SnyderShrugged Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 Absolutely fascinating! Though, I'm not sure is spending $4M in tax payer funding on something that seems like a bit of a lark. The bit about the telepathic limb control in Monkeys is amazing though! http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/05/pentagon-preps-soldier-telepathy-push/ Forget the battlefield radios, the combat PDAs or even infantry hand signals. When the soldiers of the future want to communicate, they’ll read each other’s minds. At least, that’s the hope of researchers at the Pentagon’s mad-science division Darpa. The agency’s budget for the next fiscal year includes $4 million to start up a program called Silent Talk. The goal is to “allow user-to-user communication on the battlefield without the use of vocalized speech through analysis of neural signals.” That’s on top of the $4 million the Army handed out last year to the University of California to investigate the potential for computer-mediated telepathy. Before being vocalized, speech exists as word-specific neural signals in the mind. Darpa wants to develop technology that would detect these signals of “pre-speech,” analyze them, and then transmit the statement to an intended interlocutor. Darpa plans to use EEG to read the brain waves. It’s a technique they’re also testing in a project to devise mind-reading binoculars that alert soldiers to threats faster the conscious mind can process them. The project has three major goals, according to Darpa. First, try to map a person’s EEG patterns to his or her individual words. Then, see if those patterns are generalizable — if everyone has similar patterns. Last, “construct a fieldable pre-prototype that would decode the signal and transmit over a limited range.” The military has been funding a handful of mind-tapping technology recently, and already have monkeys capable of telepathic limb control. Telepathy may also have advantages beyond covert battlefield chatter. Last year, the National Research Council and the Defense Intelligence Agency released a report suggesting that neuroscience might also be useful to “make the enemy obey our commands.” The first step, though, may be getting a grunt to obey his officer’s remotely-transmitted thoughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Mike Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 It sounds crazy but we are very close to making it reality. A few months ago it was shown that researchers can reconstruct a picture of what a person is thinking. People were shown a letter in the alphabet and told to think about it. Scientists were then able to use electrodes to read the brain impulses as a picture and could see the letter the people were thinking of on screen. Crazy but true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnyderShrugged Posted May 16, 2009 Author Share Posted May 16, 2009 It sounds crazy but we are very close to making it reality. A few months ago it was shown that researchers can reconstruct a picture of what a person is thinking. People were shown a letter in the alphabet and told to think about it. Scientists were then able to use electrodes to read the brain impulses as a picture and could see the letter the people were thinking of on screen. Crazy but true. Pretty cool stuff, almost sci-fi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpillian Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 Next you know we'll have telephones you can use anywhere and watch TV on, and rocket ships blasting into space!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 It sounds crazy but we are very close to making it reality. A few months ago it was shown that researchers can reconstruct a picture of what a person is thinking. People were shown a letter in the alphabet and told to think about it. Scientists were then able to use electrodes to read the brain impulses as a picture and could see the letter the people were thinking of on screen. Crazy but true. I remember watching that, for some people the picture was "fuzzier" or more distorted then some of the others, guess it depends on how hard you are thinking about it or how powerfull yuor noodle is...I do remember seeing this though, and i think this is very cool, until other agencies start finding uses for it like subliminal advertising... then Id be pissed if subway beems my brain with that damn five dollar footlong crap..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prosperity Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 IMO telepathy is the next step in human social development, the combination of telepathy with wireless networks will be able to create telepathic hive mind* communities. The world will be split into hive mind communities, and classical mind communities. There will be wars and the telepaths will win thanks to their superior organizational skills. You heard it here first (hive mind ability will probably in addition to personal mind, not a replacement) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMike619 Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 Next you know we'll have telephones you can use anywhere and watch TV on, and rocket ships blasting into space!!! we landed on the moon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpillian Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 we landed on the moon? That's crazy talk. What are you, Buck Rogers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 IMO telepathy is the next step in human social development, the combination of telepathy with wireless networks will be able to create telepathic hive mind* communities. The world will be split into hive mind communities, and classical mind communities. There will be wars and the telepaths will win thanks to their superior organizational skills.You heard it here first (hive mind ability will probably in addition to personal mind, not a replacement) I wonder what roaming cost's and texting will cost at that point...sheesh:silly: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMike619 Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 That's crazy talk. What are you, Buck Rogers? bitty bitty bitty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjah Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 There will be wars and the telepaths will win thanks to their superior organizational skills. Nah, the telepaths will self-destruct once each of them hears what the other telepaths are thinking about him. "No, YOUR wife's a fat cow!" [bang; thud] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpillian Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 IMO telepathy is the next step in human social development, the combination of telepathy with wireless networks will be able to create telepathic hive mind* communities. The world will be split into hive mind communities, and classical mind communities. There will be wars and the telepaths will win thanks to their superior organizational skills.You heard it here first (hive mind ability will probably in addition to personal mind, not a replacement) Interesting thought. What role do you think human nature (selfishness/greed/ambition/variety of lusts) would have on such hive mind communities? It seems to me that one of the saving graces of our current modes of communications is that our first thoughts are NOT communicated. Would such self-censoring be possible with telepathy? I'd see that as major hurdle (transmit this thought, but not this thought). Also, it seems like we're already reaching our limit as far as sensory overload goes. I would think the equivalent of a constant telepathic "conference call" might send us over the edge. Perhaps that would be one of the differentiators in the two communities you described: those that can handle it vs. those that can't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 I think the hive minds try to marry a girl from the traditional minds community, and family fueds break out. Friends die, the love becomes too much and when the hive mind accidently hurts himself and falls unconcious, the traditional mind woman will kill herself because she cant read he lovers mind to find out he is really still alive. When the hive mind dude finds out that his chick just killed herself because she thought he was dead and didnt really know he was just knocked out... he thinks to himself "damn, Ill never date another traditional minded chick, they are stuuuuupid!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prosperity Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 Interesting thought. What role do you think human nature (selfishness/greed/ambition/variety of lusts) would have on such hive mind communities? It seems to me that one of the saving graces of our current modes of communications is that our first thoughts are NOT communicated. Would such self-censoring be possible with telepathy? I'd see that as major hurdle (transmit this thought, but not this thought). Also, it seems like we're already reaching our limit as far as sensory overload goes. I would think the equivalent of a constant telepathic "conference call" might send us over the edge. Perhaps that would be one of the differentiators in the two communities you described: those that can handle it vs. those that can't. I think telepathy can take shape in a few ways, one would be telepathy that is a much more universal version of empathy. So we can feel generally what another person is feeling without the barriers of current communication... for example being able to feel deception, and to feel compassion when they are given off by other people. Another is one in which everyone has access to everyone else's thoughts... I think that while this is possible it may also lead to some social problems, and may be just too much information, but I don't think it's an all or nothing sort of deal...I think telepathic communication is very feasible with select information... for example giving instructions or explanations telepathically would just be a more efficient way to do what we do now. A combination of this, and true empathy I think could be very useful on a societal level. this one is more far fetched: Another form of telepathy can be just a much faster and accurate way to convey concepts. Knowledge isn't contained solely within language, to be able to communicate concepts directly without the constraints. The problem here is that I don't know how the medium which allows telepathy would be able to understand concepts without language. As for human vices, I think exposure to someone's vice is the best way to get rid of them. Often times you find that there is lower crimes in neighborhoods were everyone knows everyone else because they know them and presumably care more about them than strangers (this is where is universal empathy would be useful). The protection of anonymity (through hiding true thoughts and feelings through communication) gives people the sense of security that they can lie cheat and steal and still maintain the outside guise of being a good sense of imitation. Without that, the reward of being mischievous will be greatly reduced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prosperity Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 It's also possible that a telepathic hive mind will be one entity by itself made up of a collective of individuals... like your cells make up you, the individuals make up the hive mind. In this scenario everyone is the hive mind and the hive mind is everyone so society may be fundamentally be reduced to one individual... but I don't think such a society could prosper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterMP Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 They actually aren't spending money on the research for this. It is just a cover story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KNGwithOUTaCrwN Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 they’ll read each other’s minds. “make the enemy obey our commands.” so we're basically giving them jedi powers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bang Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 Telepathy + + ______________________________________________ = and inevitably... ~Pow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techboy Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 There will be wars and the telepaths will win thanks to their superior organizational skills. Not if this guy has anything to say about it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PokerPacker Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 its a logical step. We can already control computers and robotic arms via brain signals, why not speech? I bet it could be implemented in a very similar fashion. Plus, once the military gets their hands on this technology, it'll speed the development for the civilian market where it can go right back in to helping those who are paralyzed or other conditions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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