From: O'Regan, Emlyn (Emlyn.ORegan@actew.com.au)
Date: Tue May 18 1999 - 23:29:35 MDT
>We can do better than that. How about sonar-based vision? Distribute a
>network of sensors through your clothing (or skin, with better tech), and
>you can easily collect enough data for that. You don't even need an
>emitter - you can use background noise as 'illumination', if you have enough
>computer power.
>
>Map the results onto your visual field, and you gain the ability to see
>through solid matter. You could use color coding to indicate physical
>properties of what you are looking at (density & rigidity are pretty easy to
>measure this way).
>> > A cognitive enhancement I can think of that would cross
>> various categories
>> > is the capability to visualize effectively in multiple dimensions..
>>
>> Maybe a less volatile visual/auditory scratchpad?
>
>How about a general visualization enhancement? Set it up so that when you
>picture something in your mind the data is interpreted by a computer, which
>stores it in memory and echoes it back to you. As you imagine more details
>the computer adds them to the existing model, and when you shift your mental
>viewpoint it echoes back the appropriate data. If you can get the feedback
>to work right this could vastly improve your ability to visualize complex
>objects - a very useful ability for engineers, artists and VR designers.
>
>Billy Brown, MCSE+I
>bbrown@conemsco.com
>
Excellent ideas! How about linking yourself up to "spy" satelites, so
that you can "see" anywhere that you think about (above ground). Our
vision is interpreted into a 3d model (2D+, but hey), by our brains
infering missing information from other knowledge. Why not enhance that
ability, filling in with information from satelites: the 3D image you
infer from looking at an object might be a lot more realistic, if your
inferences come from real, live data which can see the "back" of the
object at the same time that you are looking at the "front". You
wouldn't "see" in any more detail, you'd just have a better feeling for
depth.
How about a bit of group mind stuff (warning, warning) to enhance this
further: Say that you can build a GIS that contains the sum of human
knowledge of what the world looks like at any time. Then, if you are
connected to such a database, your vision could be filled in with data
from such a system. You might want to look through walls or not,
depending on how you feel at any time (your vision still needs to map to
the 2 and a bit D model that your mind can handle). But you could
visualise any spot on the globe, and actually "see" it. What's on the
other side of the mountain? I'll just visualise it as if I was on the
other side... right, its the other side of the mountain. Oh.
Where would this info come from? Everyone who was hooked up could also
be recording into the GIS whenever they looked at anything (although you
would need to be able to turn this recording off whenever you wished
to). You might even be paid something for your efforts (incentive to
record). Other sources: surveillance cameras, satelites, anything that
records vision could add to this visual database.
Professional explorers could race to be the first to record remote
places (paid for their efforts). They might get royalties for a period
over areas that they alone had recorded.
If you could record changes over time, you'd be able to watch events;
imagine it was last week, and you're at the meeting you missed - see it
as if it is happening in front of you.
>Emlyn
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