Our World

The government reads emails, letters, and...your mind?

Neurology, the study of the brain, is one of the newest branches of medical science. A recent analysis by London scientists, conducted on students at the Royal College of Music, involved allowing subjects of the experiment to see their brain activity on a screen and to try to consciously influence it. Cassie Yukawa, one of the test subjects, quoted, “It was an invaluable pursuit to explore your 'creative zones' whilst free from the physicality of playing the piano.” The study found that the students improved their thought process and creative abilities simply by working with their minds in this way. The article I read goes on to detail potential uses of neurotechnology in the future: everything from lie-detecting brain scans to improvement of concentration. Many seem, to me, not necessarily far-fetched, but completely out of our reach as of now. Those technologies may be developed someday, but the focus at present is basic knowledge; we have to know how something works before we try to manipulate or control it.

Neurology has already used modern technology to study and treat diseases linked to the brain. That’s all well and good, but as soon as we mention enhancement of the mind, we have an instant ethics nightmare. There’s been controversy for years already; this is where we come up with films like AI. In my opinion, this sort of issue ranks right along with nuclear science; it is controversial, but someone will eventually develop it. If study of the field is limited because of moral arguments, it could become a weakness if someone else (for example, a threatening country) obtains greater knowledge of the science. Why do many people fear death? It’s because we don’t know what happens next. Fear of the unknown is more powerful than any recognized danger. The more we know and understand, the better off we all are.

We exist in a physical world. Everything has physical substance. Perception, thought and emotion: they are really only a system of electrical and chemical signals in the brain. What we see, smell, hear, taste or touch is what our brains interpret from nerves and sensory signals. And anything physical can be measured, analyzed, and eventually understood. This is the ultimate goal of science, and the aim of neuroscientists is to apply the concept to the human mind. As we all know, we use only a fractional amount of our brains; the potential of these wonderful organs could be astounding.

A new exhibit entitled NEURObotics at the London Science Museum details many aspects of neurology, and it sounds fascinating. Unfortunately, many of us won’t be in London before April of next year, while the exhibit is running, but we will undoubtedly hear more about this science as advances are made in the future.

Can I get some opinions on this? Do you agree with the existence of thought and emotion as merely physical phenomena? What do you think about the moral issues? Is it realistic? Is it even real…or just a big hoax like that supposed “moon landing”…?

"Science Has Designs on Your Brain..."

posted by Anonymous @ 10/27/2006 01:51:00 AM