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Topic: "I see," says the blind man as he picked up his laptop and saw

clockwork
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 690

posted 19 August 2002 12:10 AM

quote:
This goes on all morning, and it's nothing new. For almost 50 years, scientists have known that electrical stimulation of the visual cortex causes blind subjects to perceive small points of light known as phosphenes. The tests they're running aim to determine the "map" of the patient's phosphenes. When electrical current zaps into the brain, the lights don't appear only in one spot. They are spread out across space, in what artificial-vision researchers call the "starry-night effect."
Dobelle is marshaling these dots like pixels on a screen. "We're building the patient's map, layer by layer," he explains. "The first layer was individual phosphenes. The next layer is multiples. We need to know where his phosphenes appear in relation to each other so a video feed can be translated in a way that makes sense to his mind."

Vision Quest

From: Pokaroo! | Registered: May 2001 | IP: Logged

Trisha
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 387

posted 20 August 2002 07:24 PM

I'd rather see some of this research money geared toward better assistance equipment for the blind to allow them to have more ease attending school, holding jobs, etc. What is available is good, but could be better.

From: Thunder Bay, Ontario | Registered: Apr 2001 | IP: Logged

clockwork
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 690

posted 20 August 2002 11:01 PM

Ah, but you miss a couple salient points. First off, the guy featured in the article is using his own funds for research (although not the guy they quoted towards the end). Second, you must understand the Wired philosophy. Technology can fix anything. It would be a waste to spend money to help assist the blind when you can spend that money curing blindness.

I grew up reading cyberpunk, so I find this fascinating and just a tad cool. Although, I think there is a lesson buried in the article about the difference between private and public research.

From: Pokaroo! | Registered: May 2001 | IP: Logged

Trisha
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 387

posted 21 August 2002 02:27 AM

There must be something in there, I guess. I possibly didn't read it in the right frame of mind. Technology could help all the disabled people, if it were applied properly.

From: Thunder Bay, Ontario | Registered: Apr 2001 | IP: Logged

clockwork
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 690

posted 22 August 2002 09:42 AM

Please understand, I'm not saying you are wrong and never meant to imply that what you say is wrong. Wired is a publication that, about three years ago, printed a piece that talked about the coming 25 year prosperity that was coming, thanks almost exclusively to the "new economy" (and you can chart the NASDAQ index to see if there was a grain of truth to it). That piece ranks right up there with the prediction of a 25,000 point Dow.

But while Wired is lost in it's own technological utopia, things do get discovered, and reported, that are, er, for lack of a better word, neat. And while giving seizures to patients isn't my idea of morality, developing a system that gives the blind some sort of sight is something I do endorse. Like, having a program that can interpret visual stimuli into something the brain can see is, I think, really cool.

From: Pokaroo! | Registered: May 2001 | IP: Logged

jeff house
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 518

posted 22 August 2002 06:33 PM

quote:
That piece ranks right up there with the prediction of a 25,000 point Dow.

I am pretty sure it was a prediction of a Dow at 36,000.

Recently, I read that the two guys who predicted it now say that they were right, but that Congressional criticism of accounting has ruined the game plan.

It WOULD HAVE reached 36,000 except for those damn politicians!

From: toronto | Registered: May 2001 | IP: Logged

'lance
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1064

posted 22 August 2002 08:56 PM

quote:
Recently, I read that the two guys who predicted it now say that they were right, but that Congressional criticism of accounting has ruined the game plan.

If their prediction doesn't accord with reality, well, so much the worse for reality.

From: that enchanted place on the top of the Forest | Registered: Jul 2001 | IP: Logged

Trisha
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 387

posted 23 August 2002 12:42 AM

If this method would lead to a cure for blindness, it would be wonderful. There are other things that can cause a blind person to see dots of light or shadows temporarily, I don't remember what they are at the moment but I guess they may be what led to this development. If it's not a government funded study taking the money away from things more urgently needed now, then it's cool.

From: Thunder Bay, Ontario | Registered: Apr 2001 | IP: Logged

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