# We now have the technology to view what your brain "sees". **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 23, 2011, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-now-have-the-technology-to-view-what-your-brain-sees/597344 "2011-09-23T16:28:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2011, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-now-have-the-technology-to-view-what-your-brain-sees/597344/21 "2011-09-24T00:00:35Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Finally, a way to create your own porn, of anyone, doing anything…FUCK YEAH!! If you can visualize it clearly and vividly enough for the computer to capture…why do you need the computer? The porn power lies within yourself, not the machine. It always has. 😃 > [@Der Trihs](#): > > Eventually, quite possibly - or anything else you can imagine. It’s my understanding that we use the same brain functions to imagine images that we do to see them; so a technique to extract images you see should potentially allow the extraction of those you imagine, as well. I’ve contemplated on occasion the idea of something like a sophisticated version of this combined with image manipulation software; something that combines human imagination with modern graphics techniques could be a whole new way of creating art. **cmyk** ’s comment about applying the technique to audio has me thinking in terms of music. My head is full of music more often than not; often it’s an earworm, but some of it is original–and, unfortunately, I suck at writing it down. A tool that could produce even a crude version of the music could be a big head start. Er, so to speak. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2011, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-now-have-the-technology-to-view-what-your-brain-sees/597344/22 "2011-09-24T00:06:50Z")
> [@Balance](#): > > If you can visualize it clearly and vividly enough for the computer to capture…why do you need the computer? To clear and brighten up the image, make it more vivid and realistic; my imagination at least isn’t anywhere near as clear and vivid as a picture. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2011, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-now-have-the-technology-to-view-what-your-brain-sees/597344/23 "2011-09-24T01:03:09Z")
Here’s [another article](http://pinktentacle.com/2008/12/scientists-extract-images-directly-from-brain/) I came across over a year ago on research along the same lines, but more text-based. What a world. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2011, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-now-have-the-technology-to-view-what-your-brain-sees/597344/24 "2011-09-24T01:25:08Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > As awesome and scary as this is, imagine the insight we might gain from this sort of thing. I’m fascinated by the idea of being able to “view” someone’s dreams. What would it look like? Would it make any sense in the way watching a video would? Or does such imagined imagery take place on a whole different level of brain activity? If so, how would you calibrate it? This might be a way of establishing once and for all whether peoples’ brains all work the same inside, or whether everyone is different. I’m betting on ‘different’. Which makes the idea of a universal internal language less likely, I suppose… ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2011, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-now-have-the-technology-to-view-what-your-brain-sees/597344/25 "2011-09-24T16:50:01Z")
“House” episode - ‘Black Hole’. A hallucinating patient was hooked up to a ‘cognitive pattern recognition’ machine, and they saw images directly from her brain on a screen. Comments on [politedissent.com](http://politedissent.com) only noted that the real technology wasn’t quite the same as what was depicted on this show. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-now-have-the-technology-to-view-what-your-brain-sees/597344/26 "2011-09-25T03:23:25Z")
I wonder what the result would be if you were to show the subject a real time full size video stream from their brain so that a feedback loop is created. The inaccuracy in the video stream would cause the subject to visualise different things which would change the video stream which would change the visualisation, etc. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-now-have-the-technology-to-view-what-your-brain-sees/597344/27 "2011-09-25T03:55:28Z")
At 0:10 why does the right-hand image have a short-sleeved t-shirt with text on the chest? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-now-have-the-technology-to-view-what-your-brain-sees/597344/28 "2011-09-25T04:14:49Z")
I see the awesome potential for crime solving. Imagine a victim who is murdered while undergoing an MRI, and the operator doesn’t see the murderer and the murder doesn’t destroy the equipment. Now, the police will have [a picture](http://theseandthose.pardes.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/blurry-face.jpg) of the killer. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-now-have-the-technology-to-view-what-your-brain-sees/597344/29 "2011-09-25T04:39:53Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > At 0:10 why does the right-hand image have a short-sleeved t-shirt with text on the chest? Because they’re mixing up zillions of YouTube videos to generate an approximation image from your brain activity. I suppose it’s a shortcut, rather than generating images from whole cloth… For now. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-now-have-the-technology-to-view-what-your-brain-sees/597344/30 "2011-09-25T05:25:14Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I see the awesome potential for crime solving. Imagine a victim who is murdered while undergoing an MRI, and the operator doesn’t see the murderer and the murder doesn’t destroy the equipment. Now, the police will have [a picture](http://theseandthose.pardes.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/blurry-face.jpg) of the killer. Setting aside the issue of how unlikely it is that someone would be murdered while undergoing an MRI, if the victim is undergoing a brain scan at the time of death then it would be almost impossible for him/her to get a look at the killer. With most MRI scanners the victim’s head would have to actually be inside the scanner, and even with an “open” style MRI scanner anyone undergoing a brain scan would have their head restrained and would be instructed not to move. They might well disobey that instruction if someone attacked them, but moving around during the scan would interfere with the quality of the image. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-now-have-the-technology-to-view-what-your-brain-sees/597344/31 "2011-09-25T23:56:46Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > Setting aside the issue of how unlikely it is that someone would be murdered while undergoing an MRI, if the victim is undergoing a brain scan at the time of death then it would be almost impossible for him/her to get a look at the killer. With most MRI scanners the victim’s head would have to actually be inside the scanner, and even with an “open” style MRI scanner anyone undergoing a brain scan would have their head restrained and would be instructed not to move. They might well disobey that instruction if someone attacked them, but moving around during the scan would interfere with the quality of the image. [An image of an fMRI machine](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Varian4T.jpg). You would lie on the tray that sticks out, and then the whole thing slides in. Stimuli are presented on a small LCD screen. As \*\*Lamia \*\*says, it would be very hard to see as you have to lift your head in that small space, and depending on model of scanner than may range from difficult to impossible. And if someone does come for you, better pray that he has a gun or a knife. Because, (f)MRI uses [a very powerful magnet](http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/mri-pallet.jpg). [Another](http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/TBfRZXUyuBI/AAAAAAAAe4Q/xqTKHVF4nPY/image_thumb%5B1%5D.png). It would get sucked right out of his hand, as fMRIs are “always on.” If he comes with a baseball bat (which would almost require him to drag you out, thus breaking the machine), you would be in worse shape. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-now-have-the-technology-to-view-what-your-brain-sees/597344/32 "2011-09-26T00:06:44Z")
I think **Boyo Jim** has wooshed you guys. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-now-have-the-technology-to-view-what-your-brain-sees/597344/33 "2011-09-26T00:13:28Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > I think **Boyo Jim** has wooshed you guys. 😉 Oh, I thought the underlined blue text was just to be pretty. Well if they thaw out Hitler, and he is running himself in an experiment to figure out the “Absolutely Ultimate Final Solution, I Mean It This Time,” you know how to take him out in the scanner. You’re welcome. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-now-have-the-technology-to-view-what-your-brain-sees/597344/34 "2011-09-26T00:19:01Z")
I’m going with a ceramic knife. Hitler must be stopped! ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-now-have-the-technology-to-view-what-your-brain-sees/597344/35 "2011-09-26T00:49:56Z")
I think I just saw the future. ---
**Author:** ![Toucanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Toucanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toucanna)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-now-have-the-technology-to-view-what-your-brain-sees/597344/36 "2011-09-26T01:48:41Z")
I think it would fascinating to see the dreams of people who have been blind since birth. However, this technology has a terrible potential to be misused. ---
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-now-have-the-technology-to-view-what-your-brain-sees/597344/37 "2011-09-26T01:59:41Z")
Funny, nobody mentioned _[Brainstorm](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainstorm_(1983_film))_ which ponders the wonders and evils of mind reading machines. Heck, anytime you have Christopher Walken in a film, you know something twisted is going down. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-now-have-the-technology-to-view-what-your-brain-sees/597344/38 "2011-09-26T02:34:00Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > I’m going with a ceramic knife. Hitler must be stopped! Me, I am going with a “Glock 7,” which according to _Die Hard 2_, doesn’t have metal in it, so it must be true. > [@Toucanna](#): > > I think it would fascinating to see the dreams of people who have been blind since birth. However, this technology has a terrible potential to be misused. I don’t know what we’d find exactly, but it has been shown that the visual brain areas in blind people instead activates when they explore things with their fingers, read braille, etc. The brain areas are co-opted by new functions. It could be misused, but that’s a lot of “ifs.” There are hundreds of limitations as outlined above that would limit, say a “mind reading scanner” grabbing you as you walk down the street. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-now-have-the-technology-to-view-what-your-brain-sees/597344/39 "2011-09-26T06:10:21Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > I think I just saw the future. Yeah, but it’s pretty fuckin’ blurry, ain’t it? ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-now-have-the-technology-to-view-what-your-brain-sees/597344/40 "2011-09-26T13:54:42Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I see the awesome potential for crime solving. Imagine a victim who is murdered while undergoing an MRI, and the operator doesn’t see the murderer and the murder doesn’t destroy the equipment. Now, the police will have [a picture](http://theseandthose.pardes.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/blurry-face.jpg) of the killer. Sure it’s blurry, but at least you can tell for sure it’s a black guy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-now-have-the-technology-to-view-what-your-brain-sees/597344.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-now-have-the-technology-to-view-what-your-brain-sees/597344.md?page=3)