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PHYSICS OF THE IMPOSSIBLE
ized in one spot, as in a Turing machine, but are spread out over much
of the brain, which is a typical feature of a neural network. MRI scans
show that thinking is actually like a Ping-Pong game, with different
parts of the brain lighting up sequentially, with electrical activity
bouncing around the brain.
Because thoughts are so diffuse and scattered throughout many
parts of the brain, perhaps the best that scientists will be able to do is
compile a dictionary of thoughts, that is, establish a one-to-one correspondence between certain thoughts and specific patterns of EEGs or
MRI scans. Austrian biomedical engineer Gert Pfurtscheller, for example, has trained a computer to recognize specific brain patterns and
thoughts by focusing his efforts on p waves found in EEGs. Apparently,
u waves are associated with the intention to make certain muscle
movements. He tells his patients to lift a finger, smile, or frown, and
then the computer records which p waves are activated. Each time the
patient performs a mental activity, the computer carefully logs the p
wave pattern. This process is difficult and tedious, since you have to
carefully process out spurious waves, but eventually Pfurtscheller has
been able to find striking correspondences between simple movements and certain brain patterns.
Over time this effort, combined with MRI results, may lead to creating a comprehensive "dictionary" of thoughts. By analyzing certain
patterns on an EEG or MRI scan, a computer might be able to identify
such patterns and reveal what the patient is thinking, at least in general terms. Such "mind reading" would establish a one-to-one correspondence between particular p waves and MRI scans, and specific
thoughts. But it is doubtful that this dictionary will be capable of picking out specific words in your thoughts.
PROJECTING YOUR THOUGHTS
If one day we might be able to read the broad outlines of another's
thoughts, then would it be possible to perform the opposite, to project
your thoughts into another person's head? The answer seems to be a
PHYSICS OF THE IMPOSSIBLE
ized in one spot, as in a Turing machine, but are spread out over much
of the brain, which is a typical feature of a neural network. MRI scans
show that thinking is actually like a Ping-Pong game, with different
parts of the brain lighting up sequentially, with electrical activity
bouncing around the brain.
Because thoughts are so diffuse and scattered throughout many
parts of the brain, perhaps the best that scientists will be able to do is
compile a dictionary of thoughts, that is, establish a one-to-one correspondence between certain thoughts and specific patterns of EEGs or
MRI scans. Austrian biomedical engineer Gert Pfurtscheller, for example, has trained a computer to recognize specific brain patterns and
thoughts by focusing his efforts on p waves found in EEGs. Apparently,
u waves are associated with the intention to make certain muscle
movements. He tells his patients to lift a finger, smile, or frown, and
then the computer records which p waves are activated. Each time the
patient performs a mental activity, the computer carefully logs the p
wave pattern. This process is difficult and tedious, since you have to
carefully process out spurious waves, but eventually Pfurtscheller has
been able to find striking correspondences between simple movements and certain brain patterns.
Over time this effort, combined with MRI results, may lead to creating a comprehensive "dictionary" of thoughts. By analyzing certain
patterns on an EEG or MRI scan, a computer might be able to identify
such patterns and reveal what the patient is thinking, at least in general terms. Such "mind reading" would establish a one-to-one correspondence between particular p waves and MRI scans, and specific
thoughts. But it is doubtful that this dictionary will be capable of picking out specific words in your thoughts.
PROJECTING YOUR THOUGHTS
If one day we might be able to read the broad outlines of another's
thoughts, then would it be possible to perform the opposite, to project
your thoughts into another person's head? The answer seems to be a