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

[Joseph Strout]

On 9 Aug 1995, Tom Shafron wrote:

> They must be using something that stays constant between people, to 
> measure their thoughts.  I didn't know there was anything that was the 
> same in the way two people thought.  Is it possible that when we think 
> "left" there is a response in our bodies that happens the same in every 
> person, every single time, and that this reponse is both measurable and 
> unique for every possible thought?

Probably, a tendency to lean or flex leftward with the finger.  This is a 
completely natural tendency, in fact it's very difficult to fight.  If 
you've ever watched kids playing Nintendo (etc.), you may have noticed 
that they tend to move the entire control pad in the direction they "want 
to go".  More experienced players tend to twist or tilt the pad a little 
bit at least, even though everyone knows this has absolutely no effect on 
the game.  If they consciously tried to hold still, I bet you'd still get 
minute movements, especially when the game gets exciting.

So probably this device measures activity in the muscles of the finger, 
which consistently flexes in the direction that the user is "thinking".  
This would explain why no training is necessary.  It might also indicate 
some limitations: i.e., it works best in one dimension, maybe not so well 
in two; or works backwards if you turn you hand upside down.

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|    Joseph J. Strout           Department of Neuroscience, UCSD   |
|    jstrout at ucsd.edu           http://sdcc3.ucsd.edu/~jstrout/    |
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