Re: Electrically stimulated "virtual reality"

From: Anders Sandberg (asa@nada.kth.se)
Date: Wed Aug 11 1999 - 09:32:54 MDT


Alintelbot@aol.com writes:

> Since the temporal lobe is arguably where the brain "creates" reality, I
> wonder how far way we are from achieving a "full-immersion" virtual
> environment by way of precise electromagnetic fields to the brain.

I agree with Eugene's doubts; the hallucinations induced by the
electromagnetic stimulation may be complex, but they cannot be
controlled well or reliably from the outside, and the actual contents
are internally generated rather than externally induced.

My guess is that for a high-resolution interactive interface you would
need input on the order of at least a megabit per second, equating to
tens of thousands of electrodes.

(I also disagree that the temporal lobe is where reality is created in
the brain - it has some important functions, but even people with
severe temporal lobe damage do experience reality - even if they have
trouble remembering it)

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