Mercurial > thoughts
view org/ideas.org @ 73:135fabc13f8a
digital interlibrary loan for articles.
author | Robert McIntyre <rlm@mit.edu> |
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date | Sat, 16 Nov 2013 15:16:04 -0500 |
parents | ace7f097eb6c |
children | ca1cd5bab77d |
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1 #+title: Big List O' Ideas2 #+author: Robert McIntyre3 #+email: rlm@mit.edu4 #+description: list of ideas from the last ~ 7 years5 #+keywords: aurellem ideas half-baked random6 #+SETUPFILE: ../../aurellem/org/setup.org7 #+INCLUDE: ../../aurellem/org/level-0.org8 #+babel: :mkdirp yes :noweb yes :exports both10 * Ideas12 This is a list of all the ideas I've had that I felt like writing down13 for the past ~ 7 years. Some of them could be practical inventions and14 are "just" waiting the that 95% perspiration to bring them to15 fruition, some are ideas for science fiction, and some are simple16 observations. Some are really only for my own personal notes and are17 not meant to be comprehensible. They are arranged roughly in reverse18 chronological order, with the most recent ideas at the top of the19 list. The ones at the bottom of the list are heavily influenced by my20 time at MIT.22 If you find some of these interesting and would like to collaborate on23 them with me or discuss them in more detail, I'd love to hear from24 you. You can email me at ideas@aurellem.org.26 If you want to use one of these ideas as your own and run with it,27 please feel free. I'd love to hear about it if you do.29 #+begin_quote30 There's no end to what a man can accomplish if he doesn't care about31 getting credit.32 #+end_quote34 - digital inter-library loan :: libraries at universities already do35 interlibrary loans for books, so why not do the same for access36 to stupid paywalled digital papers? All the universities could37 allow access to articles for registered students to all the files38 available through any participating university. This could be39 achieved by sending requests through proxies at participating40 universities. Each university would decide who at the university41 can access the proxy network. Access to the proxy network could42 be made easy using something like http://libx.org/.44 - chess visual :: to show the vast size of the game trees considered45 by computers, show two people playing chess in a46 void. They are floating in space, and there is a47 simple chess board between them. Then, as they play,48 the game tree's they are considering are drawn49 behind him. The root of the tree starts centered in50 their heads or whatever they use to think, and the51 tree grows out from behind, never crossing the52 dividing plane between the two players. Each53 player's tree is a different color. As they grow,54 there are animations for pruning, etc. Eventually,55 they look like the hemispheres of a brain, wings,56 etc. A human's tree might occasionally have a long57 chain, while the computer tree would be more58 uniform. You could compare deep blue and a modern59 laptop. Use actual data when fighting two computers!61 - time verification :: some standard way to verify that some piece of62 data was recorded at a specific time. Might involve a time63 server, a key for each time period, something like that.65 - tamper proof gold bars :: [[http://www.tungsten-alloy.com/gold-plated-tungsten-alloy-bar.html][this site]] offers gold plated tungsten bars66 as "novelty" items. One reason to prefer coins is because they67 are much harder to counterfeit because there is less surface area68 to mass ratio. However, gold bars are still a great design69 because they can hold a lot of value in a small space. A gold bar70 could be given the same protections (and more) that gold coins71 have to offer by changing it into a "gold book", which would have72 hundreds of "pages" of gold bound together. This could be73 implemented with multiple steel rods going through the book which74 can be removed, or some more classier mechanism for holding the75 pages. The point is that the bar can be EASILY subdivided (and76 people would perform this test before buying), thus guaranteeing77 it's authenticity.79 - aurellem shirt :: I should make an aurellem star symbol tee-shirt.81 - high school science :: this is a lesson in scientific ethics. The82 goal is to calculate /g/, the local gravitational83 acceleration. The students are told that the textbook says it's84 /exactly/ 9.81 before they start the experiment. See how they85 doctor their results to get closer to the textbook value. It's86 neat because for any given school, /g/ is probably *not* exactly87 equal to 9.81, because that is just an average!89 - opencourseware subtitles :: there are ladies who type up lectures90 while they are being given. These recordings should be kept and91 given to OCW for subtitles. If the timestamps of keys are92 recorded, then it is easy to make subtitles.94 - screen locking timing :: you use your computer camera to see if you95 are sitting in front of the computer. If you are, then the screen96 will never lock. If you are, then the screen will lock with a97 30-40 second timeout. It's an extension of using inactivity to98 initiate the countdown, just with more information.100 - mirror toilet :: a toilet with a square basin made or mirror instead101 or porcelain. That way, you can see how good of a102 wipe job you have done / watch how your excretion103 system works.105 - test dummies :: why don't we clone encephalic humans and use then to106 test /in vivo/ human organ systems and drugs? It107 would be ethical as long as there are women who are108 willing to host the clones, and it would be a109 tremendous resource for studying the human body. I110 see nothing wrong with it morally, since no one is111 suffering, and it stands to save many lives throughout112 more advanced technology.114 - X-ray telepresence :: given that a doctor is operating on a patient115 via telepresence, one cool things you can do is shine X-rays into116 the patient to view the insides during real time. If the system117 was coupled with a Baysean model of the layout of the structure,118 and the x-rays were only fired whenever the uncertainty of the119 model reached a certain threshold, then the radiation damage120 and surgery risk could be minimized.122 - superfluid vascular system :: I wonder what would happen if you123 replaced the blood in a human with a superfluid. What would the124 physical dynamics be? Would the superfluid flow through the125 vasculature, or would it ignore it and travel through the cells,126 or something else entirely. Since superfluids need to be cold to127 retain their superfluidity, how would the dynamics change during128 perfusion of a superfluid, where the fluid gains and looses129 superfluidity as it goes deeper into the body and is cooled by130 superfluid from upstream. In summary there are two things to131 simulate 1.) replace all blood in human with superfluid132 instantly. 2.) perfuse superfluid into human.134 - projective guessing :: I think that we read and see things by135 making a really good guess about what we're expecting to see,136 and then searching for our guess in what we see. If it really137 doesn't match, then we start to make more guesses / analyze the138 image from first principles, but most stuff is projective139 guessing.141 - Intestinal flora maintenance :: why not inoculate babies at birth142 with "ideal" gut flora instead of whatever bullshit they143 naturally get, thus giving them optimal digestive/nutrient144 extraction capabilities. Might also be able to make their farts145 not stink for life, too.147 - server culture : mirrors :: make a distributed system where people148 can mirror the websites of people they like -- essentially cover149 the server costs of favored websites. This could make popular150 websites run at no cost. The system would require that the151 mirrored content be the same as the official source. Sort of like152 bit-torrent for websites.154 - map programming :: one problem with functional programming is that155 in order to remain functional, you have to pass up arguments up156 into each calling function to get the full range of behavior157 from the lower level functions. Normally people come to a158 compromise involving abstraction and sparing use of dynamic159 variables to configure runtime behavior. What would be the160 advantages of making a programming language where every function161 receives one argument, a map, which contains all the symbol162 bindings it would ever need? This map is passed on to all163 subordinate functions. This way, you could replace functions on164 the fly, and arrange for there to be sensible defaults,165 etc. Might cause more harm than good but is an interesting idea.167 - rest nest :: a small EEG device you would attach to your head when168 you go to sleep at night. ML algorithms would determine169 your particular sleep cycles. This would mostly be an170 alarm clock that you could give a time range, say171 7:00AM - 7:15AM, and it would wake you up during an172 ideal time corresponding to then end of one of your 90173 min sleep cycles. You would feel much more rested upon174 waking up, and would wake up faster. There might be175 some other uses for the EEG data as well.177 - image compression :: use a library like gimp or opencv to process an178 image to make it have less entropy, then store the reverse of179 those operations along with the compressed simpler image as a180 super-compressed image file (possibly sccapting some181 lesses). Trades file size for decompression time, and allows one182 to cheat by using information in gimp/opencv to compress the183 image.185 - fixed cryopreservation :: why not use a fixative to buy enough time186 to ramp up cryoprotectants to an acceptable level at room187 temperature? Then, the whole system can be rapidly cooled and188 vitrified. This method "severs the biological link" in that the189 fixatives are highly toxic, but current vitrification procedures190 do this anyway since there can be a lot of freezing damage.192 - dilated security camera :: a security camera that would capture193 full video footage of everything at 60fps but then decide to keep194 only every 1 frame every 5 seconds unless there's something195 "interesting" happening.197 - bitcoin wallet :: Part of "server culture", this would be something198 like "coin.your-domain.com" which would serve as199 your personal trusted access to your own bitcoins200 from anywhere.202 - libpay :: this would be a free library which would enable203 micro-donations to software projects and other projects,204 so that you could donate a penny to "emacs" and it would205 be automatically split up to every person who has ever206 contributed to emacs in proportion to the amount of207 community esteem, code quantity, bugs fixed, whatever the208 community decides. This might make it possible for209 programmers to live entirely off of free programming.211 - distributed graphics :: Browser based graphics-card accelerated212 distributed computing API.214 - pronouns :: use capital letters A-Z instead of pronouns. They solve215 pronoun referents and gender neutrality, are short to216 say, and you can encode useful information into the217 choice of letter. For example, instead of "Meetings218 shall be presided over by the president, unless she is219 absent." USE "Meetings shall be presided over by the220 president, unless P is absent." We already use this a221 little, since I and U are reserved for the subject and222 object respectively.224 - phone DSP :: software app that inserts an audio DSP between the225 input to a phone and the output. The DSP is delicious226 and configurable, and can allow men to make their227 voices deeper, etc. The app would allow you to hear228 your own voice as others hear it. Most people hate how229 their own voice sounds. The app would also allow one to230 immediately change the parameters of the DSP using good231 presets.233 - predestined body learning :: a good example of predestined learning234 might be the mirror neurons.236 - restaurant receipt :: use a carbon copy receipt instead of two stupid237 copies.239 - anti google glass :: glasses with mounted lasers and computer vision240 that targets the cameras in google glass and destroy them.242 - wearable towel :: towel with clasp, velcro, whatever, that allows243 one to wear the towel more securely than just244 wrapping it tightly and hoping for the best.246 - crossdressing :: Easiest way to disguise oneself as a woman is to247 wear a burka.249 - book-mode :: intelligent color highlighting for books and250 articles. It would disambiguate pronouns and involved251 references. For example, if "Rachael" as red, and "the252 blonde haired girl" refers to "Rachael", then "the253 blonde haired girl" would he colored red. Also, you254 could disambiguate multi part run-on sentences by255 highlighting each subcomponent. Maybe would also have256 applications to scientific reading.258 - Handheld light Rain measurement :: this would be a clear, teflon259 coated plastic disk with a camera underneath the disk. You would260 be able to hold the device out and it would measure the rate of261 accumulation of water droplets from fine mists and light rain by262 using computer vision to measure the diameters of the drops.264 - Big Brother Farming :: This would be a vision system that would265 individually monitor each plant and turn on water, etc to ensure266 maximum/uniform growth for each plant.268 - Discrete Faucet :: A faucet with discrete ticks instead of269 continuous.271 - Laser Circle :: take a glass microfiliment and shine a laser at one272 end at an oblique angle. It will make a perfect,273 large circle on the wall, converting a laser beam274 into a laser cone, preserving most of the energy of275 the laser.277 - Invisible Glass :: Take a container of liquid and embed a278 glass sculpture made out of glass that has exactly the same index279 of refraction and color of the liquid. Then the sculpture will be280 totally invisible in the container, and will only be revealed281 when the liquid is drained. The container might be a fancy282 wine/spirit bottle or an hourglass.284 - Caterpillar people :: A race of caterpillar like creatures gains285 intelligence after eons of predation by birds, etc. These286 caterpillar creatures still undergo metamorphosis into a large287 butterfly-like creature. The metamorphosis process turns the288 caterpillar's brain into mush and reforms it into a minimal,289 dumb, truly insect-like mind, completely destroying the person290 the caterpillar was. The society develops all sorts of customs and291 religious interpretations of the metamorphosis. It is viewed as292 good and natural by some since it is part of their life cycle and293 necessary to propagate the species, as only the butterflies can294 mate. Some think that the butterflies are still the same person295 because they have the same soul, even they no longer posses the296 memories or personality of the original caterpillar. Some see the297 butterfly form as the "true form" of the species, since the298 butterflies can fly, mate, and are beautiful. Many make a big299 deal out of the fact that 1-2% of the caterpillar's mind is300 actually preserved in the butterfly. Some see it as a terrible301 tragedy and argue that the caterpillars should try to stop the302 metamorphosis by technology. Practically, some very important303 members of society undergo hormone therapy and/or surgery to304 prevent metamorphosis so that they can live longer as themselves.306 This is a continuation of Marvin Minsky's ideas about pain being307 something that preserves our bodies while destroying our minds,308 something that is a remnant from our too harsh animal days that309 hasn't caught up to the fact that we have very complex brains310 now. It's a worst-case scenario about a maladaptive genetic311 legacy. Also, it's inspired by "There She Is!!!", which makes a312 compelling point about homosexuality by introducing a second313 gender characteristic (bunny/cat, male/female), which makes314 homophobia look very silly. Here, our own biological legacy of315 pain and death is made to look like the tragedy it is through the316 lens of the the caterpillar people.318 - relationships as a business :: [[http://thedailywtf.com/Articles/Up-or-Out-Solving-the-IT-Turnover-Crisis.aspx][Turnover-Crisis]] is an excellent talk319 about the "culture of quitting," which is about better business320 by letting people go instead of keeping them around past their321 "apex". Focuses on information transfer. Cool idea of an alumni322 network, which for relationships would be a group of satisfied323 ex-lovers, who would recommend new people your way, and who might324 consider coming to you again, refreshed from their time away with325 new stories/experiences. I should look for examples of this and326 how they worked out.328 - coffee with tea :: /rlm-tea/ contains 2% sugar, 10% cream, and 20%329 dylan coffee. /dylan coffee/ contains 5% sugar,330 20% cream, and 10% rlm-tea. Start your mornings331 with recursion!333 - psychic crystal :: in a science fiction story, this would be an334 object that is very easy to move physically but is extremely335 difficult to move with telekinesis.337 - http://betsofbitco.in/ :: what a great place for an AI/person to338 prove themselves as a good predictor. I wish this could be339 automated.341 - true reflection :: don't forget about that mirror in the student342 center!, it's two mirrors at right angles, like staring at a343 corner of a room. The light reflects so that it shows you what344 you actually look like, instead of your mirror image.346 - remote control wasp :: use computer to drive wings with remote347 power/logic.349 - encrypted email phone book :: public (distributed?) database of350 email->private-key pairs, to enable automatic encryption.352 - universal eye color :: every equivalent creature will see each353 others' eyes as black -- it's universal. Even if the creatures354 see in radio waves, and their eyes are 2m long pieces of jagged355 metal, when those creatures look at each other, they will see356 black, the absence of light and color (since it's being absorbed357 by the sensor array).359 - intelligent microwave :: it learns where the hot nodes of its fields360 are, and uses them to evenly heat any food item. It has an infared361 camera or something to keep track of how hot the food is. That way,362 you don't get bowls where the edges are boiling, while the center is363 still frozen. Requires a little bit of intelligence/vision, since364 the exact pattern of heating totally depends on the exact shape of365 the food. Wouldn't need a carousel, and wouldn't need a timer,366 just a desired temperature. Could also detect ice, and automatically367 defrost the parts which are frozen. Might be able to work much368 faster since it can avoid overheating; might have problems with369 heating the insides of thick things, might need a weight sensor too.371 + Would be much cleaner than other microwaves, since food would372 "sputter" and splash liquid much less.374 + Throw in some SIFT+R processing to match previously cooked foods375 and learn the exact heating profiles for things that have been376 cooked before -- it can get faster the more it's used.378 - compression :: brain-aware image compression algorithm380 - Credit card proxy :: would be a company which works like paypal381 except for real world transactions383 - Flesh pillow :: a pillow like the arm or torso of a human, complete384 with simulated temperature, bones, and heartbeat.386 - super screw :: a screw which has only one or two threads and instead387 uses compression to fit into a hole (the whole shank388 of the screw is split into multiple pieces to389 accomplish this; the tip is a point, then the middle390 bulges out and gets compressed when screwed in.392 - light filter :: (like light tweezers) to mechanically separate393 fluids with different index of refraction395 - chalk eraser project :: maybe make a directional eraser, for easy396 release of chalk dust, like fur, and how it likes to rest in a397 certain direction.399 - silver socks :: socks laced with silver for the antimicrobial400 properties.402 - UROP :: magnet gear/metal teeth tape404 - rod of moses :: device to distill urine through evaporation and405 easily dispose of urea crystals for use in desert --406 produce drinkable water.408 - UROP :: Make the LED in line with the flow for the micro injector, so409 that it may transmit maximum flow. Motor that changes410 distance of internal magnet from windings depending on411 desired speed so as to obtain maximum power efficiency.413 - lottery scraper :: web scraper which monitors various lotteries,414 looking for "special" gimmick changes in the rules (like 4x415 winnings on Wednesdays) and computes expected value...417 - Memristiors novel design :: make an evolutionary algorithm to make418 old stuff using all four basic circuit elements.420 - Conductive concrete :: concrete that has embedded metal fibers so421 that it can conduct electricity.423 - little bitty melting pot :: might be useful for some types of424 manufacturing/3D printing -- how small can an induction melter be425 made, for example.427 - power strip/timer programmable combination :: meh429 - algorithms :: which learn what their inputs are and in what order,430 and can adapt to changing circumstances -- they431 remember previous arguments and adapt so as to respond432 to different connections.434 - true pure tones :: hear a true pure tone by direct stimulation of the435 nerves of the ear437 - mechanical analogue to the electrical op-amp :: would be an object438 with two levers -- you pull on one lever and the other moves the439 same way, no matter what's in the way or what it is driving. This440 analogy could be useful to teach op amps to people.442 - paper folding device :: make it convenient to fold lots of papers in443 various ways.445 - concrete epoxy :: epoxy with sand/ some other solid material.447 - light capacitor :: suspend some ball of material with a high index448 of refraction and shine light into it so it gets stuck -- would449 the light stay trapped forever? Could you build up unlimited450 quantities of light inside the sphere (which could then be451 released slowly by frustrated internal reflection?453 - movie screening :: Movies always are too long at first. One way to454 shorten them ``scientifically" is to record blink rate during the455 move and then remove / shorten the frames of the parts in which456 there are a lot of blinking (average this over multiple people)457 better yet, put it online and do it across thousands of people. I458 got this from youtube in which there is an episode of kill bill459 which is composed entirely of the parts in which people had their460 eyes closed. slogan: want to make a movie people can't take their461 eyes off of? Just take those parts out!463 - optimize an article :: capture reading of a scientific article via464 screen capture while people read it, then use it to make the465 article better. like the movie-pruning idea.467 - super reading program :: teaches people the ideal mental mask to468 apply during reading so as to read very fast.470 - explosive thermite epoxy putty :: one part would contain the rust,471 one part the aluminum.473 - reading comprehension :: use the above screen capture routine to474 make a quiz program that constructs questions about the content475 you seemed to gloss over while reading. could be easy if the pdf476 came with embedded questions. Dylan: automatically generate477 word-cloud about the parts you found most interesting; help478 others who read the same stuff by drawing attention to the479 interesting parts.481 - hard sword :: make a samurai sword, but use osmiridum instead of482 martensite for the cutting part; it should be a better483 sword.485 - close range wireless :: use the induction technology used to486 recharge electric toothbrushes with no metal links to send data487 without any metal at all!489 - reading :: is a form of synsethesia491 - DNA printer :: A machine which translates the text eg, "ACTGAC" into492 actual DNA494 - black generator :: ferro-fluid magnetic field suspended micro495 generator to make electricity497 - alcohol battery :: alcohol/fluid flow powered battery499 - folding razor blade sword ::501 - perfect pitch :: learn perfect pitch using another sense in502 combination (sight or touch)504 - kaleidoscope projector ::506 - razor blade de-sharpener :: for guilt free disposal508 - bricks :: filled with luminescent plant material510 - bio metallic structure :: metal grids with seeds inside, which grow511 together and form a durable biological matrix. The metal512 substrate delivers water. (maybe use plastic instead of metal?)513 Dylan: enrich plants with inorganic compounds; electrical514 interfaces in cellular plant matter => remote-controlled515 photosynthetic/bioluminescent structures.517 - conducting extracellular matrix :: to allow better control of518 organic systems and an enhanced nervous system.520 - cross-modal memory hashing :: a way to retrieve memories more521 robustly.523 - flossing thimble-guards :: (these actually exist)525 - rules + lattice learning :: integrate lattice learning with rules by526 generating hypothetical examples528 - wooden refrigerator :: to give food a better taste Dylan: like529 barrels for wine, or planks for salmon. Maybe just have "flavor530 planks" for your pre-existing fridge. Need to mitigate effect of531 temperature on volatility?533 - radioactive transmutation molecule by molecule :: create precious534 metals or something else economically advantageous.536 - crowd preservation :: inoculate food with tons of harmless537 bacteria so that there's no room for bad bacteria as a method of538 preservation540 - old school preservation :: Pasteur - style holding jar with siphon541 as a way to store liquids at room temperature indefinitely w/o542 refrigeration.544 - restaurant policy :: Throw rude people out of restaurant as a matter545 of course -- make ambiance much better.547 - clean windows :: make something that mixes soap with fire hydrant548 water (and reduces the pressure a bit) and use it549 to clean windows of buildings.551 - ocarina :: make an ocarina out of pure silver553 - fire pen :: pen which burns words on to the page, thus never needing554 any ink. Is there a way to make it runnable from the555 human's energy?557 - website to design your own soda :: and label, and have it mailed to558 you / sell it from your own online store.560 - solar panels :: that float on the ocean562 - handcuffs with more than two cuffs (3?) :: great for daisy chaining563 people, binding them to environment, etc.565 - vector based SOUND files :: like the pictures but with SOUND. codify566 sound in a language with enough symbols so that it can describe567 everything and encode it in that. would be like going from speech568 to text or smtg. Could also store sound as an image of the569 wavefront encoded as a vector image.571 - Mouse :: with a horizontal scroll wheel in addition to the vertical572 scroll wheel574 - logic maintenance system for big institutions :: to make sure the575 things they are thinking about doing are not retarded577 - http://www.regulations.gov/ :: cool site579 - genetically engineered glowing fruit :: sell seeds?581 - memory slide :: IF memories are encoded using particular sensory582 impressions, what happens if the sensory organ583 itself changes? those memories would become584 inaccessible. maybe this is why we can't remember585 much from our childhoods. also, could this happen586 throughout life as well? Could S remember stuff from587 his childhood?589 - make a completely indestructible phone :: no moving parts or display590 you should be able to slam it around all you want, and it will591 just work. brutally simple. aerogel around the battery, minimal592 interface - never gets too hot, and can be dropped into water. no593 holes -- uses field effects for everything from the buttons to594 inductive charging and data transfer.596 - midi to ocarina "tabs" program :: (online website? buy ocarinas from597 it too)599 - 3d printing with sound pulses (or just patterns) :: like the 8.03600 lecture602 - lighter flint on spring :: make hot, throw it at something, and it603 makes sparkles!605 - nuclear energy :: Rebranding New+Clear Energy with informational606 campaign and public debate forum to enforce its607 transparent and open nature. France needn't be the608 world leader in nuclear energy. (Dylan)610 - bubbles :: Engineer a material which has both ductility and high611 surface tension to make the "third"612 minimal-surface-energy solution to a bubble suspended613 between two equal-diameter rings. (Solutions are614 cylindrical catenary curve, two separated half-bubbles,615 and a double-cone)617 - Textbook whose content can be varied continuously :: alter level of618 difficulty, rigor, diction, emphasize crossover with certain619 other discipline, etc. Content generated dynamically from620 knowledge base, along with questions that are moreover altered to621 guide knowledge acquisition. Motivation: One book of622 knowledge. /One./625 ** From Jacob's idea list627 - Roommate-canceling headphones: uses roommate's laptop mic to seed628 noise cancellation alg in your headphones (would this629 work?). -Update on sound canceling headphones that take feed from630 tv: how about ones that cancel people talking on the phone by631 receiving the phone signals and playing inverse sound632 waves. #signalprocessing ~jcole@mit.edu634 - ClackerAlert -- tells if you slam the keys too hard using sound data635 (and speed/jerkiness data)!.Prevents RSI ~jcole@mit.e637 - Panic Pin :: separate pin that you can tell someone if forced to638 identify your PIN (idea from idea about credit cards)