Machine for pc and macintosh that can read your mind (This is no a joke)

[Tom Shafron]

In article <Pine.SGI.3.91.950808081948.11504A-100000 at golgi>, 
jstrout at ucsd.edu says...
>
>"Brain waves" generally refers to the electric field generated 
>collectively by the membrane potential of billions of neurons, as 
>measured by an EEG (electroencephalogram) machine.  This involves taping 
>at least two, and often dozens of electrodes to the scalp.  Even then, 
>the signals are very small, and very difficult to interpret.  At best, 
>they can give a measure of the activity within general regions of the 
>brain -- similar to the PET scans which have made much news in the last 
>few years, but with much better temporal resolution and worse spatial 
>resolution.  But even an EEG cannot "read your mind" or your thoughts.  
>With practice (and feedback), one can learn to control certain aspects of 
>the signal to control devices.  However, the EEG is very sensitive to 
>electrical activity in the scalp muscles, and it seems likely that these 
>EEG-controlled trains and such are controlled more by minute muscle 
>tension than by "brain waves".
>
>As for "brain waves" and thoughts being read from your fingertip -- I 
>don't think so.  With practice, though, one might be able to control a 
>device through subtle adjustments to muscular tension, skin conductivity, 
>etc., which have been shown to be learnable through biofeedback.  The 
>subject might not even be aware of what's going on, and so might 
>(erroneously) conclude that the machine is reading her thoughts.  But 
>this control would not come without practice, as the news story claimed.
>
>Just my $0.02 worth...
>

I'm sorry but I have been in recent contact with many people involved
in this project, and in just two words- your wrong.

Here is a correspondence I received from Stuart Dambrot, who has worked
with the prototype:

---------------------
You couldn't be more incorrect - or misleading - in your response. The 
MindDrive referred to in the initial message (The Other 90 Percent 
Technologies, Sausalito (415) 332-0433) uses an extremely complex 
algorithm to recover far more information than GSR. As I mentioned in my
response to the initial query, I was involved in the announcement and have
worked with the prototype, and it is as far beyond GSR/EEG measurement as 
cellular phones are beyond tin cans-and-string. If this seems a bit 
overreactive, please recall that advances in science and technology are
often stifled or overlooked because of the power of uniformed opinion.
--------------------

It doesn't use traditoinal EEG or galvonic skin response methods to read
you electrical field.  It works far faster. By the way I listed the number
of the company in the paragraph. If you still don't beleive me call them. 

P.S. I understood that it didn't read your mind in reality, but in practice 
it might as well.

Tom Shafron
tshafron at students.wisc.edu