back to article Canadian boffins develop mindreader headband

Canadian boffins say they have developed a headset which can read the wearer's mind by shining infrared light into the brain. "Preference is the basis for everyday decisions," says Sheena Luu of the University of Toronto. "This is the first system that decodes preference naturally from spontaneous thoughts. If we limit the …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    More than ever...

    Mine's the tin-foiled hat!!

  2. Doug Glass
    Go

    Life Imitates Art

    Just don't let 'em watch any looping porno.

  3. Hollerith

    Really? On what planet?

    "Preference is the basis for everyday decisions"

    Which every day? The one where i'm told what to do, or have inescapable duties? I don't remember Toronto being on Planet Libertarian.

  4. g e
    Alien

    Most excellent, Dr Who was there first though...

    http://www.haildavros.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/2008davros012.jpg

    Davros already has some kind of 'doofer' squarely attached to his forehead as you can see ;o)

  5. Robert Grant

    @Hollerith

    Probably what you want to eat/drink/wear/buy/say. Or failing all that, what simplistic politics you want to inflict on The Register.

  6. Colin Millar
    Go

    I've been mind reading for years

    'If we limit the context - limit the question and available answers'

    I can predict with 99% accuracy the answer to the question "would you like some free beer"

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Boffin

    My response

    My first thought is that this will be an ideal upgrade for Stephen Hawking's computer for when his eye muscle finally gives up... we know his brain works pretty well still!!

    However... for years we've been told that mobile phone masts etc are bad for our brains because people have detected a slight increase in brain temperature when near such devices... Now they're suggesting pumping heat directly into the brain to find out how much comes out the other side??? Be prepared for a whole raft of "think of the children"TM

    @Colin Millar: depends what sort it is... if it's that namby pamby lager stuff the answer is no thanks; if it's some decent real ale then sure!

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    Not the first Canny Canuck to do it...

    Leonard Cohen has been reading my mind for years.

    Mine is the very, very, very black one.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Stop

    privacy and the right to remain silent

    police interrogation will never be the same, that is for sure. Infact it might not be called an interrogation any longer, it will be more of a "yes/no" questions at the station, with the interrogator being someone who can form those questions.

    hey, how about forcing people to wear the headband while going to watch a movie. That way *they* will know if we liked it or not (and even which part we liked and which we didn't).

    there are good uses for it.... until the government and big companies get involved. Then it is down the drain for rest us

  10. Ian Ferguson
    Black Helicopters

    Interesting

    I can think of one application - sit a person of suspicion (ie. every tenth person or any slightly funny looking) in a chair at airport check-in, fit this to their head, and present them with a sequence of images: Osama bin Laden, the American flag, Karl Marx, George Bush, Fidel Castro, etc.

  11. Luther Blissett

    Science imitates life

    > "Preference is the basis for everyday decisions," says Sheena Luu of the University of Toronto. "This is the first system that decodes preference naturally from spontaneous thoughts."

    Surely not. Google's been doing that for years.

  12. Ilya
    Thumb Down

    Forgive my ignorance, but...

    "After a few dummy runs to learn how each individual's brain responded to a given situation..."

    isn't that training? Maybe it isn't extensive training, but it's training nonetheless.

  13. Alistair
    Thumb Up

    Can I be the first to say ...

    I for one would welcome our new mind-reading moose-shooting canoe-paddling tree-felling Canadian overlords. But they already know that.

  14. jon
    Joke

    Are we missing something here?

    "by shining infrared light into the brain" ... well at least they don't want to cut it into little chunks first.

    Mines the forehead with the perspex plate

  15. Anthony Eeles
    Coat

    Mines the one with the..

    Hey! how did you know that?

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