TELEPATHY si
technology advance over the coming decades to centuries? Inevitably
science's ability to probe the thinking process is going to expand exponentially. As the sensitivity of our MRI and other sensing devices increases, science will be able to localize with greater precision the way
in which the brain sequentially processes thoughts and emotions. With
greater computer power, one should be able to analyze this mass of
data with greater accuracy. A dictionary of thought may be able to categorize a large number of thought patterns where different thought
patterns on an MRI screen correspond to different thoughts or feelings.
Although a complete one-to-one correspondence between MRI patterns and thoughts may never be possible, a dictionary of thought
could correctly identify general thoughts about certain subjects. MRI
thought patterns, in turn, could be mapped onto a neuronal map showing precisely which neurons are firing to produce a specific thought in
the brain.
But because the brain is not a computer but a neural network, in
which thoughts are spread out throughout the brain, ultimately we hit
a stumbling block: the brain itself. So although science will probe
deeper and deeper into the thinking brain, making it possible to decipher some of our thinking processes, it will not be possible to "read
your thoughts" with the pinpoint accuracy promised by science fiction.
Given this, I would term the ability to read general feelings and
thought patterns as a Class I impossibility. The ability to read more
precisely the inner workings of the mind would have to be categorized
as a Class II impossibility.
But there is perhaps a more direct way in which to tap into the
enormous power of the brain. Rather than using radio, which is weak
and easily dispersed, could one tap directly into the brain's neurons? If
so, we might be able to unleash an even greater power: psychokinesis.
technology advance over the coming decades to centuries? Inevitably
science's ability to probe the thinking process is going to expand exponentially. As the sensitivity of our MRI and other sensing devices increases, science will be able to localize with greater precision the way
in which the brain sequentially processes thoughts and emotions. With
greater computer power, one should be able to analyze this mass of
data with greater accuracy. A dictionary of thought may be able to categorize a large number of thought patterns where different thought
patterns on an MRI screen correspond to different thoughts or feelings.
Although a complete one-to-one correspondence between MRI patterns and thoughts may never be possible, a dictionary of thought
could correctly identify general thoughts about certain subjects. MRI
thought patterns, in turn, could be mapped onto a neuronal map showing precisely which neurons are firing to produce a specific thought in
the brain.
But because the brain is not a computer but a neural network, in
which thoughts are spread out throughout the brain, ultimately we hit
a stumbling block: the brain itself. So although science will probe
deeper and deeper into the thinking brain, making it possible to decipher some of our thinking processes, it will not be possible to "read
your thoughts" with the pinpoint accuracy promised by science fiction.
Given this, I would term the ability to read general feelings and
thought patterns as a Class I impossibility. The ability to read more
precisely the inner workings of the mind would have to be categorized
as a Class II impossibility.
But there is perhaps a more direct way in which to tap into the
enormous power of the brain. Rather than using radio, which is weak
and easily dispersed, could one tap directly into the brain's neurons? If
so, we might be able to unleash an even greater power: psychokinesis.