Hypothetical Brain Machine

If I could design or create any brain and or mind reading device, what would it be, and what would I use it for?

I had to spend a little more time on this question than I did on the previous prompts for this blog.

I wouldn't want to create a device that reads other people's thoughts because thoughts are private matter, and it is up to the individual to tell us what he/she is truly thinking if that is what he/she wants to do.

I think it'd be neat to create a device to send our own thoughts to other people. This can be in the form of words or images or ideas, and we won't have to relate this through an indirect method like cell phones which have to send the information to our brain through our ears, or computers which send information through our vision. Instead, we can just connect with other individuals through brainwaves. The device will be portable and wireless. It will be connected to your head and record brain waves that translate into comprehensive thoughts that get sent to  the person you want to communicate with.

Sometimes, we might not want to be overheard or overseen in our communication. By allowing people to send thoughts through a silent medium avoids the possibility of eavesdroppers. For example, when you know your friend is feeling sad but there are other people around and there is no way for you to comfort your friend without everyone else getting involved in the situation, you can just send these brain thoughts to your friend.



-Alice Huang

My Experience with Someone with Alzheimer's

Last week, I met someone with Alzheimer's for the first time. She was a frail old woman who was swallowed up by the monstrous contraption of a wheelchair she was resigned to sit in. On her face hung a look of total and utter dissatisfaction. She clearly did not want to be where she was.

I felt confused and speechless. I didn't know what to say to her. She used to be an artist, but she was unable to draw basic shapes. She didn't know what year it was or where she was or what time it was. Watching her as she struggled, I felt awful. I wanted to help her, but I didn't know how.

When I first began toying with the idea of studying neuroscience, it was only because I thought it was an interesting subject to be pursued academically. However, after meeting her, my perspective has been drastically altered.

I am glad I met her even if she did not want to be there.

Statistics, Experiments, Journal Articles: What's the Confusion?

Statistics form the basis of the results in many a neuroscience paper (and other scientific papers, of course). And at times, statistics can get a little confusing. I have never taken a statistics class, so for me, just the vocabulary itself is confusing (i.e. variance, standard error, linear regression, normal distribution, etc.). As well, the shorthand mathematical way of writing statistics and its formulas that is often found in papers is hard for me to wrap my mind around.

In experiments, certain methods are performed multiple times with a bit of tweaking so as to test for other (typically unforeseen) variables to progress the research. But sometimes the authors who write about these experiments fail to explain why they tweak what they tweak in such a way that is easy to understand. As well, they don't always mention why they do certain things (e.g. test on one species as opposed to another).

Oh the confusion!

-Alice Huang