Archive for September 23, 2008
The Mind Control Project
According to this article by the Time magazine, the US Army has commissioned a $4 million contract to a coalition of scientists from the University of California at Irvine, Carnegie Mellon University, and the University of Maryland to begin developing “thought helmets” that would harness silent brain waves for secure communication among troops. Ultimately, the Army hopes the project will “lead to direct mental control of military systems by thought alone.”
The idea is not that far-fetched as a commercial video game that uses brain-wave technology will be on shelves by the summer of 2009. The US Army’s requirements, however, are much more sophisticated and may take decades to develop.
The ethical question of reading people’s minds is squashed by the scientists who claim that the technology requires willing consent as well as cooperation to train the helmet to recognise the unique brain-waves of each participant.
If some day, such technology is available, it would find numerous other applications!
Meet Sustainable Dave
I wish there were more people who emulated Dave Chameides – Emmy Award winning TV cameraman who stores all the trash he creates.
Keeping it all in his LA basement has made him actually realise the amount of unrequired products he buys. Consequently, he’s reduced buying crap that he doesn’t really need, thereby minimizing waste. And over a period of 8 months Dave has reduced waste production by a phenomenal margin too.
He points out that the garbage from NY is dumped over a 100 miles away. That from LA is dumped 40 miles outside the city. With landfills getting clogged, and recycling progressing at a rate significantly slower than waste production, one can only imagine the problem we face in the future.
Though this is in the context of the US, I’m quite sure that countries worldwide face a similar problem. And a starting step to solve this issue, could be as simple as reducing the garbage we actually produce. Think about it..
Frisking Skies 