QuirkyAngel
White Masquerade's Blue Oni
Haha. Then take a lot of it 
Story Mode Network
- Thread starter White Masquerade
- Start date
Axiom Days
Devil Summoner
Well, chips are cool, I guess. But, can they turn your arm into a flame thrower? I rest my case.
Mr. Gideon
Junior Member
THat is true Dull, but i think brook is going for a less sci fi angle though such a thing could eventually be possible.
White Masquerade
QuirkyAngel's Red Oni
Speaking of this chip in brain stuff, and this is open to anyone that has an opinion.
How/what do you think about some kind of technology unlocking psychic powers for a human? I am aware everyone has an electromagnetic aura and of some theories that just thinking about something can increase the probability of it happening (very slightly). These are just two examples of things, but, does anyone think it'd be possible to someday say...influence reality or control invisible energies coming from the body?
It's weird. I get the concept of psychic powers, but am not sure how that'd even be possible.
How/what do you think about some kind of technology unlocking psychic powers for a human? I am aware everyone has an electromagnetic aura and of some theories that just thinking about something can increase the probability of it happening (very slightly). These are just two examples of things, but, does anyone think it'd be possible to someday say...influence reality or control invisible energies coming from the body?
It's weird. I get the concept of psychic powers, but am not sure how that'd even be possible.
Reinhardt
huh
It is possible. I mean, it's been said that we can only use up to a certain amount of our brain's potential. Something like 10%? 20%? 30%? I don't really remember.
Life.
Forever Wandering
Could be possible. It has been said that a few animals use their brain capacities more than we do. But if there is technology that can guide us to use even more then yes. Although the question would be then if we as we are now can handle more usage of our brain?
The One Eyed Bandit
rotworm
Fun fact, the brain thing is a myth.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-people-only-use-10-percent-of-their-brains/
rip all those fiction plots
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-people-only-use-10-percent-of-their-brains/
rip all those fiction plots
Last edited by a moderator:
Life.
Forever Wandering
Well damn Bandit just sank this hopeful ship. Sorry White time to abort. Bandit just wanted to see us fail.
D:
(Lol I'm just having fun teasing you today Bandit.)
The One Eyed Bandit
rotworm
Mr. Gideon
Junior Member
We only understand 4 percent of everything in the known universe who says that we truly know anything that we think we do,
. Besides it is fiction for a reason and simply because those regions of our brain are active does not mean they are fully in use, in much the same way humans cant use their bodies full strength, we may not be able to actually use our brains full potential, despite the fact that the brain is entirely used, much like our muscles.
Last edited by a moderator:
The One Eyed Bandit
rotworm
I mean, sure, but the joke was that all those movies and shows and books tried to ground things with "we only use 10 percent of the brain ever so now we get superpowers" are wrong xP
Last edited by a moderator:
Mr. Gideon
Junior Member
Like Lucy and Sorcerers Apprentice, i liked the latter havent seen the Former.
ApfelSeine
Murder by Numbers 🏳️🌈🖥️
I mean, there's some amazing things that people can do right now with their brain. Having a photogenic memory for instance, or being able to calculate numbers like a calculator, or being able to use echolocation or see more kinds of color (the latter really requires another set of cones though).
So there are some abilities that could theoretically be untapped. This isn't to do with parts of the brain that don't get used, since they do, but connections have to be reinforced over time. Additionally, we start out with many neurons and lose them after a few years for the sake of improving processing speed. If a chip was made that was somehow more efficient than a regular set of neurons, perhaps the capacity for learning could be enhanced without sacrificing the speed of reactions and thought. And it is not known exactly what types of things we'd be able to learn if the neurons didn't have to be pruned. Languages for instance, or perhaps knowledge that is not often utilized in our present setting.
So there are some abilities that could theoretically be untapped. This isn't to do with parts of the brain that don't get used, since they do, but connections have to be reinforced over time. Additionally, we start out with many neurons and lose them after a few years for the sake of improving processing speed. If a chip was made that was somehow more efficient than a regular set of neurons, perhaps the capacity for learning could be enhanced without sacrificing the speed of reactions and thought. And it is not known exactly what types of things we'd be able to learn if the neurons didn't have to be pruned. Languages for instance, or perhaps knowledge that is not often utilized in our present setting.
Life.
Forever Wandering
Some of those qualities listed though seems more related to what abilities are inherited. So some abilities aren't necessarily concerning the ability of brain power but rather what the individual was inherited with. Genetics could also be a factor when it comes to brain capacity, although nurturing has an influence too in that in order to help that ability "use it, or lose it."
ApfelSeine
Murder by Numbers 🏳️🌈🖥️
Yeah regardless of the millions of neurons that are lost in order to make processing faster and more efficient, capacity is determined by genetics and any potential damage done prenatally. But a lot of things aren't genetic, since the human mind is rather adaptable. Things like heightened sensory ability often comes as a result of damage or loss of a particular sense (which is where echolocation comes from), so theoretically the brain could be influenced in a way that might allow people to learn those abilities without the loss of any of the senses.
Life.
Forever Wandering
Yup, yup although I don't ever think it'll grow past the theory stage considering every individual's genetics is different which may allow some senses to be better than others which would make testing difficult. Plus it is always risky doing experiments on the brain of individuals. There could be technology that can enhance our sensory motors though. Meh all these theories, ideas, and science are all connected in one way or another. It would be fascinating though to have nerve cell repairing technology (which is currently what many scientists are working on at the moment).
ApfelSeine
Murder by Numbers 🏳️🌈🖥️
Yeah I don't really expect much to be done in regard to enhancing people who are fine. I'm already amazed that they've got the ability to repair what has been damaged in some circumstances using chips in the brain. Though that said, for light sci-fi it's plausible enough. And as you said, scientists are working on some pretty cool stuff nowadays that would be need to see be commonplace in a somewhat futuristic rp.
Grey
Dialectical Hermeticist
So, chips and psychic powers. Lemme thank Bandit for getting in with the 10% debunking and Apfel for explaining the basics of neuroplasticity. Let's talk about some quantum bullshit while my coffee brews. I have zero expertise in the relevant fields but I do read a lot of hard sci-fi.
This is the hardest sci-fi version, but still requires an invocation of Clarke's Third Law - any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
Part 1: Improved Processing
The human brain is a hodgepodge of useful tricks cobbled together to be the MOST ADEQUATE* and therefore prone to re-constructing reality to maximize survival - as Apfel said that means sacrificing potential capacity for focus over time. The first thing you'd need to unlock something that even resembles psychic powers would be to push a person to transhuman cognition - a chip or more likely a series of chips that provides a level of awareness and control over bodily processes, especially neurological ones, that renders such a person fundamentally different to the the average human. It'd likely take some getting used to. The two bigger problems here are heat and energy; that kind of processing power takes a lot of energy and that energy may not be portable, and it can also generate a lot of heat. So it might be to be used sparingly with a lot of training so as not to melt your head, and possibly need some kind of wireless power transmission system because it probably isn't going to reach peak performance with excess bioelectricity.
Part 2: How did I shot fireball?
Alright, so our transhuman on the far end of the scale has an unprecedented level of cognitive power and control over their own brain, probably their entire body. How does this translate to externalized powers? Short answer: it doesn't. Longer answer: NANOMACHINES, SON. Yes, thanks to their ludicrous new headchip, they can remotely control a fleet of nanodrones with high precision, allowing them to move atoms around to generate improbable effects as long as the relevant base materials are there. Want a fireball? Your nanodrones compress ambient hydrogen into your hand, light it up, spin an electromagnetic field around the seething energy, and then you throw it - boom, plasmabolt! This is massaging the laws of physics a bit, but as long as the rest of the theory is sound readers will forgive it. The thing is, the nanomachines do need to replicate normal physical or chemical processes, so you are kind of limited.
Part 3: Bleeding Edge Speculation
The Ganzfeld effect was noted in '94 as an anomalous, replicable exchange of information by apparently telepathic means. I haven't heard of any follow up research, but it was fascinating as an idea - it seems like some structures in the brain may interact with the world at the quantum level** but the precise nature of these interactions is as yet impossible to determine. Combined with sensory deprivation, the Ganzefeld effect allows for mind-reading. A chip to facilitate this doesn't seem absurd. Could it likewise have other external effects? Probably not, but it might make fertile ground for it. Stephen Hawking and some researchers at CERN posited, not so long ago, that the preconditions of the universe exist in a state of quantum superposition such that when we discover something about them, that discovery is retroactively true. You want probability fuckery? Well, given that the human brain perceives as much of reality as is convenient and perception may collapse quantum waveforms, some kind of post-human sorceror is broadly feasible if you elect to take some things on faith.
This has been Grey's Badly Informed Science Corner.
This is the hardest sci-fi version, but still requires an invocation of Clarke's Third Law - any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
Part 1: Improved Processing
The human brain is a hodgepodge of useful tricks cobbled together to be the MOST ADEQUATE* and therefore prone to re-constructing reality to maximize survival - as Apfel said that means sacrificing potential capacity for focus over time. The first thing you'd need to unlock something that even resembles psychic powers would be to push a person to transhuman cognition - a chip or more likely a series of chips that provides a level of awareness and control over bodily processes, especially neurological ones, that renders such a person fundamentally different to the the average human. It'd likely take some getting used to. The two bigger problems here are heat and energy; that kind of processing power takes a lot of energy and that energy may not be portable, and it can also generate a lot of heat. So it might be to be used sparingly with a lot of training so as not to melt your head, and possibly need some kind of wireless power transmission system because it probably isn't going to reach peak performance with excess bioelectricity.
Part 2: How did I shot fireball?
Alright, so our transhuman on the far end of the scale has an unprecedented level of cognitive power and control over their own brain, probably their entire body. How does this translate to externalized powers? Short answer: it doesn't. Longer answer: NANOMACHINES, SON. Yes, thanks to their ludicrous new headchip, they can remotely control a fleet of nanodrones with high precision, allowing them to move atoms around to generate improbable effects as long as the relevant base materials are there. Want a fireball? Your nanodrones compress ambient hydrogen into your hand, light it up, spin an electromagnetic field around the seething energy, and then you throw it - boom, plasmabolt! This is massaging the laws of physics a bit, but as long as the rest of the theory is sound readers will forgive it. The thing is, the nanomachines do need to replicate normal physical or chemical processes, so you are kind of limited.
Part 3: Bleeding Edge Speculation
The Ganzfeld effect was noted in '94 as an anomalous, replicable exchange of information by apparently telepathic means. I haven't heard of any follow up research, but it was fascinating as an idea - it seems like some structures in the brain may interact with the world at the quantum level** but the precise nature of these interactions is as yet impossible to determine. Combined with sensory deprivation, the Ganzefeld effect allows for mind-reading. A chip to facilitate this doesn't seem absurd. Could it likewise have other external effects? Probably not, but it might make fertile ground for it. Stephen Hawking and some researchers at CERN posited, not so long ago, that the preconditions of the universe exist in a state of quantum superposition such that when we discover something about them, that discovery is retroactively true. You want probability fuckery? Well, given that the human brain perceives as much of reality as is convenient and perception may collapse quantum waveforms, some kind of post-human sorceror is broadly feasible if you elect to take some things on faith.
This has been Grey's Badly Informed Science Corner.
*I watched a talk by a neuroscientist this week in which is was suggested we have a fitness-based perception of reality, because life-forms that can see reality as-is rapidly go extinct. Delightfully chilling implications.
**When I was a naive and arrogant teenager, I had a private theory that the dark matter accreting at the edges of galaxies was god, in any realistic sense - the condensation of every conscious mind in the universe which had ever died, becoming an abnormal form of matter encircling every galaxy. A vast cacophony of voices vying for a seconds control to reach out with unfathomable gravitational fine-control and cause miracles on their homeworlds. Maybe not the miracles they wanted, but something impossible for those they tried to contact to explain.
**When I was a naive and arrogant teenager, I had a private theory that the dark matter accreting at the edges of galaxies was god, in any realistic sense - the condensation of every conscious mind in the universe which had ever died, becoming an abnormal form of matter encircling every galaxy. A vast cacophony of voices vying for a seconds control to reach out with unfathomable gravitational fine-control and cause miracles on their homeworlds. Maybe not the miracles they wanted, but something impossible for those they tried to contact to explain.
Last edited by a moderator:
Reinhardt
huh
Oh, boy.
Axiom Days
Devil Summoner
White Masquerade
QuirkyAngel's Red Oni
@Reinhardt
What is your avatar?
And I think that you might be correct in that we use a fraction of our brain's potential. I can stand behind things like being capable of super-memory or super-smell, but not Telekinesis or levitation. Doing outside the body, I don't know. Seems very wrong.
@LifeNovel
Yeah, that was a good point about if our brains could even handle it. Excellent. Grey addressed that and it made sense what he suggested people do to get around that.
@The One Eyed Bandit
Thank you for bringing that up. I read through the comments after the article, and I agree with them. I don't think Reindo and Life are wrong to say that. The comments went into parts Vs. capacity. Yeah we do use all parts of our brain at one point or another (So we use 100% of our brains), but at what capacity do we use each part, is the question. So if we use all parts of our brain at 20% capacity, you can say it's true we don't use all of our brain's potential.
We can hear, see, touch, smell, and taste, but do we do those all at 100%? That I'm sure we do not. There is a famous case brought up a lot on a boy who lost his sight and developed extreme hearing. With that hearing, he was able to use echolocation to get around. Imagine if he only had hearing. Who knows how far his ability could have evolved PAST echolocation.
So in a way, I do agree we are not using all of our brain. It really comes down to what someone means when they say it.
@Mr. Gideon
Mistah Bear. Here I completely agree with you. It's kind of grandiose to say we know everything there is about the natural world. When you think about how Earth is just 1 planet inside of 1 solar system (out of hundreds in the Milky Way Galaxy), inside of 1 galaxy (out of billions in the universe), it really puts things into perspective. Almost like it's futile to grab wind of it all.
Yeah. About the brain, that's just what I brought up with Bandit too on how we use the capacity. Grey went into it and I agree it runs in a way that limits us as not to kill ourselves from overuse. Either breeding over long generations to make more (brain-resilient) people or installing mechanical add-ons would be those to unlock what's lying dormant inside.
What I'd really be excited about, would be an increase in our ability to tap into our more hidden senses. Can you imagine feeling wind blowing on your skin, and being able to understand the air currents? Or feeling heat and being able to judge the distance of how far you are from the source? Those aren't super cool abilities, but still interesting nonetheless.
@ApfelSeine
And don't leave out what could potentially come out if things don't form "normally" as in the case of synethesia. I can't even begin to say what could happen if two or more functions of ourselves were to be crossed in novel ways. Could lead to something exciting (or something horribly wrong too).
I actually think there would be a lot of advocates for enhancing people that are fine. There will of course be those that oppose, but enhancements that help prevent against disease (cancers especially) would be in high demand. And maybe being able to see in the night like owls, would be something people would welcome; either for being able to do more work after daylight hours, or just generally being helpful to have.
@Grey
Wonderful answer. I really liked how you pointed out the part about the need to shield from rising heat and mitigating the energy costs. If you know of "The Flash," I'd imagine in real life, eating tons of food to give him energy would be a prerequisite for running that fast and far. Don't even get me started on things like wind resistance and friction.
I am happy to see that manipulating or controlling something external is likely not plausible. The nanomachines are a good and cool workaround, but they wouldn't be "true" natural kinesis.
Ah, yes, and you got what I was going for. I have learned and heard of things a bit in Quantum Mechanics like the infamous String Theory. While not quite observable, a lot of things theoretically possible, are just downright nuts. If only we could manipulate those actions and processes we would grow by leaps and bounds. Alas, it's like a locked door. You can hear sounds on the other side, but just don't have the right tools to get in.
I haven't heard of the G-effect, but seems interesting. I will look that up when I have a chance. There was a process by which the movement of one particle was mirrored and affected the position of another in a different space. Not sure if that was what the G-effect was done on, but still, transfer of information across particles is a stepping stone for great things Grey.
As for your teenage theory, honestly, who the heck knows? That could very well be right and be exactly what happening. No one to approve or refute it.
What is your avatar?And I think that you might be correct in that we use a fraction of our brain's potential. I can stand behind things like being capable of super-memory or super-smell, but not Telekinesis or levitation. Doing outside the body, I don't know. Seems very wrong.
@LifeNovel
Yeah, that was a good point about if our brains could even handle it. Excellent. Grey addressed that and it made sense what he suggested people do to get around that.
@The One Eyed Bandit
Thank you for bringing that up. I read through the comments after the article, and I agree with them. I don't think Reindo and Life are wrong to say that. The comments went into parts Vs. capacity. Yeah we do use all parts of our brain at one point or another (So we use 100% of our brains), but at what capacity do we use each part, is the question. So if we use all parts of our brain at 20% capacity, you can say it's true we don't use all of our brain's potential.
We can hear, see, touch, smell, and taste, but do we do those all at 100%? That I'm sure we do not. There is a famous case brought up a lot on a boy who lost his sight and developed extreme hearing. With that hearing, he was able to use echolocation to get around. Imagine if he only had hearing. Who knows how far his ability could have evolved PAST echolocation.
So in a way, I do agree we are not using all of our brain. It really comes down to what someone means when they say it.
@Mr. Gideon
Mistah Bear. Here I completely agree with you. It's kind of grandiose to say we know everything there is about the natural world. When you think about how Earth is just 1 planet inside of 1 solar system (out of hundreds in the Milky Way Galaxy), inside of 1 galaxy (out of billions in the universe), it really puts things into perspective. Almost like it's futile to grab wind of it all.
Yeah. About the brain, that's just what I brought up with Bandit too on how we use the capacity. Grey went into it and I agree it runs in a way that limits us as not to kill ourselves from overuse. Either breeding over long generations to make more (brain-resilient) people or installing mechanical add-ons would be those to unlock what's lying dormant inside.
What I'd really be excited about, would be an increase in our ability to tap into our more hidden senses. Can you imagine feeling wind blowing on your skin, and being able to understand the air currents? Or feeling heat and being able to judge the distance of how far you are from the source? Those aren't super cool abilities, but still interesting nonetheless.
@ApfelSeine
And don't leave out what could potentially come out if things don't form "normally" as in the case of synethesia. I can't even begin to say what could happen if two or more functions of ourselves were to be crossed in novel ways. Could lead to something exciting (or something horribly wrong too).
I actually think there would be a lot of advocates for enhancing people that are fine. There will of course be those that oppose, but enhancements that help prevent against disease (cancers especially) would be in high demand. And maybe being able to see in the night like owls, would be something people would welcome; either for being able to do more work after daylight hours, or just generally being helpful to have.
@Grey
Wonderful answer. I really liked how you pointed out the part about the need to shield from rising heat and mitigating the energy costs. If you know of "The Flash," I'd imagine in real life, eating tons of food to give him energy would be a prerequisite for running that fast and far. Don't even get me started on things like wind resistance and friction.
I am happy to see that manipulating or controlling something external is likely not plausible. The nanomachines are a good and cool workaround, but they wouldn't be "true" natural kinesis.
Ah, yes, and you got what I was going for. I have learned and heard of things a bit in Quantum Mechanics like the infamous String Theory. While not quite observable, a lot of things theoretically possible, are just downright nuts. If only we could manipulate those actions and processes we would grow by leaps and bounds. Alas, it's like a locked door. You can hear sounds on the other side, but just don't have the right tools to get in.
I haven't heard of the G-effect, but seems interesting. I will look that up when I have a chance. There was a process by which the movement of one particle was mirrored and affected the position of another in a different space. Not sure if that was what the G-effect was done on, but still, transfer of information across particles is a stepping stone for great things Grey.
As for your teenage theory, honestly, who the heck knows? That could very well be right and be exactly what happening. No one to approve or refute it.
Mr. Gideon
Junior Member
So Brook, is there a way you are leaning towards yet?
We got the chips that will allow you to tap into the bodies potential in certain areas.
OR
the Nanites which could be used in conjunction with the Chips as i had suggested, to produce somewhat fantastical effects via logical and scientific means like Grey said, or to be used alone.
I myself find anyway interesting, and i may use an option latr when i revamp a cyberpunk rp i had.
We got the chips that will allow you to tap into the bodies potential in certain areas.
OR
the Nanites which could be used in conjunction with the Chips as i had suggested, to produce somewhat fantastical effects via logical and scientific means like Grey said, or to be used alone.
I myself find anyway interesting, and i may use an option latr when i revamp a cyberpunk rp i had.
NUSKI
new-skee
Reinhardt
huh
