rlm@43: #+title: Big List O' Ideas rlm@43: #+author: Robert McIntyre rlm@43: #+email: rlm@mit.edu rlm@43: #+description: list of ideas from the last ~ 7 years rlm@43: #+keywords: aurellem ideas half-baked ramdom rlm@43: #+SETUPFILE: ../../aurellem/org/setup.org rlm@43: #+INCLUDE: ../../aurellem/org/level-0.org rlm@43: #+babel: :mkdirp yes :noweb yes :exports both rlm@43: rlm@42: * Ideas rlm@42: rlm@43: This is a list of all the ideas I've had that I felt like writing down rlm@43: for the past ~ 7 years. Some of them could be practical inventions and rlm@43: are "just" waiting the that 95% persperiation to bring them to rlm@43: furition, some are ideas for science fiction, and some are simple rlm@43: observations. There are arranged roughly in reverse chronological rlm@43: order, with the most recent ideas at the top of the list. The ones at rlm@43: the bottom of the list are heavily influenced by my time at MIT. rlm@43: rlm@43: If you find some of these interesting and would like to collaborate on rlm@43: them with me or discuss them in more detail, I'd love to hear from rlm@43: you. You can email me at ideas@aurellem.org. rlm@43: rlm@42: - fixed cryopreservation :: why not use a fixitave to buy enough time rlm@42: to ramp up cryoprotectants to an acceptable level at room rlm@42: temperature? Then, the whole system can be rapidly cooled and rlm@42: vitrified. This method "severs the biological link" in that the rlm@42: fixitaves are highly toxic, but current vitrification procedures rlm@42: do this anyway since there can be a lot of freezing damage. rlm@38: rlm@40: - bitcoin wallet :: Part of "server culture", this would be something rlm@40: like "coin.your-domain.com" which would serve as rlm@40: your personal trusted access to your own bitcoins rlm@40: from anywhere. rlm@40: rlm@40: - libpay :: this would be a free library which would enable rlm@40: micro-donations to software projects and other projects, rlm@40: so that you could donate a panny to "emacs" and it would rlm@40: be automitacally split up to every person who has ever rlm@40: contributed to emacs in proportion to the amount of rlm@40: community esteem, code quantity, bugs fixed, whatever the rlm@40: community decides. This might make it posibe for rlm@40: programmers to live entirely off of free programming. rlm@40: rlm@41: - Browser based graphics-card accelerated distributed computing API. rlm@41: rlm@40: - pronouns :: use capital letters A-Z instead of pronouns. They solve rlm@40: pronoun referents and gender neutrality, are short to rlm@40: say, and you can encode useful information into the rlm@40: choice of letter. For example, instead of "Meetings rlm@40: shall be presided over by the president, unless she is rlm@42: absent." USE "Meetings shall be presided over by the rlm@40: president, unless P is absent." We already use this a rlm@40: little, since I and U are reserved for the subject and rlm@40: object respectively. rlm@40: rlm@40: - phone DSP :: software app that inserts an audio DSP between the rlm@40: input to a phone and the output. The DSP is delicious rlm@40: and configurable, and can allow men to make their rlm@40: voices deeper, etc. The app would allow you to hear rlm@40: your own voice as others hear it. Most people hate how rlm@40: their own voice sounds. The app would also allow one to rlm@40: immediately change the paramaters of the DSP using good rlm@40: presets. rlm@40: rlm@40: - predestined body learning :: a good example of pre destined learning rlm@40: might be the mirror neurons. rlm@40: rlm@40: - resturant reciept :: use a carbon copy reciept instead of two stupid rlm@40: copies. rlm@40: rlm@41: - anti google glass :: glasses with mounted lasers and computer vision rlm@41: that targets the cameras in google glass and destroy them. rlm@41: rlm@40: - wearable towel :: towel with clasp, velcro, whatever, that allows rlm@40: one to wear the towel more securely than just rlm@40: wrapping it tightly and hoping for the best. rlm@40: rlm@41: - Easiest way to disguise onself as a woman is to wear a burka. rlm@41: rlm@40: - book-mode :: intelligent color highlighting for books and rlm@40: articles. It would disambiguate pronouns and involved rlm@40: references. For example, if "Rachael" as red, and "the rlm@40: blonde haired girl" refers to "Rachael", then "the rlm@40: blonde haired girl" would he colored red. Also, you rlm@40: could disambiguate multi part runon sentences by rlm@40: highlighting each subcomponent. Maybe would also have rlm@40: appliations to scientific reading. rlm@40: rlm@40: - Handheld light Rain measurement :: this would be a clear, teflon rlm@40: coated plasic disk with a camera underneath the disk. You would rlm@40: be able to hold the device out and it would measure the rate of rlm@40: accumulation of water droplets from fine mists and light rain by rlm@40: using computer vision to measure the diameters of the drops. rlm@40: rlm@40: - Big Brother Farming :: This would be a vision system that would rlm@40: individually monitor each plant and turn on water, etc to ensure rlm@40: maximum/uniform growth for each plant. rlm@40: rlm@40: - Discrete Faucet :: A faucet with discrete ticks instead of rlm@40: continous. rlm@40: rlm@40: - Laser Circle :: take a glass microfiliment and shine a laser at one rlm@40: end at an oblique angle. It will make a perfect, rlm@40: large circle on the wall, converting a laser beam rlm@40: into a laser cone, perserving most of the energy of rlm@40: the laser. rlm@40: rlm@40: - Invisible Glass :: Take a container of liquid and embed a rlm@40: glass sculpture made out of glass that has exactly the same index rlm@40: of refraction and color of the liquid. Then the sculpture will be rlm@40: totally invisible in the container, and will only be revealed rlm@40: when the liquid is drained. The container might be a fancy rlm@40: wine/spirit bottle or an hourglass. rlm@40: rlm@40: - Caterpillar people :: A race of catepillar like creatures gains rlm@40: intelligence after eons of predation by birds, etc. These rlm@40: catepillar creatures still undergo metamorphosis into a large rlm@40: butterfly-like creature. The metamorphosis process turns the rlm@40: caterpillar's brain into mush and reforms it into a minimal, rlm@40: dumb, truly insect-like mind, completely destroying the person rlm@40: the catepillar was. The society develops all sorts of customs and rlm@40: religious interpretations of the metamorphosis. It is viewed as rlm@40: good and natural by some since it is part of their life cycle and rlm@40: necessary to propogate the species, as only the butterflies can rlm@40: mate. Some think that the butterflies are still the same person rlm@40: because they have the same soul, even they no longer posess the rlm@40: memories or personality of the original catepillar. Some see the rlm@40: butterfly form as the "true form" of the species, since the rlm@40: butterflies can fly, mate, and are beautiful. Many make a big rlm@40: deal out of the fact that 1-2% of the catepillar's mind is rlm@40: actually preserved in the butterfly. Some see it as a terrible rlm@40: tradgedy and argue that the catepillars should try to stop the rlm@40: metamorphosis by technology. Practically, some very important rlm@40: members of society undergo hormone therapy and/or surgery to rlm@40: prevent metamorphosis so that they can live longer as themselves. rlm@40: rlm@40: This is a continuation of Marvin Minsky's ideas about pain being rlm@40: something that preserves our bodies while destroying our minds, rlm@40: something that is a remnant from our too harsh animal days that rlm@40: hasn't caught up to the fact that we have very complex brains rlm@40: now. It's a worst-case scenario about a maladaptive genetic rlm@40: legacy. Also, it's inspired by "There She Is!!!", which makes a rlm@40: compelling point about homosexuality by introducing a second rlm@40: gender characteristic (bunny/cat, male/female), which makes rlm@40: homophobia look very silly. Here, our own biological legacy of rlm@40: pain and death is made to look like the tradegy it is through the rlm@40: lense of the the caterpillar people. rlm@40: rlm@43: - relationships as a business :: rlm@43: http://thedailywtf.com/Articles/Up-or-Out-Solving-the-IT-Turnover-Crisis.aspx rlm@43: is an excellent talk about the "culture of quitting," which is about rlm@43: better business by letting people go instead of keeping them around rlm@43: past their "apex". Focouses on information transfer. Cool idea of an rlm@43: alumni network, which for relationships would be a group of rlm@43: satisfied ex-lovers, who would recommend new people your way, and rlm@43: who might consider coming to you again, refreshed from their time rlm@43: away with new stories/experiences. I should look for examples of rlm@43: this and how they worked out. rlm@43: rlm@43: - coffe with tea :: /rlm-tea/ contains 2% sugar, 10% cream, and 20% rlm@43: dylan coffee. /dylan coffee/ contains 5% sugar, rlm@43: 20% cream, and 10% rlm-tea. Start your mornings rlm@43: with recursion! rlm@43: rlm@43: - psychic crystal :: in a science fiction story, this would be an rlm@43: object that is very easy to move physically but is extremely rlm@43: difficult to move with telekinesis. rlm@43: rlm@40: - http://betsofbitco.in/ :: what a great place for an AI/person to rlm@40: prove themselves as a good predictor. I wish this could be rlm@40: automated. rlm@40: rlm@33: - don't forget about that mirror in the student center!, it's two rlm@33: mirrors at right angles, like staring at a corner of a room. The rlm@33: light reflects so that it shows you what you actually look like, rlm@33: instead of your mirror image. rlm@33: rlm@33: - remote control wasp :: use computer to drive wings with remote rlm@32: power/logic. rlm@32: rlm@33: - public (distributed?) database of email->private-key pairs, to rlm@33: enable automatic encryption. rlm@32: rlm@39: - every equivalent creature will see each others' eyes as black -- rlm@40: it's universal. Even if the creatures see in radio waves, and their rlm@39: eyes are 2m long pieces of jagged metal, when those creatures look rlm@39: at each other, they will see black, the absence of light and color rlm@32: (since it's being absorbed by the sensor array). rlm@32: rlm@33: - intelligent microwave :: it learns where the hot nodes of its fields rlm@32: are, and uses them to evenly heat any food item. It has an infared rlm@32: camera or something to keep track of how hot the food is. That way, rlm@32: you don't get bowls where the edges are boiling, while the center is rlm@32: still frozen. Requires a little bit of intelligence/vision, since rlm@32: the exact pattern of heating totally depends on the exact shape of rlm@32: the food. Wouldn't need a carasouel, and wouldn't need a timer, rlm@32: just a desired temperature. Could also detect ice, and automotically rlm@32: defrost the parts which are frozen. Might be able to work much rlm@32: faster since it can aviod overheating; might have problems with rlm@32: heating the insides of thick things, might need a weight sensor too. rlm@32: rlm@39: + Would be much cleaner than other microwaves, since food would rlm@39: "sputter" and splash liquid much less. rlm@32: rlm@39: + Throw in some SIFT+R processing to match previously cooked foods rlm@39: and learn the exact heating profiles for things that have been rlm@39: cooked before -- it can get faster the more its used. rlm@32: rlm@33: - brain-aware image compression algorithm rlm@32: rlm@33: - Credit card proxy - would be a company which works like paypal rlm@33: except for real world transactions rlm@32: rlm@33: - Flesh pillow :: a pillow like the arm or torso of a human, complete rlm@33: with simulated temperature, bones, and heartbeat. rlm@33: rlm@33: - super screw :: a screw which has only one or two threads and intead rlm@33: uses compresion to fit into a hole (the whole shank rlm@33: of the screw is split into multiple pieces to rlm@33: accomplish this; the tip is a point, then the middle rlm@33: bulges out and gets compressed when screwed in. rlm@33: rlm@33: - light filter :: (like light tweezers) to mechanically seperate rlm@33: fluids with different index of refraction rlm@33: rlm@33: - chalk eraser project :: maybe make a directional eraser, for easy rlm@33: release of chalk dust, like fur, and how it likes to rest in a rlm@33: certain direction. rlm@33: rlm@34: - silver socks rlm@32: rlm@34: - UROP: magnet gear/metal teeth tape device to distill urine through rlm@34: evaporation and easily dispose of urea crystals for use in desert -- rlm@34: produce drinkable water. rlm@32: rlm@34: - UROP: Make the LED in line with the flow for the microinjector, so rlm@34: that it may transmit maximum flow. Motor that changes distance of rlm@34: internal magnet from windings depending on desired speed so as to rlm@34: obtain maximum power efficiency. rlm@32: rlm@34: - web scraper which monitors various lottries, looking for "special" rlm@34: gimmick changes in the rules (like 4x winnings on Wednesdays) and rlm@34: computes expected value... rlm@34: rlm@34: - Memristiors novel design :: make an evolutionary algorithm to make rlm@34: old stuff using all four basic circuit elements. rlm@34: rlm@34: - Conductive concrete rlm@34: rlm@34: - little bitty melting pot rlm@34: rlm@34: - power strip/timer programmable combination rlm@34: rlm@34: - algorthms which learn what their inputs are and in what order, and rlm@34: can adapt to changing circumstances -- they remember previous rlm@34: arguments and adapt so as to respond to different connections. rlm@34: rlm@34: - hear a true pure tone by direct stimultion of the nerves of the ear rlm@43: rlm@43: - mechanical analogue to the electrical op-amp :: would be an object rlm@43: with two levers -- you pull on one lever and the other moves the rlm@43: same way, no matter what's in the way or what it is driving. This rlm@43: anlogy could be useful to teach op amps to people. rlm@34: rlm@34: - paper folding device :: make it convienent to fold lots of papers in rlm@34: various ways. rlm@34: rlm@34: - concrete epoxy :: epoxy with sand/ some other solid material. rlm@34: rlm@43: - light capacator :: suspend some ball of material with a high index rlm@43: of refraction and shine light into it so it gets stuck -- would rlm@43: the light stay trapped forever? Could you build up unlimited rlm@43: quantities of light inside the sphere (which could then be rlm@43: released slowly by frustrated internal reflection? rlm@34: rlm@40: - movie screening :: Movies always are too long at first. One way to rlm@34: shorten them ``scientifically" is to record blink rate during the rlm@34: move and then remove / shorten the frames of the parts in which rlm@34: there are a lot of blinking (average this over multiple people) rlm@34: better yet, put it online and do it across thousands of people. I rlm@34: got this from youtube in which there is an episode of kill bill rlm@34: whih is composed entirely of the parts in whihc opeople had their rlm@34: eyes closed. slogan: want to make a movie people can't take their rlm@34: eyes off of? Just take those parts out! rlm@34: rlm@35: - capture reading of a scientific atricle via screen capture while rlm@35: people read it, then use it to make the article better. like the rlm@35: movie-pruning idea. rlm@35: rlm@35: - super reading program that teaches people the ideal mental mask to rlm@35: apply during reading so as to read very fast. rlm@35: rlm@34: - explosive thermite epoxy putty (one part would contain the rust, one rlm@34: part the alumimum) rlm@34: rlm@43: - use the above screen capture routine to make a quiz program that rlm@35: constructs questions about the content you seemed to gloss over rlm@35: while reading. could be easy if the pdf came with embedded rlm@35: questions. Dylan: automatically generate word-cloud about the parts rlm@35: you found most interesting; help others who read the same stuff by rlm@35: drawing attention to the interesting parts. rlm@34: rlm@35: - make a samurai sword, but use osmiridum instead of martensite for rlm@35: the cutting part; it should be a better sword. rlm@32: rlm@35: - use the induction technology used to recharge electric toothbrushes rlm@35: with no metal links to send data -- without any metal at all! rlm@32: rlm@35: - reading is a form of synsethesia rlm@32: rlm@35: - A machine which translates the text eg, "ACTGAC" into actual DNA rlm@32: rlm@35: - ferro-fluid magnetic field suspended micro generator to make rlm@35: electricity rlm@32: rlm@35: - alcohol/fluid flow powered battery rlm@32: rlm@35: - folding razor blade sword rlm@32: rlm@35: - learn perfect pitch using another sense in combination (sight or rlm@35: touch) rlm@32: rlm@35: - kaleidoscope projector rlm@32: rlm@35: - razor blade de-sharpener (for guilt free disposal) rlm@32: rlm@35: - bricks filled with luminescent plant material rlm@32: rlm@35: - metal grids with seeds inside, which grow together and form a rlm@35: durable biological matrix. The metal substrate delivers rlm@35: water. (maybe use plastic instead of metal?) Dylan: enrich plants rlm@35: with inorganic compounds; electrical interfaces in cellular plant rlm@35: matter => remote-controlled photosynthetic/bioluminescent rlm@35: structures. rlm@32: rlm@35: - conducting extracellular matrix rlm@32: rlm@35: - cross-modal memory hashing rlm@32: rlm@43: - flossing thimble-gaurds (these actually exist) rlm@32: rlm@35: - integrate lattice learning with rules by generating hypothetical rlm@35: examples rlm@32: rlm@35: - wooden refridgerator to give food a better taste Dylan: like barrels rlm@35: for wine, or planks for salmon. Maybe just have "flavor planks" for rlm@35: your pre-existing fridge. Need to mitigate effect of temperature on rlm@35: volatility? rlm@32: rlm@35: - radioactive transmutation molecule by molecule :: create precious rlm@35: metals or something else economically advantageous. rlm@32: rlm@35: - innolculate food with tons of harmless bacteria so that there's no rlm@35: room for bad bacteria as a method of preservation rlm@32: rlm@35: - pasteur - style holding jar with siphon as a way to store liquids ar rlm@35: room temperature indefinately w/o refridgeration.(7/26/2009) rlm@32: rlm@35: - Throw rude people out of resturant as a matter of course -- make rlm@35: ambiance much better. rlm@32: rlm@35: - make something that mixes soap with firehydrant water (and reduces rlm@35: the pressure a bit) and use it to clean windows of buildings. rlm@32: rlm@35: - make an ocarina out of pure silver rlm@32: rlm@35: - fire pen :: pen which burns words on to the page, thus never needing rlm@35: any ink. Is ther a way to make it runnable from the rlm@35: human's energy? rlm@32: rlm@35: - website to design your own soda, and label, and have it mailed to rlm@35: you / sell it from your own online store. rlm@35: rlm@35: - solar panels that float on the ocean rlm@43: rlm@35: - handcuffs with more than two cuffs (3?) :: great for daisy chaining rlm@43: people, binding them to environment, etc. rlm@35: rlm@35: - vector based SOUND files :: like the pictures but with SOUND. codify rlm@35: sound in a language with enough symbols so that it can describe rlm@35: everything and encode it in that. would be like going from speech rlm@43: to text or smtg. Could also store sound as an image of the rlm@35: wavefront encoded as a vector image. rlm@32: rlm@36: - Mouse with a horizontal scroll wheel in addition to the vertical rlm@36: scroll wheel rlm@32: rlm@36: - logic maintance system for big institutions to make sure the things rlm@36: they are thinking about doing are not retarded rlm@32: rlm@36: - http://www.regulations.gov/ rlm@32: rlm@36: - genetically engineered glowing fruit -- sell seeds? rlm@32: rlm@36: - memory slide :: IF memories are encoded using particular sensory rlm@36: impressions, what happens if the sensory organ rlm@36: itself changes? those memories would become rlm@36: unaccessable. maybe this is why we can't remember rlm@36: much from our childhoods. also, could this happen rlm@36: throught life as well? Could S remember stuff from rlm@36: his childhood? rlm@32: rlm@36: - make a completely indestructable phone :: no moving parts or display rlm@36: you should be able to slam it around all you want, and it will rlm@36: just work. brutally simple. aerogel around the battery, minimal rlm@36: interface - never gets too hot, and can be dropped into water. no rlm@36: holes -- uses field effects for everything from the buttons to rlm@36: inductive charging and data transfer. rlm@32: rlm@36: - midi to ocarina "tabs" program (online website? buy ocarinas from it rlm@36: too) rlm@32: rlm@36: - 3d printing with sound pulses (or just patterns) -- like the 8.03 rlm@36: lecture rlm@32: rlm@40: - lighter flint on spring :: make hot, throw it at something, and it rlm@40: makes sparkles! rlm@32: rlm@36: - Rebranding New+Clear Energy with informational campaign and rlm@36: public debate forum to enforce its transparent and open rlm@36: nature. France needn't be the world leader in nuclear rlm@36: energy. (Dylan) rlm@32: rlm@36: - Engineer a material which has both ductility and high surface rlm@36: tension to make the "third" minimal-surface-energy solution to a rlm@36: bubble suspended between two equal-diameter rings. (Solutions are rlm@36: cylindrical catenary curve, two separated half-bubbles, and a rlm@36: double-cone) rlm@38: rlm@38: - Textbook whose content can be varied continuously :: alter level of rlm@38: difficulty, rigor, diction, emphasize crossover with certain rlm@38: other discipline, etc. Content generated dynamically from rlm@38: knowledge base, along with questions that are moreover altered to rlm@38: guide knowledge acquisition. Motivation: One book of rlm@40: knowledge. /One./ rlm@40: rlm@40: rlm@40: ** From Jacob's idea list rlm@40: rlm@40: - Roommate-cancelling headphones: uses roommate's laptop mic to seed rlm@43: noise cancellation alg in your headphones (would this rlm@40: work?). -Update on sound canceling headphones that take feed from rlm@40: tv: how about ones that cancel people talking on the phone by rlm@40: receiving the phone signals and playing inverse sound rlm@40: waves. #signalprocessing ~jcole@mit.edu rlm@40: rlm@40: - Browser based graphics-card accelerated distributed computing API. rlm@40: rlm@40: - ClackerAlert -- tells if you slam the keys too hard using sound data rlm@40: (and speed/jerkiness data)!.Prevents RSI ~jcole@mit.e rlm@40: rlm@40: - Panic Pin :: separate pin that you can tell someone if forced to rlm@41: identify your PIN (idea from idea about credit cards)