If you think about it, the computer and phone are terribly inefficient interfaces for getting the information you need. You understand exactly what you want to know: for example, the current exchange rate of the ruble to the dollar. You press your fingers on certain areas of the phone screen with letters, aiming each time at the desired points, and then see the answer.
It would be much better to mentally say “Hello, Igor!”, formulate a question mentally and receive an answer with your ear/eye/other means. Or send a message to a friend in the same quick way. In general, connect the Internet to the brain.
Since you can try this in practice now, it’s worth controlling something, seeing how convenient it is, and drawing conclusions. Video with the results is at the end of the article. 1. Input idea 2. What is needed 3. Putting it together 4. Trying once 5. Trying two 6. Three 7. Output thoughts
Idea
The plan was simple:
Step 1.
We take an EEG device that reads brain activity.
Step 2.
We train some kind of algorithm that allows us to determine mental commands with sufficient accuracy.
Let's try several types of mental commands (more on this later). Step 3.
Connect to some moving thing.
Step 4.
We try to complete a simple task, for example, drive from point A to point B.
Step 5.
We draw conclusions from all this, if it’s time. If not, then repeat steps 2 and 4.
Yes, similar experiments have previously been carried out by a number of specialists: there are many tests of the P300 approach, which allows you to type text with your thoughts (it turns out very accurately, but it takes a long time), to control various prostheses and other devices. Nothing new is happening from a scientific point of view in the current experiment; the goal is to try brain control personally and draw some conclusions from the sensations and thoughts around the BCI (brain-computer interface).
Habits, thoughts and emotions that create a negative reality
Fragment of the webinar “Attention Management”
As Vadim Zeland writes in his books, a person forms a layer of his world through the way of his thoughts. We shape our reality with dominant thoughts.
If negative thoughts, images and states dominate your life, and you systematically broadcast your dissatisfaction into the mirror of the world, then this state will overshadow the few positive thoughts that you sometimes have. It is the dominant thoughts that will be embodied in life.
This is one of the reasons why your intentions are not realized and you do not succeed in life the way you want. It's simple: all the thoughts and programs that have been with us since childhood dominate and determine our worldview. This also includes habits acquired throughout life. All this prevents you from getting what you want in life. Have you acquired the habit of complaining, fighting or being offended? So this is how you live.
It is impossible to create a new way of life and set a new reality while continuing to think in the same dominant negative way.
What do you need
We use Emotiv Insight as an EEG device. It is far from the most accurate device with a low resolution of the electromagnetic map being displayed, but sufficient for our purposes. It costs $299
, there are almost always discounts on this model, but there is a problem with delivery to Russia: there is none. This is explained not so much by logistics as by legislative problems: EEG devices are medical devices from the point of view of the customs rules of the Russian Federation (with corresponding consequences).
It’s also impossible to come and pick up somewhere around the world, so all that remains is to order to those countries close to Russia that have a delivery option: Poland, Israel or something like that. Rumor has it that it is also sold under the counter in Moscow, but with appropriate markups.
Emotiv devices are also good from a software point of view: it is proprietary, but it can do quite a lot, and, which is important for the purposes of our experiment, it has built-in tools for working with mental commands.
We use the Hicat.Livera platform as a robot. Built on Arduino. In essence, this is what it is, only with a camera, wheels, a laser and minor software modifications. Worth about $100-$150
, it’s probably more convenient to order through AliExpress, but we ordered directly through the site, although there were some problems with delivery.
How your thoughts shape your reality
Each person sees in the world around him a reflection of his own ideas and thoughts. For some people, things are always “oh, don’t even ask”
, and for others -
“the best!”
.
This book is for those who want to be at their best and feel “the best”, who intend to become truly happy. Know that it is possible! But only if your mind is not clogged with “mental husk.”
You need to learn to control your own mind, as it is what shapes your reality. And what exactly you will see in it depends to a large extent on your thoughts.
The mind is a storehouse of information and experience, including negative ones.
For example, a child's mind is a blank slate. A child’s mind is devoid of fears and blocks; he acts boldly if he wants to get what he wants, makes discoveries without fear of failure. The child sees miracles and possibilities in everything.
And the mind of an adult is cluttered with fears and negative experiences. For example, before going to work you look out the window and see that it is foggy outside. The mind begins to convince you that fog is dangerous and a high risk of accidents. That you will get stuck in traffic, be late for work, not have time to finish the report and get a reprimand.
You focus on the fact that the day is bad, that failures await you.
So the mind, cluttered with fears and worries, focuses on
negative thoughts .
And you haven’t even left the house yet!
On the subject: Negative attitudes: how to identify everything at once and remove it forever?
However, as you and I know, thoughts are material.
And what we focus on inevitably manifests itself in reality. Thinking that you will not have time to complete the report and will receive a reprimand, you will probably not complete it. After all, instead of working, your brain will actively look for reasons why this very report cannot be made.
Putting it together
Point by point, the process of connecting everything into a test bench looked like this:
1. Install the necessary software for Emotiv from here
. From the entire set we need a connector and an Emotiv BCI.
2. Connect Insight to your computer
and test the connection.
3. Install Node-RED
. This is such a wonderful thing that allows you to conveniently process data and signals. Using the huge number of modules available, you can put together some kind of utility in a couple of minutes: send yourself a telegram notification about upcoming rain, process a bunch of raw data, and all that.
4. Add to Node-RED Emotiv Toolbox
as a module. Here it is described what it is. Installed in a couple of clicks.
5. Assembling Hicat.Livera.
It is assembled so-so: if everything is done according to the instructions, the battery will constantly fall off, one of the screws will block the rotation of the camera, and so on. This requires a little creativity.
6. Connect the robot to the computer.
This does not require any additional software; it is controlled via WebSocket; all you need to do is be on the same Wi-Fi network. True, it’s not so simple here either: it turned out that not all files were written to the memory card by the manufacturer, so I had to figure it out, download it from the repository and rewrite it. In general, the classic brilliance and poverty of Kickstarter projects.
7. Mastering Flow in Node-RED.
We take signals from trained commands in Emotiv BCI, clear them of noise at a threshold and send the resulting power value to the robot. A third of a second after each signal, we reset the voltage on the motors. It turned out like this:
The map itself for Node-RED can be downloaded from here and imported into your Flow.
Then all that remains is to practice and try.
Combined methods
An interesting and promising option for BCI is processing information from several channels at once. Thus, neural interfaces and EEG analysis can be combined with images from video cameras that record the direction of the user’s gaze.
The work (Yao, Ma, Wang, Zhang, Liu, Pei, Chen, 2018) describes the results of experiments on the joint use of a gaze tracker from VR equipment and a complex based on SSVEP. This makes it possible to immediately discard those symbols that do not fall into the focus of the human eye. Reducing the available set of elements allowed the team to increase the effective print speed and maintain the accuracy percentage at an excellent level - 360 bpm and 98%, respectively.
Elon Musk's invasive neural interface
Interest in neural interfaces was fueled by the presentation of the Neuralink company, founded in 2021 by Elon Musk, a billionaire, philanthropist and the hero of many memes. At the initial stage, it is planned to develop a wearable invasive device that will help paralyzed people. However, Musk expects that in the future, thousands of tiny electrodes (about 5 microns) in the cerebral cortex will expand human capabilities and allow the exchange of information with a computer in both directions. Hello transhumanism!
In July 2021, Neuralink shared the results of its two-year activity: this is the N1 chip, which is an ASIC designed for initial processing of signals from the brain, a ready-made system with one and a half thousand electrodes tested on rats, as well as a robot surgeon who can implant these electrodes without damaging the cerebral cortex. Impressive achievements for such a young company!
But the main challenges still await researchers. Some of their colleagues note that such “needles” will be too fragile and may degrade over time due to biochemical processes in the human brain. In addition, even such electrodes are still too large to analyze information from individual neurons.
It is difficult to say now what fate awaits this ambitious development. And it’s not just about technical difficulties - many are concerned about the ethics of such interference in human nature. Will this lead to even greater social inequality? What attitude will there be in society towards people with implants? However, it is too early to talk about this - human trials are still ahead, and for now we are talking exclusively about medical applications.
Let's try once
The robot can drive forward/backward, rotate each wheel separately, raise/lower the camera, and turn on/off the laser.
It is difficult to train on 6-8 actions at the same time, so the first attempt involved three actions: drive forward, turn left and turn right. The quality of the Cerebra connection can be seen on a convenient monitor. In the case of Insight, it is important that the main behind-the-ear sensor fits very tightly to the scalp: if there is interference in it, then there will be no signal from the other six sensors.
Next is training. First, the most difficult thing is to record a calm and normal state of consciousness, without external stimuli and thoughts. Anyone who knows meditative practices is all right, but it’s not at all easy to immediately not think about anything at all. The algorithm will take this record as background and look for differences between the command states and the default one.
After this - training for each team. The first two or three notes are certainly perceived as the basis for learning. Next, the algorithm determines each time how similar your entry is to the previous one. If the difference is too great, then it is proposed not to take this session into account in training. Obviously, if the states of consciousness are too diverse, training is meaningless.
Each subsequent training session refines the state of the command-tracking model. Using the map of this model, you can see how much the teams differ from each other: if the similarity is too great (the points on the radar are nearby), then the algorithm will have difficulty understanding what you meant in each specific case.
The main question when training is what, exactly, should you think? We can do two things consciously with our brain: control our muscles and think. The fact is that the motor cortex, which is responsible for muscle movements, gives very strong interference from the EEG point of view. That is, if, as a command, you try to move your limbs, strain them, or imagine that they are functioning, then this will generate continuous indissoluble noise with such overall accuracy as that of the Insight model.
All that's left is to think. There is a lot of freedom here: mentally pronouncing words, thinking about some feeling, imagining yourself somewhere, imagining the robot moving in the right direction, etc.
To begin with, a verbal direction was chosen: pronouncing a certain phrase for each command in an inner voice.
The results of this approach turned out to be unsatisfactory: yes, the commands at different sensitivity settings were definitely executed, but it turned out to be completely impossible to control them. There is a clear line between diligently following commands and their absence: in the first case, the robot does something, in the second, practically nothing, but it was not possible to get it to go at least in the approximate direction.
How it works: not telepathy or telekinesis
Of course, new technologies have provided new incredible opportunities in this area, but the fundamental idea of the neural interface is the same as half a century ago. There is nothing mystical about the brain-computer interface: the technology allows you to record the electrical activity of the brain and convert it into commands for external devices.
“This is not telepathy or telekinesis: in neural interfaces, a person’s mental commands are deciphered by recording the electrical activity of his brain, or electroencephalogram. The same one that is recorded in every clinic,” explains psychophysiologist Alexander Kaplan, head of the laboratory of neurophysiology and neural interfaces of the Faculty of Biology of Moscow State University.
Brain signals are read using invasive (implanted in the patient's brain) sensors or non-invasive sensors that record EEG from the surface of the head.
So, an invasive neural interface requires surgery: electrodes are implanted directly into the cerebral cortex. They look like a small plate, about five by five millimeters, which is covered with hundreds of electrode needles. They record the electrical activity of individual nerve cells in the place where they are embedded. Such sensors have a stronger signal, but invasive intervention is associated with consequences for human health. Even the excellent performance of new generation sensors can cause a number of problems: the risk of inflammation, the need for re-implantation due to the death of neurons, and even unexplained consequences such as epilepsy. Therefore, such interfaces are used in extreme cases, for seriously ill patients who cannot be helped by other methods.
A non-invasive neural interface does not involve intrusion into the body - electrodes are attached to the scalp. Even though the brain is located deep in the skull, the electrical fields generated by the nerve cells are picked up by electrodes on the surface of the head. This method has long been used in electroencephalography. Using a neuroheadset, it is possible to build a brain-computer interface that provides up to 95% accuracy in recognizing user commands.
In turn, non-invasive neural interfaces can be based on “wet” and “dry” electrodes. In the first case, electrodes with pads need to be wetted and only then attached to the head. As you know, liquid serves as a conductor of electricity and facilitates data collection. However, there are disadvantages to this method, and not just wet hair.
Dry electrode neural interfaces look like a helmet that can be easily put on without any additional assistance or training. Special electrodes do not require the use of electrically conductive gel, while the high quality of the recorded signal is ensured by an active interference suppression system. For example, a similar neural interface was developed by the Avtomatika concern of the Rostec State Corporation.
Let's try two
Then the idea arose to try the following directions:
- Thinking about some bright moment, for example, lying on the beach and the sun is warm.
- Listen to different sounds/pieces of music.
- Imagine cold/warmth in certain parts of certain limbs.
- Try to imitate high and low moods.
- Listen to the voice commands of different people from different directions (to increase the differentiation of signals by adding a spatial sense).
The results were interesting: for example, the voice of one person near the subject of the experiment caused the robot to move in one direction, and another person - in another.
It didn’t matter what these people said. But in general, the accuracy turned out to be just as sad: it was not possible to control it with a quality that allowed it to carry out a strict sequence of commands.
Fighting embarrassment
A serious problem in the development of thought-controlled devices remains the placement and appearance of EEG sensors. According to Scorcioni, the benefits that these devices provide when worn in real life on a regular basis are not enough to convince most people to wear a headset.
“Our research shows that not many people are willing to wear a headset,” says Scorcioni. “They won't get many benefits yet. There are a number of limitations before you can easily say “well, you can control the device with your mind.” Why wear these tiaras and sensors now?”
InteraXon has gotten around this hurdle with the Muse headset, as it can simply be placed in a hat or cap, effectively hidden away. At the same time, other BCI device carriers will be at the forefront, like those donning Google Glass. “On the head it looks stylish and defiant. But at the same time, it must demonstrate the phenomenal capabilities that technology allows,” comments Garten.
There is also the challenge of developing dry EEG sensors to the point where they can be easily used by all consumers. A conventional EEG sensor, widely used in clinical settings, requires a layer of fluid between the sensor and the scalp to amplify the signal. Samsung is exploring the use of dry sensors and hopes to one day create some kind of cap with BCI technology that can be worn all the time.
“Dry sensors are practical for everyday use because you don't have to use gel every time. If we can make progress in improving signal power or machinery, we can make smarter devices."
How to influence a man
If you want someone who is loving and caring, you focus on these qualities and feel them, and then your man shows them to you. If you feel that your partner is stupid, soulless, selfish, and so on, then he will show you EXACTLY THIS. Your partner is neutral IN RELATION TO YOU, because this is YOUR character, which you constantly remake with your FEELING! Your partner is always the way you expect him to feel!
What kind of people you would like to see, you consciously feel, just as you reflexively feel UNpleasant people. The habit of considering physical objects as real creates the confusion of perception that these are not objects, but the interpretation of the brain.
“Other people” cannot behave differently towards you, since they mirror back to you YOUR SAME perception of “THEMSELF” and THOSE feelings and emotions that you experience for them - they only fulfill your reflected and, therefore, expected plot - vibration lines. “Other people” is simply INFORMATION that YOU control, writing out the scenario of THEIR behavior with YOUR sense of these people.
This is a new perception setting with which you can live the way you WANT, and not “as it turns out.” By effectively managing your attention, you can change your life in all areas (read more about this in the article “How we create our reality” ).
How to feel a mechanical hand?
It’s one thing to order a mechanism, quite another to receive feedback from it. For example, you can feel the roughness of a surface with a mechanical hand, feel where a toy car is going, see a picture from a television camera as if it were your own eye. Here the successes of cyborgization are more modest, but they exist.
Firstly, they tried to implant electrodes in monkeys not only in the place where the signal comes from, but also in the sensory cortex, which is associated with sensations. And on the mechanical arm there were sensors that recognized the texture of an object. And the monkeys confidently distinguished rough surfaces from smooth ones.
Secondly, you can train your brain to receive a signal about the success of an action:
— Let’s say a person controls a car on a computer monitor. If he makes a successful turn, then a signal with a frequency of 10 hertz is sent to the sensory cortex of his brain, and if he makes a wrong turn - 30. Thus, the brain understands whether he is acting correctly or not. And a person with his eyes closed can regulate brain activity and control the mechanism,” says Kaplan.
Third, touch sensors are already in use. For example, in video cameras for the blind. Of course, the brain does not receive the same detailed information as from a living eye, because the retina has 126 million sensory units - in the computer world these are called pixels. In a real eye, each such pixel has an exit to the brain. You can’t run that many wires from the camera inside your head.
“Nature does not provide for encounters with 126-megapixel cameras,” says Kaplan. — And so far there are no ideas on how to do this artificially.
But even 400 inputs already allow a blind person to “see” obstacles and navigate.
Winning a quiz with your mind
All of Joseph Murphy's books are replete with clear examples of the brilliant application of the “laws of reason” in life and the correct use of imagination to translate what is desired into reality. I advise you to take a closer look at his books, and you will definitely find real life cases and success stories that will inspire and inspire you to realize your wildest dreams.
Here is one of them, described in the book “The Power of Your Subconscious Mind to Achieve Wealth and Success.”
Recently, Robbie White, the man who helps me produce radio shows, won a prize in a quiz show. He said that before the competition, following my advice, he “pumped himself up spiritually.” He imagined himself a winner, receiving congratulations from his brother and friends. And during the competition, he felt that something from above had descended on him - a certain Power that controlled all his actions. This supernatural power came to him in response to the image of triumph and success that had formed in his mind.
Murphy's books are remarkable not only for the abundance of impressive examples, but also for the fact that each of them is analyzed in detail and explained to the reader. This is very important for understanding and understanding how the “laws of reason” work in life, and most importantly, for their further application in practice.
Let's go back to the Robbie White story. What exactly did he do to achieve what he wanted?
- I made the decision to “pump myself up spiritually” - which means I understood the important role the power of thought and inner attitude play in achieving what I want.
- I used my imagination: I imagined myself as a winner accepting congratulations. Murphy recommends a special technique for using mental imagery, which I will talk about a little later. But you can try any method you like - visualization, scrolling “slides” according to Zealand, and so on. The choice is yours.
- He practiced regularly so that the image of triumph and success would be accepted by his consciousness and imprinted firmly and brightly into the subconscious.
That's all! Three simple steps - and the desired result did not take long to arrive.
The power of constant and persistent imagination leads to success!
Does this only apply to winnings on quizzes? Of course not. By understanding how the power of thought works, you can realize your own dreams in any area of life.
