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6 Brain Sensors You'll Be Using Soon

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a technology that creates a direct connection from our brains to our computers - is beginning to reach the market via toys and game controllers. In the process, these thought-controlled sensors are inspiring innovations that, for instance, allow you to call someone on your phone by simply thinking about them.

From the first-ever thought-generated tweet, to the U.S. military funding the development of advanced prosthetic limbs, to implantable brain sensors, advancements in BCI are not only transforming the lives of people who are locked in because of total paralysis, but are ushering in an era where we will be able to build the Internet as fast as we can think.

when the bbc website talks about the recession, the machine vends crisps:

technical art = translating data (?)

ah so they needed a visual objective graph to show them it was bad, instead of someone saying that a certain part of town was bad, who could have just made it up. (Although the way they represent it is also making it up, coz its translated by their standards) Good point coz the art is raising awareness.. Although even if they had different agendas there would probably still be this 'analysing stuff' theme in there.

I don't want that to be a 'is it art?' question, because that never gets anywhere! It's just noticing this is a bit of a trend, and asking why? Does techno-art need to be statistical at the moment? Fine if the piece you mentioned, the artists were doing a project on crime and people's perception of it, for example. But the packet garden had much to say what it did, but not WHY and things like this go unspoken just because 'it's technical therefore it has to analyse stuff'.

I'm not 'dissing' that sort of thing, coz reinterpreting is good etc.. But the worst thing is for someone to make something like that automatically - Sometimes it seems like it's an automatic thought - technical art = translating data.

re packet garden

this seems to be a common thing I think? Translating of information, or visualizing it somehow. Why is this important in art? Like the artwork mentioned before of making islands based on a person's gps movement - why this translating of information into another form? Does it do anything?

E.g. if I translate a sentence from english to french I could make the sentence look different - but does this improve my understanding of the meaning of that sentence? I could translate ANYthing into ANY picture (using my own made-up rules) - what happens? Just a pretty picture or a better understanding?

You could say that by re-interpreting it you are gaining a better understanding, through new eyes, looking at another angle. A spikey tree-graph of the internet gives you a wider view of it.

But then again - do our brains need visualization? - do I need a visualization of the route of my journey so that I can walk it? Or do I just do it? Does this kind of stuff have false meaning and just looks pretty or does it genuinely bring about new understanding? And do we need that much of this kind of thing? I dunno - anyone?

Packet Garden

Packet Garden. Grow a world from network traffic.

WoW

wow.. when he put physical objects on google maps that was quite similar!

altho the 2nd half could've been called "how to make tourists more annoying!" Can you imagine everyone going round projecting onto things! Nightmare!
I can't walk past someone with a handsfree on without wanting to slap them - let alone walking around waiving their hands about taking photos..

p.s. saw this doc. film recently - for a bit of useful internet history (from 90s America):

internet

There was a programme on BBC2 on the internet last night - 'The Virtual Revolution'. I didn't catch it, but it's on iplayer here. Probably a bit basic but it might spark ideas for the Bradford / Analogue show.