP between the input to a phone
   1.998 +   and the output. The DSP is delicious and configurable, and can
   1.999 +   allow men to make their voices deeper, etc. The app would allow you
  1.1000 +   to hear your own voice as others hear it. Most people hate how
  1.1001 +   their own voice sounds. The app would also allow one to immediately
  1.1002 +   change the parameters of the DSP using good presets.
  1.1003  
  1.1004 -- book-mode :: intelligent color highlighting for books and
  1.1005 -               articles. It would disambiguate pronouns and involved
  1.1006 -               references. For example, if "Rachael" was assigned the
  1.1007 -               color red, and "the blonde haired girl" refers to
  1.1008 -               "Rachael", then "the blonde haired girl" would be
  1.1009 -               colored red. Also, you could disambiguate multi part
  1.1010 -               run-on sentences by highlighting each
  1.1011 -               subcomponent. Maybe would also have applications to
  1.1012 -               scientific reading.
  1.1013 +** Restaurant Receipts
  1.1014 +   Use a carbon copy receipt instead of two stupid copies.
  1.1015  
  1.1016 -- Handheld light Rain measurement :: this would be a clear, teflon
  1.1017 -     coated plastic disk with a camera underneath the disk. You would
  1.1018 -     be able to hold the device out and it would measure the rate of
  1.1019 -     accumulation of water droplets from fine mists and light rain by
  1.1020 -     using computer vision to measure the diameters of the drops.
  1.1021 +** Crossdressing
  1.1022 +   Easiest way to disguise oneself as a woman is to wear a burka.
  1.1023  
  1.1024 -- Big Brother Farming :: This would be a vision system that would
  1.1025 -     individually monitor each plant and turn on water, etc to ensure
  1.1026 -     maximum/uniform growth for each plant. 
  1.1027 +** Book-Mode
  1.1028 +   Intelligent color highlighting for books and articles. It would
  1.1029 +   disambiguate pronouns and involved references. For example, if
  1.1030 +   "Rachael" was assigned the color red, and "the blonde haired girl"
  1.1031 +   refers to "Rachael", then "the blonde haired girl" would be colored
  1.1032 +   red. Also, you could disambiguate multi part run-on sentences by
  1.1033 +   highlighting each subcomponent. Maybe would also have applications
  1.1034 +   to scientific reading.
  1.1035  
  1.1036 -- Discrete Faucet :: A faucet with discrete ticks instead of
  1.1037 -     continuous. 
  1.1038 +** Handheld Light Rain Measurement
  1.1039 +   This would be a clear, teflon coated plastic disk with a camera
  1.1040 +   underneath the disk. You would be able to hold the device out and
  1.1041 +   it would measure the rate of accumulation of water droplets from
  1.1042 +   fine mists and light rain by using computer vision to measure the
  1.1043 +   diameters of the drops.
  1.1044  
  1.1045 -- Laser Circle :: take a glass microfiliment and shine a laser at one
  1.1046 -                  end at an oblique angle. It will make a perfect,
  1.1047 -                  large circle on the wall, converting a laser beam
  1.1048 -                  into a laser cone, preserving most of the energy of
  1.1049 -                  the laser.
  1.1050 +** Big Brother Farming
  1.1051 +   This would be a vision system that would individually monitor each
  1.1052 +   plant and turn on water, etc to ensure maximum/uniform growth for
  1.1053 +   each plant.
  1.1054  
  1.1055 -- Invisible Glass :: Take a container of liquid and embed a
  1.1056 -     glass sculpture made out of glass that has exactly the same index
  1.1057 -     of refraction and color of the liquid. Then the sculpture will be
  1.1058 -     totally invisible in the container, and will only be revealed
  1.1059 -     when the liquid is drained. The container might be a fancy
  1.1060 -     wine/spirit bottle or an hourglass.
  1.1061 +** Discrete Faucet
  1.1062 +   A faucet with discrete ticks instead of continuous.
  1.1063  
  1.1064 -- Caterpillar people :: A race of caterpillar like creatures gains
  1.1065 -     intelligence after eons of predation by birds, etc. These
  1.1066 -     caterpillar creatures still undergo metamorphosis into a large
  1.1067 -     butterfly-like creature. The metamorphosis process turns the
  1.1068 -     caterpillar's brain into mush and reforms it into a minimal,
  1.1069 -     dumb, truly insect-like mind, completely destroying the person
  1.1070 -     the caterpillar was. The society develops all sorts of customs and
  1.1071 -     religious interpretations of the metamorphosis. It is viewed as
  1.1072 -     good and natural by some since it is part of their life cycle and
  1.1073 -     necessary to propagate the species, as only the butterflies can
  1.1074 -     mate. Some think that the butterflies are still the same person
  1.1075 -     because they have the same soul, even they no longer posses the
  1.1076 -     memories or personality of the original caterpillar. Some see the
  1.1077 -     butterfly form as the "true form" of the species, since the
  1.1078 -     butterflies can fly, mate, and are beautiful. Many make a big
  1.1079 -     deal out of the fact that 1-2% of the caterpillar's mind is
  1.1080 -     actually preserved in the butterfly. Some see it as a terrible
  1.1081 -     tragedy and argue that the caterpillars should try to stop the
  1.1082 -     metamorphosis by technology. Practically, some very important
  1.1083 -     members of society undergo hormone therapy and/or surgery to
  1.1084 -     prevent metamorphosis so that they can live longer as themselves.
  1.1085 +** Laser Circle
  1.1086 +   Take a glass microfiliment and shine a laser at one end at an
  1.1087 +   oblique angle. It will make a perfect, large circle on the wall,
  1.1088 +   converting a laser beam into a laser cone, preserving most of the
  1.1089 +   energy of the laser.
  1.1090  
  1.1091 -     This is a continuation of Marvin Minsky's ideas about pain being
  1.1092 -     something that preserves our bodies while destroying our minds,
  1.1093 -     something that is a remnant from our too harsh animal days that
  1.1094 -     hasn't caught up to the fact that we have very complex brains
  1.1095 -     now. It's a worst-case scenario about a maladaptive genetic
  1.1096 -     legacy. Also, it's inspired by "There She Is!!!", which makes a
  1.1097 -     compelling point about homosexuality by introducing a second
  1.1098 -     gender characteristic (bunny/cat, male/female), which makes
  1.1099 -     homophobia look very silly. Here, our own biological legacy of
  1.1100 -     pain and death is made to look like the tragedy it is through the
  1.1101 -     lens of the the caterpillar people.
  1.1102 +** Invisible Glass
  1.1103 +   Take a container of liquid and embed a glass sculpture made out of
  1.1104 +   glass that has exactly the same index of refraction and color of
  1.1105 +   the liquid. Then the sculpture will be totally invisible in the
  1.1106 +   container, and will only be revealed when the liquid is
  1.1107 +   drained. The container might be a fancy wine/spirit bottle or an
  1.1108 +   hourglass.
  1.1109  
  1.1110 -- relationships as a business :: [[http://thedailywtf.com/Articles/Up-or-Out-Solving-the-IT-Turnover-Crisis.aspx][Turnover-Crisis]] is an excellent talk
  1.1111 -     about the "culture of quitting," which is about better business
  1.1112 -     by letting people go instead of keeping them around past their
  1.1113 -     "apex". Focuses on information transfer. Cool idea of an alumni
  1.1114 -     network, which for relationships would be a group of satisfied
  1.1115 -     ex-lovers, who would recommend new people your way, and who might
  1.1116 -     consider coming to you again, refreshed from their time away with
  1.1117 -     new stories/experiences. I should look for examples of this and
  1.1118 -     how they worked out.
  1.1119 +** Caterpillar people
  1.1120 +   A race of caterpillar like creatures gains intelligence after eons
  1.1121 +   of predation by birds, etc. These caterpillar creatures still
  1.1122 +   undergo metamorphosis into a large butterfly-like creature. The
  1.1123 +   metamorphosis process turns the caterpillar's brain into mush and
  1.1124 +   reforms it into a minimal, dumb, truly insect-like mind, completely
  1.1125 +   destroying the person the caterpillar was. The society develops all
  1.1126 +   sorts of customs and religious interpretations of the
  1.1127 +   metamorphosis. It is viewed as good and natural by some since it is
  1.1128 +   part of their life cycle and necessary to propagate the species, as
  1.1129 +   only the butterflies can mate. Some think that the butterflies are
  1.1130 +   still the same person because they have the same soul, even they no
  1.1131 +   longer posses the memories or personality of the original
  1.1132 +   caterpillar. Some see the butterfly form as the "true form" of the
  1.1133 +   species, since the butterflies can fly, mate, and are
  1.1134 +   beautiful. Many make a big deal out of the fact that 1-2% of the
  1.1135 +   caterpillar's mind is actually preserved in the butterfly. Some see
  1.1136 +   it as a terrible tragedy and argue that the caterpillars should try
  1.1137 +   to stop the metamorphosis by technology. Practically, some very
  1.1138 +   important members of society undergo hormone therapy and/or surgery
  1.1139 +   to prevent metamorphosis so that they can live longer as
  1.1140 +   themselves.
  1.1141  
  1.1142 -- psychic crystal :: in a science fiction story, this would be an
  1.1143 -     object that is very easy to move physically but is extremely
  1.1144 -     difficult to move with telekinesis.
  1.1145 +   This is a continuation of Marvin Minsky's ideas about pain being
  1.1146 +   something that preserves our bodies while destroying our minds,
  1.1147 +   something that is a remnant from our too harsh animal days that
  1.1148 +   hasn't caught up to the fact that we have very complex brains
  1.1149 +   now. It's a worst-case scenario about a maladaptive genetic
  1.1150 +   legacy. Also, it's inspired by "There She Is!!!", which makes a
  1.1151 +   compelling point about homosexuality by introducing a second gender
  1.1152 +   characteristic (bunny/cat, male/female), which makes homophobia
  1.1153 +   look very silly. Here, our own biological legacy of pain and death
  1.1154 +   is made to look like the tragedy it is through the lens of the the
  1.1155 +   caterpillar people.
  1.1156  
  1.1157 -- true reflection :: There's a "true mirror" in the MIT student center
  1.1158 -     -- it's two normal mirrors at right angles, like staring at a
  1.1159 -     corner of a room. The light reflects so that it shows you what
  1.1160 -     you actually look like, instead of your mirror image.
  1.1161 +** Relationships as a Business
  1.1162 +   [[http://thedailywtf.com/Articles/Up-or-Out-Solving-the-IT-Turnover-Crisis.aspx][Turnover-Crisis]] is an excellent talk about the "culture of
  1.1163 +   quitting," which is about better business by letting people go
  1.1164 +   instead of keeping them around past their "apex". Focuses on
  1.1165 +   information transfer. Cool idea of an alumni network, which for
  1.1166 +   relationships would be a group of satisfied ex-lovers, who would
  1.1167 +   recommend new people your way, and who might consider coming to you
  1.1168 +   again, refreshed from their time away with new
  1.1169 +   stories/experiences. I should look for examples of this and how
  1.1170 +   they worked out.
  1.1171  
  1.1172 -- remote control wasp :: use computer to drive wings with remote
  1.1173 -  power/logic.
  1.1174 +** Psychic Crystal
  1.1175 +   In a science fiction story, this would be an object that is very
  1.1176 +   easy to move physically but is extremely difficult to move with
  1.1177 +   telekinesis.
  1.1178  
  1.1179 -- encrypted email phone book :: public (distributed?) database of
  1.1180 -     email->private-key pairs, to enable automatic encryption.
  1.1181 +** True Reflection
  1.1182 +   There's a "true mirror" in the MIT student center -- it's two
  1.1183 +   normal mirrors at right angles, like staring at a corner of a
  1.1184 +   room. The light reflects so that it shows you what you actually
  1.1185 +   look like, instead of your mirror image.
  1.1186  
  1.1187 -- universal eye color :: every equivalent creature will see each
  1.1188 -     others' eyes as black -- it's universal. Even if the creatures
  1.1189 -     see in radio waves, and their eyes are 2m long pieces of jagged
  1.1190 -     metal, when those creatures look at each other, they will see
  1.1191 -     black, the absence of light and color (since it's being absorbed
  1.1192 -     by the sensor array).
  1.1193 +** Remote Control Wasp
  1.1194 +   Use computer to drive wings with remote power/logic.
  1.1195  
  1.1196 -- intelligent microwave :: it learns where the hot nodes of its fields
  1.1197 -  are, and uses them to evenly heat any food item. It has an infrared
  1.1198 -  camera or something to keep track of how hot the food is. That way,
  1.1199 -  you don't get bowls where the edges are boiling, while the center is
  1.1200 -  still frozen. Requires a little bit of intelligence/vision, since
  1.1201 -  the exact pattern of heating totally depends on the exact shape of
  1.1202 -  the food.  Wouldn't need a carousel, and wouldn't need a timer,
  1.1203 -  just a desired temperature. Could also detect ice, and automatically
  1.1204 -  defrost the parts which are frozen. Might be able to work much
  1.1205 -  faster since it can avoid overheating; might have problems with
  1.1206 -  heating the insides of thick things, might need a weight sensor too.
  1.1207 +** Encrypted Email Phone Book
  1.1208 +   Public (distributed?) database of email->private-key pairs, to
  1.1209 +   enable automatic encryption.
  1.1210 +
  1.1211 +** Universal Eye Color
  1.1212 +   Every equivalent creature will see each others' eyes as black --
  1.1213 +   it's universal. Even if the creatures see in radio waves, and their
  1.1214 +   eyes are 2m long pieces of jagged metal, when those creatures look
  1.1215 +   at each other, they will see black, the absence of light and color
  1.1216 +   (since it's being absorbed by the sensor array).
  1.1217 +
  1.1218 +** Intelligent Microwave
  1.1219 +   It learns where the hot nodes of its fields are, and uses them to
  1.1220 +   evenly heat any food item. It has an infrared camera or something
  1.1221 +   to keep track of how hot the food is. That way, you don't get bowls
  1.1222 +   where the edges are boiling, while the center is still
  1.1223 +   frozen. Requires a little bit of intelligence/vision, since the
  1.1224 +   exact pattern of heating totally depends on the exact shape of the
  1.1225 +   food.  Wouldn't need a carousel, and wouldn't need a timer, just a
  1.1226 +   desired temperature. Could also detect ice, and automatically
  1.1227 +   defrost the parts which are frozen. Might be able to work much
  1.1228 +   faster since it can avoid overheating; might have problems with
  1.1229 +   heating the insides of thick things, might need a weight sensor
  1.1230 +   too.
  1.1231    
  1.1232 -  + Would be much cleaner than other microwaves, since food would
  1.1233 -    "sputter" and splash liquid much less.
  1.1234 +   + Would be much cleaner than other microwaves, since food would
  1.1235 +     "sputter" and splash liquid much less.
  1.1236  
  1.1237 -  + Throw in some SIFT+R processing to match previously cooked foods
  1.1238 -    and learn the exact heating profiles for things that have been
  1.1239 -    cooked before -- it can get faster the more it's used.
  1.1240 +   + Throw in some SIFT+R processing to match previously cooked foods
  1.1241 +     and learn the exact heating profiles for things that have been
  1.1242 +     cooked before -- it can get faster the more it's used.
  1.1243  
  1.1244 -- Flesh pillow :: a pillow like the arm or torso of a human, complete
  1.1245 -                  with simulated temperature, bones, and heartbeat.
  1.1246 +** Flesh Pillow
  1.1247 +   A pillow like the arm or torso of a human, complete with simulated
  1.1248 +   temperature, bones, and heartbeat.
  1.1249  
  1.1250 -- light filter :: (like light tweezers) to mechanically separate
  1.1251 -                  fluids with different index of refraction
  1.1252 +** Light Filter
  1.1253 +   Works like light-tweezers to mechanically separate fluids with
  1.1254 +   different indexes of refraction.
  1.1255  
  1.1256 -- silver socks :: socks laced with silver for the antimicrobial
  1.1257 -                  properties.
  1.1258 +** Silver Socks
  1.1259 +   Socks laced with silver for the antimicrobial properties.
  1.1260  
  1.1261 -- Rod of Moses :: device to distill urine through evaporation and
  1.1262 -     easily dispose of urea crystals for use in desert -- produce
  1.1263 -     drinkable water and live an extra few days!
  1.1264 +** Rod of Moses
  1.1265 +   Device to distill urine through evaporation and easily dispose of
  1.1266 +   urea crystals for use in desert -- produce drinkable water and live
  1.1267 +   an extra few days!
  1.1268  
  1.1269 -- lottery scraper :: web scraper which monitors various lotteries,
  1.1270 -     looking for "special" gimmick changes in the rules (like 4x
  1.1271 -     winnings on Wednesdays) and computes expected value...
  1.1272 +** Lottery Scraper
  1.1273 +   Web scraper which monitors various lotteries, looking for "special"
  1.1274 +   gimmick changes in the rules (like 4x winnings on Wednesdays) and
  1.1275 +   computes expected value...
  1.1276  
  1.1277 -- Memristiors novel design :: make an evolutionary algorithm to make
  1.1278 -  old stuff using all four basic circuit elements.
  1.1279 +** Memristiors Novel Design
  1.1280 +   Make an evolutionary algorithm to make old stuff using all four
  1.1281 +   basic circuit elements.
  1.1282  
  1.1283 -- Conductive concrete :: concrete that has embedded metal fibers so
  1.1284 -     that it can conduct electricity.
  1.1285 +** Conductive Concrete
  1.1286 +   Concrete that has embedded metal fibers so that it can conduct
  1.1287 +   electricity.
  1.1288  
  1.1289 -- little bitty melting pot :: might be useful for some types of
  1.1290 -     manufacturing/3D printing -- how small can an induction melter be
  1.1291 -     made, for example.
  1.1292 +** Little Bitty Melting Pot
  1.1293 +   Might be useful for some types of manufacturing/3D printing -- how
  1.1294 +   small can an induction melter be made, for example.
  1.1295  
  1.1296 -- true pure tones :: hear a true pure tone by direct stimulation of the
  1.1297 -     nerves of the ear
  1.1298 +** True Pure Tones
  1.1299 +   Hear a true pure tone by direct stimulation of the nerves of the
  1.1300 +   ear. Like when Adelson "saw green".
  1.1301    
  1.1302 -- mechanical analogue to the electrical op-amp ::  would be an object
  1.1303 -     with two levers -- you pull on one lever and the other moves the
  1.1304 -     same way, no matter what's in the way or what it is driving. This
  1.1305 -     analogy could be useful to teach op amps to people.
  1.1306 +** Mechanical analogue to the electrical op-amp
  1.1307 +   would be an object with two levers -- you pull on one lever and the
  1.1308 +   other moves the same way, no matter what's in the way or what it is
  1.1309 +   driving. This analogy could be useful to teach op amps to people.
  1.1310  
  1.1311 -- light capacitor :: suspend some ball of material with a high index
  1.1312 -     of refraction and shine light into it so it gets stuck -- would
  1.1313 -     the light stay trapped forever? Could you build up unlimited
  1.1314 -     quantities of light inside the sphere (which could then be
  1.1315 -     released slowly by frustrated internal reflection?
  1.1316 +** Light Capacitor
  1.1317 +   Suspend some ball of material with a high index of refraction and
  1.1318 +   shine light into it so it gets stuck -- would the light stay
  1.1319 +   trapped forever? Could you build up unlimited quantities of light
  1.1320 +   inside the sphere (which could then be released slowly by
  1.1321 +   frustrated internal reflection?
  1.1322  
  1.1323 -- reading comprehension :: use the screen capture routine to make a
  1.1324 -     quiz program that constructs questions about the content you
  1.1325 -     seemed to gloss over while reading. could be easy if the pdf came
  1.1326 -     with embedded questions.  Dylan: automatically generate
  1.1327 -     word-cloud about the parts you found most interesting; help
  1.1328 -     others who read the same stuff by drawing attention to the
  1.1329 -     interesting parts.
  1.1330 +** Reading Comprehension
  1.1331 +   use the screen capture routine to make a quiz program that
  1.1332 +   constructs questions about the content you seemed to gloss over
  1.1333 +   while reading. could be easy if the pdf came with embedded
  1.1334 +   questions.  Dylan: automatically generate word-cloud about the
  1.1335 +   parts you found most interesting; help others who read the same
  1.1336 +   stuff by drawing attention to the interesting parts.
  1.1337  
  1.1338 -- optimize an article :: capture reading of a scientific article via
  1.1339 -     screen capture while people read it, then use it to make the
  1.1340 -     article better. like the movie-pruning idea.
  1.1341 +** Optimize an Article
  1.1342 +   Capture reading of a scientific article via screen capture while
  1.1343 +   people read it, then use it to make the article better. like the
  1.1344 +   movie-pruning idea.
  1.1345  
  1.1346 -- movie pruning :: Movies always are too long at first. One way to
  1.1347 -     shorten them ``scientifically" is to record blink rate during the
  1.1348 -     move and then remove / shorten the frames of the parts in which
  1.1349 -     there are a lot of blinking (average this over multiple people)
  1.1350 -     better yet, put it online and do it across thousands of people. I
  1.1351 -     got this from youtube in which there is an episode of kill bill
  1.1352 -     which is composed entirely of the parts in which people had their
  1.1353 -     eyes closed. slogan: want to make a movie people can't take their
  1.1354 -     eyes off of? Just take those parts out!
  1.1355 +** Movie Pruning
  1.1356 +   Movies always are too long at first. One way to shorten them
  1.1357 +   ``scientifically" is to record blink rate during the move and then
  1.1358 +   remove / shorten the frames of the parts in which there are a lot
  1.1359 +   of blinking (average this over multiple people) better yet, put it
  1.1360 +   online and do it across thousands of people. I got this from
  1.1361 +   youtube in which there is an episode of kill bill which is composed
  1.1362 +   entirely of the parts in which people had their eyes
  1.1363 +   closed. slogan: want to make a movie people can't take their eyes
  1.1364 +   off of? Just take those parts out!
  1.1365  
  1.1366 -- explosive thermite epoxy putty :: one part would contain the rust,
  1.1367 -     one part the aluminum.
  1.1368 +** Explosive Thermite Epoxy Putty
  1.1369 +   One part would contain the rust, one part the aluminum.
  1.1370  
  1.1371 -- concrete epoxy :: epoxy with sand/ some other solid material.
  1.1372 +** Concrete Epoxy
  1.1373 +   Epoxy with sand/ some other solid material.
  1.1374  
  1.1375 -- hard sword :: make a samurai sword, but use osmiridum instead of
  1.1376 -                martensite for the cutting part; it should be a better
  1.1377 -                sword.
  1.1378 +** Hard Sword
  1.1379 +   Make a samurai sword, but use osmiridum instead of martensite for
  1.1380 +   the cutting part; it should be a better sword.
  1.1381  
  1.1382 -- close range wireless :: use the induction technology used to
  1.1383 -     recharge electric toothbrushes with no metal links to send data
  1.1384 -     without any metal at all!
  1.1385 +** Close Range Wireless
  1.1386 +   use the induction technology used to recharge electric toothbrushes
  1.1387 +   with no metal links to send data without any metal at all!
  1.1388  
  1.1389 -- perfect pitch :: learn perfect pitch using another sense in
  1.1390 -                   combination (sight or touch)
  1.1391 +** Perfect Pitch
  1.1392 +   Learn perfect pitch using another sense in combination (sight or
  1.1393 +   touch).
  1.1394  
  1.1395 -- bio metallic structure :: metal grids with seeds inside, which grow
  1.1396 -     together and form a durable biological matrix. The metal
  1.1397 -     substrate delivers water. (maybe use plastic instead of metal?)
  1.1398 -     Dylan: enrich plants with inorganic compounds; electrical
  1.1399 -     interfaces in cellular plant matter => remote-controlled
  1.1400 -     photosynthetic/bioluminescent structures.
  1.1401 +** Bio Metallic Structure
  1.1402 +   Metal grids with seeds inside, which grow together and form a
  1.1403 +   durable biological matrix. The metal substrate delivers
  1.1404 +   water. (maybe use plastic instead of metal?)  Dylan: enrich plants
  1.1405 +   with inorganic compounds; electrical interfaces in cellular plant
  1.1406 +   matter => remote-controlled photosynthetic/bioluminescent
  1.1407 +   structures.
  1.1408  
  1.1409 -- conducting extracellular matrix :: to allow better control of
  1.1410 -     organic systems and an enhanced nervous system.
  1.1411 +** Conducting Extracellular Matrix
  1.1412 +   To allow better control of organic systems and an enhanced nervous
  1.1413 +   system.
  1.1414  
  1.1415 -- cross-modal memory hashing :: a way to retrieve memories more
  1.1416 -     robustly. 
  1.1417 +** Cross-Modal Memory Hashing
  1.1418 +   A way to retrieve memories more robustly.
  1.1419  
  1.1420 -- wooden refrigerator :: to give food a better taste Dylan: like
  1.1421 -     barrels for wine, or planks for salmon. Maybe just have "flavor
  1.1422 -     planks" for your pre-existing fridge. Need to mitigate effect of
  1.1423 -     temperature on volatility?
  1.1424 +** Greener than Green
  1.1425 +   If you stare at a red light, then you get a green after-image. If
  1.1426 +   you immediately look at something green while still seeing the
  1.1427 +   green after-image, you will experience a Green like none you've
  1.1428 +   ever seen before -- color so intense it's beyond the range of
  1.1429 +   anything that exists in the world.
  1.1430  
  1.1431 -- radioactive transmutation molecule by molecule :: create precious
  1.1432 -     metals or something else economically advantageous. Best
  1.1433 -     transmutation I can come up with is mercury into gold, but it's
  1.1434 -     not economically viable.
  1.1435 +** Wooden Refrigerator
  1.1436 +   To give food a better taste Dylan: like barrels for wine, or planks
  1.1437 +   for salmon. Maybe just have "flavor planks" for your pre-existing
  1.1438 +   fridge. Need to mitigate effect of temperature on volatility?
  1.1439  
  1.1440 -- preservation via crowding :: inoculate food with tons of harmless
  1.1441 -     bacteria so that there's no room for bad bacteria as a method of
  1.1442 -     preservation
  1.1443 +** Radioactive Transmutation Molecule by Molecule
  1.1444 +   Create precious metals or something else economically
  1.1445 +   advantageous. Best transmutation I can come up with is mercury into
  1.1446 +   gold, but it's not economically viable.
  1.1447  
  1.1448 -- old school preservation :: Pasteur - style holding jar with siphon
  1.1449 -     as a way to store sterilized liquids at room temperature
  1.1450 -     indefinitely w/o refrigeration.
  1.1451 +** Preservation Via Crowding
  1.1452 +   Inoculate food with tons of harmless bacteria so that there's no
  1.1453 +   room for bad bacteria as a method of preservation
  1.1454  
  1.1455 -- restaurant policy :: Throw rude people out of restaurant as a matter
  1.1456 -     of course -- make ambiance much better.
  1.1457 +** Old-School Preservation
  1.1458 +   Pasteur - style holding jar with siphon as a way to store
  1.1459 +   sterilized liquids at room temperature indefinitely w/o
  1.1460 +   refrigeration.
  1.1461  
  1.1462 -- clean windows :: make something that mixes soap with fire hydrant
  1.1463 -                   water (and reduces the pressure a bit) and use it
  1.1464 -                   to clean windows of buildings.
  1.1465 +** Restaurant Policy
  1.1466 +   Throw rude people out of restaurant as a matter of course -- make
  1.1467 +   ambiance much better.
  1.1468  
  1.1469 -- ocarina :: make an ocarina out of pure silver
  1.1470 +** Clean Windows
  1.1471 +   Make something that mixes soap with fire hydrant water (and reduces
  1.1472 +   the pressure a bit) and use it to clean windows of buildings.
  1.1473  
  1.1474 -- fire pen :: pen which burns words on to the page, thus never needing
  1.1475 -     any ink. Is there a way to make it runnable from body heat?
  1.1476 +** Ocarina
  1.1477 +   Make an ocarina out of pure silver. Might have really good acoustic
  1.1478 +   properties. 
  1.1479  
  1.1480 -- website to design your own soda :: and label, and have it mailed to
  1.1481 -     you / sell it from your own online store.
  1.1482 +** Fire Pen
  1.1483 +   Pen which burns words on to the page, thus never needing any
  1.1484 +   ink. Is there a way to make it runnable from body heat?
  1.1485  
  1.1486 -- solar panels :: that float on the ocean
  1.1487 +** Website to Design Your Own Soda
  1.1488 +   and label, and have it mailed to you / sell it from your own online
  1.1489 +   store.
  1.1490  
  1.1491 -- handcuffs with more than two cuffs (3?) :: great for daisy chaining
  1.1492 -     people, binding them to environment, etc.
  1.1493 +** Ocean Power
  1.1494 +   Solar panels that float on the ocean.
  1.1495  
  1.1496 -- vector based SOUND files :: like the pictures but with SOUND. codify
  1.1497 -     sound in a language with enough symbols so that it can describe
  1.1498 -     everything and encode it in that. would be like going from speech
  1.1499 -     to text or smtg. Could also store sound as an image of the
  1.1500 -     wavefront encoded as a vector image.
  1.1501 +** Handcuffs with More Than Two Cuffs (3?)
  1.1502 +   Great for daisy chaining people, binding them to environment, etc.
  1.1503  
  1.1504 -- genetically engineered glowing fruit :: They have some animals that
  1.1505 -     can glow, but glowing fruit that you eat would be AWESOME!
  1.1506 +** Vector Based SOUND Files
  1.1507 +   Like the pictures but with SOUND. codify sound in a language with
  1.1508 +   enough symbols so that it can describe everything and encode it in
  1.1509 +   that. would be like going from speech to text or smtg. Could also
  1.1510 +   store sound as an image of the wavefront encoded as a vector image.
  1.1511  
  1.1512 -- The body as a key to memory :: IF memories are encoded using
  1.1513 -     particular sensory impressions, what happens if the sensory organ
  1.1514 -     itself changes?  those memories would become inaccessible. maybe
  1.1515 -     this is why we can't remember much from our childhoods. also,
  1.1516 -     could this happen throughout life as well? Could S remember stuff
  1.1517 -     from his childhood?
  1.1518 +** Genetically Engineered Glowing Fruit
  1.1519 +   They have some animals that can glow, but glowing fruit that you
  1.1520 +   eat would be AWESOME!
  1.1521  
  1.1522 -- lighter flint on spring :: make hot, throw it at something, and it
  1.1523 -     makes sparkles!
  1.1524 +** The Body as a Key to Memory
  1.1525 +   IF memories are encoded using particular sensory impressions, what
  1.1526 +   happens if the sensory organ itself changes?  those memories would
  1.1527 +   become inaccessible. maybe this is why we can't remember much from
  1.1528 +   our childhoods. also, could this happen throughout life as well?
  1.1529 +   Could S remember stuff from his childhood?
  1.1530  
  1.1531 -- rare bubbles :: Engineer a material which has both ductility and high
  1.1532 -             surface tension to make the "third"
  1.1533 -             minimal-surface-energy solution to a bubble suspended
  1.1534 -             between two equal-diameter rings. (Solutions are
  1.1535 -             cylindrical catenary curve, two separated half-bubbles,
  1.1536 -             and a double-cone)
  1.1537 +** Lighter Flint on Spring
  1.1538 +   Make hot, throw it at something, and it makes sparkles!
  1.1539  
  1.1540 -- Textbook whose content can be varied continuously :: alter level of
  1.1541 -     difficulty, rigor, diction, emphasize crossover with certain
  1.1542 -     other discipline, etc. Content generated dynamically from
  1.1543 -     knowledge base, along with questions that are moreover altered to
  1.1544 -     guide knowledge acquisition. Motivation: One book of
  1.1545 -     knowledge. /One./
  1.1546 +** Rare Bubbles
  1.1547 +   Engineer a material which has both ductility and high surface
  1.1548 +   tension to make the "third" minimal-surface-energy solution to a
  1.1549 +   bubble suspended between two equal-diameter rings. (Solutions are
  1.1550 +   cylindrical catenary curve, two separated half-bubbles, and a
  1.1551 +   double-cone)
  1.1552 +
  1.1553 +** Magic Textbook
  1.1554 +   whose content can be varied continuously alter level of difficulty,
  1.1555 +   rigor, diction, emphasize crossover with certain other discipline,
  1.1556 +   etc. Content generated dynamically from knowledge base, along with
  1.1557 +   questions that are moreover altered to guide knowledge
  1.1558 +   acquisition. Motivation: One book of knowledge. /One./
  1.1559  
  1.1560  
  1.1561     #+BEGIN_HTML