This, That and Scary Things
Does anyone else have problems getting back to their routine after the holidays? I can’t even remember what day it is. Our holiday was great and there were a couple of days I could “sleep in” (Omigosh, I forgot what that was all about!). When you’re in the service business and the holiday comes in the middle of the week, you have to work on Saturday to make up for the day you missed. When it happens two weeks in a row, you’re schedule is completely thrown off. I’m STILL confuddled!
And then there’s tonight. Ohio State plays Texas. I don’t know how many Big Ten fans there are out there in Blogdom, but I am one of the top ten fans! (I think.) The Big Ten teams have not fared well in the Bowl Games this year (except for Iowa) and I am not anxious to watch the game tonight. But, watch it I will! OSU has not done well in the last 3 years with their Bowl Games either. I have great hopes that they will hand the Long Horns their helmets in a basket, but…ummm…confidence? Not so much. All I can say at this point is GO BUCKS!
Now, for the REAL reason I started this post. I watched 60 Minutes on TV last night and I was amazed and appalled at the same time. It seems a couple of professors at Carnegie (I think I’m right there) have taken the MRI to a whole new level! They call it the FMRI; the “F” stands for functional. It has become a “thought identifying machine”. They ran tests on volunteers and showed them pictures of different items and had them concentrate on each item for a few seconds and, after the computer gave them the printout, they were able to identify, from the brain waves, at which items each participant was looking. I have included the video of this segment at the end of this post.
Leslie Stahl, the commentator, asked if the computer saw it in a particular spot of the brain. The professor said that it found it in many parts of the brain. When someone looks at an item, they don’t think just “hammer”, they think about what it is, how it’s used, how they use it, whether or not they smashed their finger with one at one time, etc.
One of the show producers volunteered to get into the FMRI and test it. She was given 10 items to study while in the machine. These items were not known to the professor. When the read-out was returned, the computer identified each item she had studied correctly!
They are still working on the machine to fine-tune it. It could be used by the government to determine how much foreign countries know about our secrets; in war time, it could be used to glean information; police departments could use it instead of lie detectors. For instance, showing a picture of the crime scene or the victim to the individual being tested would register in the brain as knowledge of the crime.
Now, I don’t know about you, but this scares the heck out of me. I was under the impression that my thoughts were my own, known only to me…I am now wondering whether or not this could be the ultimate invasion of privacy. What do you think?
If any of you missed the episode last evening and would like to see it (for better accuracy), I am embedding the tape of entire show. The section concerning the FMRI starts at about 15:04
Until next time!
Filed under: morethansewso
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Our buckeyes lost
Isn’t it like third year in the row?
An yes, I had a really hard time to go back to work & school. I’m sure it will take me a week or two to get back to my routine.
Ivanhoes last blog post..Two Special Awards
Ah yes… the bowl games.
I’m happy. My roommates (all from Ohio) are not.
I’m from Oregon, so I’m 2-0 with both Oregon and Oregon State winning their bowl games.
We’re happy with the Utes beating Alabama (we live in Utah now).
They’re not happy… THE Ohio State University lost… again.
Shari Thomass last blog post..New year, new day… melting snow
Hmm, I didn’t see the 60 Minutes with this story Judy. However, I”m with you- I don’t feel good about it. Who knows what this would actually be used for-
Maureens last blog post..Jonathan Budd’s MLM Mastermind System
IVANHOE: Awww…it’s so depressing. We just can’t seem to win the BIG ones! Next Year!
SHARI: Glad your teams won! Wish THE Ohio State University had won. I’m from the OLD school…we were just OSU for years until people started confusing who I meant with Oregon State and Oklahoma State. And, if I say Buckeyes, anyone outside the Big Ten just says “huh?”. We’ll do better next year!
MAUREEN: Yup, it’s just plain SCARY! I don’t have anything to hide and probably would not object on a legal standard; however, I would have trouble on a moral standard. Also, if I or a member of family were VICTIMS of a crime, perhaps this would be extremely beneficial to the judicial system in getting the perpetrators off the street and providing closure to the victims.???
OH WOW….I missed this segment on 60 Minutes, but I’m right there with you! I”m OUTRAGED that this would even be considered. My God, the implications are so wide-spread. So if this thing malfunctions, somebody could be accused of a crime they didn’t even commit! We have plenty of that already.
And the privacy factor…….talk about an invasion of privacy! Nope, sorry…….for all the good this could possibly do, it’s just NOT worth all the negatives.
Thanks for posting on this, as I wasn’t aware of it.
Terris last blog post..Fini ~
I agree with you 100%! Hope you watched the video…I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Outrage is exactly what I felt as well. Thanks for stopping by!