On Mind-Reading
Japanese researchers, at the end of 2008, reported in the science journal Neutron that they were able to reproduce approximations of what subjects were looking at by directly monitoring their brains with an MRI.
One of the researches said, "In as little as 10 years, advances in this field of research may make it possible to read a person's thoughts with some degree of accuracy."
While I find the concept and experiments fascinating (Do check out the image in the source below; it's cool), I'm not sure that this will lead to mind-reading.
There are different levels of what is going on inside one's mind. When you look at something, the visual stimuli are converted into electrochemical signals.
But neither the photons entering your eye nor the electrochemical signals they generate are what you "see" or experience "inside" your mind. The qualia we experience are still a mystery, as far as how they work.
That is, this experiment, as I understand it, is reading the effects of the electrochemical signals caused by looking at something, and back-translating into images. It is not any indication of the qualia.
Now, yes, when we think about something we aren't actually looking at, some of the same areas of the brain light up. However -- at least for me -- the experience of thinking about an image and actually looking at the same image is vastly different.[1] And I know that the disparity between these two things is lesser or greater for different individuals.
For example, if I am thinking about a cat, I, unlike some people apparently, do not see any image of any cat in my mind. "Cat" is a concept, not an image, nor a sound, nor a smell. Even if I try to visualize a "cat" I do not "see" one in my mind.
It is even possible for people's brains to interpret and respond to things without the person's awareness of it. This is called "blind sight".[2]
I wonder if I thought about a cat -- or even the letters "n-e-u-t-r-o-n" used in the experiment -- what would come out on their screens. I don't see that they've shown that they are close to this yet.
But it will be interesting to see what experiments they try next....
Source:
http://www.pinktentacle.com/2008/12/scientists-extract-images-directly-from-brain/
One of the researches said, "In as little as 10 years, advances in this field of research may make it possible to read a person's thoughts with some degree of accuracy."
While I find the concept and experiments fascinating (Do check out the image in the source below; it's cool), I'm not sure that this will lead to mind-reading.
There are different levels of what is going on inside one's mind. When you look at something, the visual stimuli are converted into electrochemical signals.
But neither the photons entering your eye nor the electrochemical signals they generate are what you "see" or experience "inside" your mind. The qualia we experience are still a mystery, as far as how they work.
That is, this experiment, as I understand it, is reading the effects of the electrochemical signals caused by looking at something, and back-translating into images. It is not any indication of the qualia.
Now, yes, when we think about something we aren't actually looking at, some of the same areas of the brain light up. However -- at least for me -- the experience of thinking about an image and actually looking at the same image is vastly different.[1] And I know that the disparity between these two things is lesser or greater for different individuals.
For example, if I am thinking about a cat, I, unlike some people apparently, do not see any image of any cat in my mind. "Cat" is a concept, not an image, nor a sound, nor a smell. Even if I try to visualize a "cat" I do not "see" one in my mind.
It is even possible for people's brains to interpret and respond to things without the person's awareness of it. This is called "blind sight".[2]
I wonder if I thought about a cat -- or even the letters "n-e-u-t-r-o-n" used in the experiment -- what would come out on their screens. I don't see that they've shown that they are close to this yet.
But it will be interesting to see what experiments they try next....
Source:
http://www.pinktentacle.com/2008/12/scientists-extract-images-directly-from-brain/