[MURG] new Road Map draft

[king-yin yan]

From: cat13 at illrepute.org
>> Devil is in the details... Is it possible to have a complete
>> gradual replacement using such a portable device? I'm
>> afraid if you got hundreds of millions of wires this is
>> not practical... With things like artificial eyes that would
>> be OK.
>
>Hrm.
>You might need some sort of bus within the skull, but I'm
>still willing to argue that, IF you replace bits going from
>the cortex, inward, then it might still be possible.

My point is that you'll have a lot of wires going between
the brain and the *external* computer. And that computer
is going to be quite big at first -- think about a Beowolf
cluster. How can you do the complete replacement without
massive wiring between brain and computer?

>"Dr. Phil Kennedy, chief executive officer of Neural Signals
>in Atlanta, Georgia, implanted two glass electrodes into the
>brain of a quadriplegic man. The patient was able to move a
>cursor across a computer screen."
>
>Why would metal electrodes be more suitable than glass for
>larger-scale deployment?

Good point, I found out glass microelectrodes can have tip
diameters of less than a micron. But I'm not sure if they are
suitable for large-scale, chronic implants. Are they too fragile
etc.

>> >can access one area, perfect and miniaturize our interface
>> >with that, then hit the next area, and so forth.  I'm
>> >suggesting that perhaps, by the time we know how to
>> >interface with any one of those multiple areas, we will
>> >have progressed so that we are able to get around the
>> >physical limitations.

Why should each area be treated differently? The general
method might be the same, especially if we use a robot.
The cortex should best be interfaced with a robot. The task
of sorting out all the brain areas, mapping them to sulcus/gyrus
etc, is too tedious for any human. Also, there're a lot of
individual variations in brain mapping.

"Physical limitations" is not too limiting actually, because we
are replacing the brain bit by bit, and there is continual
lesioning to free away space and expose inaccessible areas.

IF there'll be massive wiring between brain and computer,
then the person must be immobile for a LONG period. That's
why I say the brain support system may be a better
solution. Afterall, the biological body will be discarded after
uploading.


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