Click my frontal lobe baby.
 

If thought (or the process of) is basically a series of electrical charges, will we be able to collect, filter and decode them to the point of downloads at some point in the future?

In principle: yes.
In practice: No, at least not for a very very very long time, and making predictions on large timescales is a completely pointless endevour.

No doubt the soulists will vehemently disagreee that it is even in principle possible to do such a thing.

The really interesting thing is what happens when you work the other way. Rather than just monitoring, and decoding, what happens if you try to modify these signals?
A techno-geek's wet dream!

Yes, just be sure each download is legitimately purchased and fully licensed by the RIAA or they'll sue your sorry butt.

Hehe, kinda would suck if you had a song stuck in your head.... paying royalties out the ass!

CSFlim - I saw on TV a while back that 2 guys had taken the normal surface electrical signals that the brain produces from one guy, fed it through a massive amplifier, and "played it back" at the other.
Apparently he experienced a fairly trippy light show... I can't remember much of the detail - did anyone else see/hear of this?

They are already modifying some brain signals to help the blind be able to see vague shapes and for other medical purposes.

This concept has been explored in these two films

The Matrix
and
Johnny Mnemonic

I'm sure it's coming but it will be several decades away.

They had a very intersting article on Fark a few weeks ago about a monkey controlling a robotic arm with his brain. Incredibly interesting. anyone got a link? (too tired to search right now)

If decoding becomes possible, how about "uploading" ... instead of jails, maybe we can truly "reprogram" people.

I think the resources of the human mind are so “untapped” that virtually anything we can imagine is possible.
Can you in-vision going to a college were you don’t have to sit through classes but instead simply “plug in” and your studies are downloaded? Fascinating stuff!
However the thought of uploading is very intriguing as well…. Reprogramming, although a very useful tool would probably never happen because of the ethical side of it.

now that is a interesting question


i dont see why it cant happen

but i do have to say it is likely gona be a while

I thought of another “positive” use for “reprogramming”, what about people that suffer from posttraumatic stress…or what about victims of violent crimes? For instance a young woman is raped or something horrible like that…. Instead of having to live with the memories of that and possibly being psychologically screwed up the rest of her life, the memory in question could simply be erased. Obviously I’m not talking about “erasing yesterday because you had a bad day”. But, under certain circumstances I think it would be very beneficial to the patient.

does anyone else besides me feel a vague sense of dread at this concept?

...
..
we are the borg
you will be assimilated
..
...

Depends on where you think the human race is heading.

I think it's undeniable that "reprogramming" could have invaluable uses, but we would be sacrificing a very large portion of our personal autonomy and sovereignty to realize those uses.

Who knows, as a side effect you may end up hating Beethoven's 9th.

Viddy well my brother, viddy well

There is no spoon.

No, but did they check that the same thing didn't happen with random signals. If not, then it wasn't proper science and doesn't mean anything, but in response to the original question, there have been succesful experiments with neurofeedback as a way of controlling computers.

Maybe shock therapy wasn't so barbaric after all... just not refined enough *chuckle*

Yes. Right now it is called "perception," "communication," and "thinking" and is done without batteries, wires, or other man-made components.

In the future, as all things natural and pre-existent, it will be re-done with fabricated external assistance.

and then the hacking begins

Reprogramming? someone would right a virus programming everyone into chickens

Where did you think all the chickens came from?

Would this make schooling a breeze? How much farther would we advance?

AI? I don't think so.
Uploading? I do think so.

That's about the end of it. I have my reasons, but it would require several pages to back it up, so I figured I'd give you the short and sweet.

just out of curiosity...

Is it an all out "NO, in principle" or a "no, it would be much to difficult for us to do"

I think we try already, with electroshock therapy and psychotropic drugs. Granted, it's crude, but both affect personality and behavior