Sep 27 2009 Scientists To Pull Pictures From Your Brain
I know for a fact the government can pull images from a person's brain because they've been probing around in my dome for years, messing with the delicate ecosystem up there. And one time when I was being interrogated I saw a picture of a dinosaur in an agent's file folder, SO I KNOW. Anyway, apparently they've decided to make the technology public knowledge.
Having modeled how images are represented in the brain, the researchers translated recorded patterns of neural activity into pictures of what test subjects had seen.
To construct their model, the researchers used an fMRI machine, which measures blood flow through the brain, to track neural activity in three people as they looked at pictures of everyday settings and objects.As in the earlier study, they looked at parts of the brain linked to the shape of objects. Unlike before, they looked at regions whose activity correlates with general classifications, such as "buildings" or "small groups of people."
Once the model was calibrated, the test subjects looked at another set of pictures. After interpreting the resulting neural patterns, the researchers' program plucked corresponding pictures from a database of 6 million images.
Soon, everyone will have a photo printer in the back of their head to print off worthwhile images they've seen. Me? I already have one. Don't believe me -- check this stack of pictures. What? Don't act like you've never seen a dinosaur penis before!
Brain Scans Reveal What You've Seen [wired]
Thanks to Anit, who can read minds like comic books: with incredible difficulty.
Aug 29 2009 Bokeh Filter Turns Light Blurs Into Shapes
The Bokeh filter is a $10 physical filter for your camera that turns out of focus light blurs in the background into shapes like hearts and stars and spirals (separate filter required for each). It works by magic. But not black magic, because you don't want to eff with that shit unless you absolutely have to.
One of the fastest growing fads in modern photography is bokeh shapes. Bokeh shapes are shapes of light in the blurred background of photos. These shapes are achieved by using a bokeh filter over the camera lens. Bokeh is a photography term derived from the Japanese word for blurred. Bokeh refers to the unfocused background in a photo.
The Bokeh Filter is a simple filter that clips onto the end of your lens. This filter blocks out pieces of light that cause the bokeh (blur) in your images to take the shape of the filter.
Neato. Now if they could just create a camera filter that makes my face look like Brad Pitt's, maybe I wouldn't be losing so many Facebook friends. I'M A MONSTER! Truck, monster truck. VROOM VROOM, I AM CRUSHING YOUR CAR!
Hit the jump for a video of the filter in action, directly from a camera.
Continue Reading " Bokeh Filter Turns Light Blurs Into Shapes "
Feb 26 2009 Oooh, Shiny: A Non-Reversing Mirror
Finally, I can sleep peacefully at night.
Hicks, a mathematician at Drexel University, Philadelphia, used computer algorithms to generate the mirror's bizarre surface, which curves and bends in different directions. The curves direct rays from an object across the mirror's face before sending them back to the viewer, flipping the conventional mirror image.
Awesome. I want them installed on the ceiling above my bed. Because then, wait -- it would still look me making love to myself, wouldn't it? Damn.
Reflecting on a new generation of mirrors [newscientist]
and a cool gallery of
Anamorphic Art [newscientist]
Thanks to twellve, who doesn't need a non-reversing mirror because she stopped wearing eyeliner when he found out it was tested on bunnies.
Dec 12 2008 Invasion Of Privacy: Scientists Aim To Extract Images/Dreams Directly From Your Brain
A team of Japanese researchers believe they're well on the way to developing a technology capable of displaying whatever is on a person's mind. Including pictures, dreams, and, God willing, sex with dinosaurs.
While the team for now has managed to reproduce only simple images from the brain, they said the technology could eventually be used to figure out dreams and other secrets inside people's minds.
"It was the first time in the world that it was possible to visualize what people see directly from the brain activity," the private institute said in a statement."By applying this technology, it may become possible to record and replay subjective images that people perceive like dreams."
Say, this reminds me of one of my own favorite dreams: I exit my cave wearing only an animal pelt. I spot a triceratops -- it catches my gaze. I approach and begin tenderly rubbing its horns while making cooing sounds. The beast gores me. I lay in the mud, bleeding to death. With my last breath I reach out to touch its genitals and....it crushes my arm with a single stomp from one of its massive legs. i wake from the dream dripping sweat, and also, other stuff. Damn -- I should write romance novels!
Dreams may no longer be secret with Japan computer screen [yahoonews]
Thanks to austin, Derrick, Ain and Zombie Bob, who have the ability to make your dreams come true, but only if you buy their set of instructional video for three easy payments of $39.95.
Jul 15 2008 Magic 3-D Box Displays Images In 3-D
The gCubik is a little 10cm (~4 inch) cube designed by Japan's National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) that can display 3-D images via integrated imaging technology and its multiple sides.
The NICT wants to significantly improve the display quality within 3 years. A wireless version is in the works as well. The institute aims at commercializing the gCubik for use in business and science. They say their invention could be used by video game companies, too, for example.
Sure, video games, that would be fun. But let's face it: the box was designed for 3-D porn. Can you imagine what a boob would look like on that thing? Yeah, pretty shitty. Still, it's a step.
UPDATE: I've decide the box looks like a ghost containment trap from Ghostbusters.
Amazing mini 3D-display cube developed in Japan [crunchgear]
Thanks Romeo, just imagine how awesome Portal would be on that thing.
Dec 26 2007 3D Projector System Is Wicked, Scary
The Musion high definition projector system "uses unique HD video projection, producing three dimensional moving images within a stage setting." It looks like it involves some sort of strange glass pyramid. And magic. A lot of magic. And not the fake shit that ass-clown Criss Angel is into, oh no. I'm talking legitimate 'sell your soul to Slavin the evil warlock' magic here. The real deal. The videos are from Toyota promoting their Auris vehicle at a shopping center in Europe. So yeah. I'm not sure what the first video of the ghost woman has to do with selling cars, but I think it has something to do with harnessing the power of the dead. Wait a minute -- that's my great aunt Gertrude! She says she's going to kill me if I buy domestic. I knew it!
Another video showing the Auris after the jump.
